Chapter 4 The Ancient Greeks Lesson 1 Poets

Chapter 4 The Ancient Greeks Lesson 1 – Poets and Heroes Lesson 2 - The Greek City-States Lesson 3 – Classical Greece (500 BCE-338 BCE) Lesson 4 – Classical Greek Culture Lesson 5 – Alexander and the Hellenistic Era

CHALLENGE OF PERSIA Battle of Marathon (490 BCE): King Darius and the Persians greatly outnumber the Greeks The Greeks won! Greek tactics?

CHALLENGE OF PERSIA Pheidippides – A messenger, ran to Athens (26 miles) to deliver the news of the Greek win then he died*

CHALLENGE OF PERSIA King Darius died in 486 BCE and was succeeded by XERXES who vowed revenge

CHALLENGE OF PERSIA The Greeks knew they would return, so at the urging of Themistocles, Athenian general, they built up their Navy 480 BCE The Greeks were still preparing for war when Xerxes and 180, 000 Persians entered Europe

CHALLENGE OF PERSIA Battle of Thermopylae – A small force of Greeks , including 300 Spartans, tried to hold off the Persians in a mountain pass so that the Greeks had time to muster an army to confront the invading force

CHALLENGE OF PERSIA After the short delay at Thermopylae Xerxes and his Army captured Athens, which had been evacuated, and burned it to the ground

CHALLENGE OF PERSIA Battle of Salamis 480 BCE Vastly outnumbered Athenian Navy (370 Athenian ships vs. over 1, 000 Persian ships) defeated the Persian Navy

CHALLENGE OF PERSIA Battle of Plataea (479 BCE) The Greeks were able to defeat the Persian Army One of the most decisive battles in history ended the Persian presence in Europe

THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE The Delian League: defensive alliance of city-states to join together in case of attack / they eventually moved the treasury to Athens Pericles: (461 BC-429 BC) led Athens during this time. He believed in democracy and worked to expand it there Direct Democracy: every male citizen voted on every issue How is our democracy different? Compare

THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE Age of Pericles: this was the high point of Athenian power and cultural brilliance The Assembly: 1) Passed all laws in Athens 2) 43, 000 members (male/citizens) 3) usually about 6, 000 attended 4) Began the fundamental ideas of western civilization

THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE ostracism: if someone was thought to be harmful to society, he could be voted out of the city and banned for 10 years Athens became the center of Greek culture and had the largest population of about 300, 000. About 10, 000 were foreigners and there were about 100, 000 slaves

THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE Greek Economy: trade was the most important activity Products: grapes and wine, olives and olive oil They had to import most of their grain

THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE Family Life: family was very important Women were excluded from public life, but stayed home to care for the family Greeks regarded their slaves as family

PELOPONNESIAN WAR The Peloponnesian War; after the Persian Wars, the citystates divided into two groups: The Delian League: as noted earlier, this group was led by Athens

PELOPONNESIAN WAR The Peloponnesian League: led by Sparta and her allies Many disputes among these groups eventually led to civil war between the Greek city-states. . .

PELOPONNESIAN WAR Athens' plan: they knew they would lose against Sparta in open battle, so they chose to stay within their city walls and receive supplies from the nearby port (Piraeus) because their navy was there.

PELOPONNESIAN WAR Deadly plague: Athens was so crowded, that when a plague broke out, thousands died, including Pericles

PELOPONNESIAN WAR Athens held out for several more years, until a Naval defeat brought about the end. They lost the war, and the Golden Age of Athens was at an end. The Peloponnesian War had greatly weakened the Greeks and would leave them vulnerable to outside forces

QUESTION After losing the battle of Thermopylae what did the people of Athens do? Abandoned their city

QUESTION What is the significance of the battle of Thermopylae? None, the battle was not of any strategic significance

QUESTION What was the cause of the Peloponnesian War? On-going disputes What is the primary consequence of the Peloponnesian War? Weakened the Greeks and left them vulnerable