The Greco-Persian Wars
499-479 B.C.
Lesson 3: Page 73 in your textbook
Historical Sources
Herodotus, the main historical
source for this conflict
Thucydides continued
Herodotus's narrative
Causes of the Greco-Persian Wars
Guiding Question 1:What caused a series of
wars between Greece and its rival, Persia?
Guiding Question 2: What did the Greek city-states
do to defend themselves against Persian invaders?
Where is Persia?
The Challenge of Persia
As the Greeks colonized
throughout the Mediterranean,
they came into conflict with
the Persian Empire to the east.
The Challenge of Persia
By the mid-sixth century BC,
the Persian Empire controlled
the Ionian Greek cities in
western Asia Minor.
The Challenge of Persia
In 499 BC, these Ionian
cities attempted a revolt
against the Persians and
their ruler, Darius.
The Ionians were assisted by the Athenian Navy.
The Challenge of Persia
The revolt was unsuccessful. In fact, it was
crushed rather quickly. But their attempt
prompted Darius to seek revenge.
Revenge of Darius
Darius decided to punish Athens for helping
the colonies.
After training for a few
years, Darius sent troops
to invade Greece.
Call for Alliances
Athens asked Sparta to help, but Spartan
troops would not arrive for 9 days (they
were in the middle of religious festivals)
Other jealous city-states decided not to help
Athens against the Persian Empire
So Athens took on the
mighty Persian Empire
by themselves
Battle of Marathon
The Persian ships sailed to
the Bay of Marathon, only
26 miles from Athens.
A Serious Mismatch
Persian troops—100,000 Athenian troops—20,000
Did Athens really have any hope against these odds?
Persian Soldiers
Athenian Soldiers
Victory!
The Athenian army was well-trained and did not
break formation as they charged the Persian lines
The organized charge
surprised the large but
scattered (and poorly
organized) Persian army
A Slaughter
The Persian soldiers turned and ran from the
oncoming Athenians. The Athenian army almost
drove the Persians back to the sea
Final tally
Persians—6, 400 dead
Athens—192 dead
Darius returned to Persia never to return
Connection to the Past
The modern marathon has its roots in the Battle
of Marathon.
A Greek soldier, Phidippides,
ran from Marathon to Athens
(26 miles) to tell the
Athenians of the Greek
victory, and to warn them that
the Persians may try to attack.
Connection to the Past
Phidippides died from exhaustion after
delivering his message. Today’s 26 mile
marathon races commemorate his heroic act.
Phidippides Arrival at Athens
Bellringer – Write a Paragraph
What were the main causes of the
first war between Greece and Persia?
The Second Persian War
480 B.C.
The Empire Strikes Back
After Darius died in 486 BC, Xerxes became
the new Persian emperor.
Xerxes promised revenge and
planned to invade Greece.
Sparta joins the fight
In preparation for the attack, some of the
Greek states formed a defensive league under
the Spartans.
The Spartan league was led
by Spartan warrior king
Leonidas.
Athenian Strategy
The Athenians however, followed a new
military policy insisted on by
Themistocles, one of the Athenian
military leaders.
This policy was to strengthen
their navy. By the time the
Persians invaded in 480 BC,
the Athenians had a fleet of
about 200 ships.
The Persian Side
Xerxes led a massive invasion force into Greece.
His forces included about 180,000 troops, and
thousands of warships and supply vessels.
Battle of Thermopylae
The Persian army lands in northern Greece
They were met by a force of Greeks at a
narrow mountain pass called Thermopylae
Battle of Thermopylae
This small mountain pass controlled access to all of Greece.
Battle of Thermopylae
The Greeks tried to delay the Persians at
Thermopylae, along the main road to central Greece.
A Greek force of about
7,000 held off the Persian
army for two days.
300 Spartans
A group of 300 Spartans
in the Greek army were
especially brave.
When told that Persian arrows would darken the
sky in battle, one Spartan responded “That’s good
news, we will get to fight in the shade”
Primary Source
“Here they (the Spartans) defended themselves to
the last, such as still had swords using them, and the
others resisting with their hands and teeth; till the
barbarians who….now encircled them upon every
side, overwhelmed and buried the remnant that was
left beneath showers of missile weapons.”
-Herodotus, The Persian Wars
300 Spartans
A Greek traitor showed the Persians a secret
passageway. This allowed the Persians to
sneak up from behind and attack the Greeks
Most of the Greek defenders ran away, but
the 300 Spartans fought until their deaths.
Athens Burned
The Persians poured into Greece. They got
their revenge by burning Athens to the
ground. What were the Greeks to do?
Battle of Salamis
As their city-state burned the Athenian people
and the army escaped to the island of Salamis.
The Persians were quick to follow.
The Athenian navy
would play a key role
in their victory.
Those Clever Athenians
When the Persians approached Salamis, the
Greeks ships first sailed from shore like they
were fleeing the island.
They then turned quickly around and began
ramming the Persian ships. Before the Persians
knew what had happened, half of their fleet
was on the ocean floor
How did the Greeks do it?
Three reasons
1. Inherent advantage of the defender
2. They were better soldiers
3. They used the element of surprise
Effects of the Persian Wars
1. Victory in the Persian Wars increased the
Greeks’ sense of their own uniqueness.
2. The gods, they felt, had protected their
superior form of government, the city state
(polis), against invaders from Asia.
3. Athens emerged from the war as the most
powerful city state in Greece.