The Persian Wars

Darius The Great wanted control over all of Anatolia's city-states, in order for this to be successful he would have to conquer each one by one. Athens decided to help the city states from being attacked by Persia. Since Athens helped the city-states from being conquered, Persia now wants to attack Athens. Athens won even though they lacked in people, but they were strong in there phalanx. There geographical features also helped them because it was harder for Persia's men to come across through all of the mountains.
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Ran 26.2 miles from Marathon to tell Athens that they won, but also to warn them that the other Persian's will soon be attacking. He then died right then and there from exhaustion of running 26.2 miles. This is why we now call it marathons, which are 26.2 miles.With this courageous act, he was the one that let the Persians prepare for the Persian Invasion that was soon to come.
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Xerxes (Darius' son) wanted revenge on Athens because they caused his father to die from embarrassment of the loss. He resembles a huge army to invade Athens. Athens find this out so they positioned themselves into naval battle, which was a disadvantage of Persia because they were not surrounded by water unlike Athens. Persia is then unable to navigate through the narrow water passages, which then Athens traps Persia, leading Athens to once again be victorious. The 300 Spartans was also a part of this key event because they were the one that allowed the Athens to go back and re prepare themselves for the invasion.
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The golden age of Athens started because of their confidence of beating the Persians twice, being victorious and feeling all powerful. At that time they were the leader of the Delian league, they grew very wealthy, and they built a mini Greek empire.
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This was created by Athens that was a reassurance that the other greek city states would all be allies and help one another out if they are ever attacked. This was beneficial to Athens because they taxed the other city states who were a part of this.
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Socrates was one of the three main Philosophers around this time. He focused on individual action and challenged authority. He is also known for the Socratic Method, was is a teaching method in which teachers ask all questions and teaches everyone. Later, he was put on trial for "corruption of youth", he was put to death by drinking poison after found guilty. Socrates taught up until his death, which shows individual action.
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The Olympics was held in Athens, during the Delian League. They started at that time because they felt confident and strong after winning the Persian War's. The Olympics were and still are held every four years. A surprising factor is that when they were held, all war and conflict was put on temporary hold until they were over. The temporary peace brought peace to Greece.
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Pericles was an honorable statesman, being a veteran of the Persian War. He strengthened democracy by hiring more public officials, and emphasizing a direct democracy. He also strengthened the navy and made adjustments to the Delian League. The adjustments that he made include: strenghtening Athenian control, increasing taxes on the allies, and moving all meetings to Athens. With the money from taxes, Pericles built Athens a beautiful city. Pericles also built the Parthenon, which is a temple built to honor Athena. It showed that Athens had wealth to make such a great temple and money, it is shown that it was built for beauty.
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In 430 BC, Sparta is helped by a plague that kills 1/3 of the Athens population. in 421 BC, Pericles dies which stops the continous fighting. At this time they call for a temproary truths while they can go back and rea adjust their plan without their leader. In 415 BC, Athens attacks Sparta going all the way to Sicily, one of their allies. Two years later, Sparta crushes Athens. In 404 BC, war continued in various places, leading to Athens's surrender. Athens looses a lot of wealth and power, but never looses it's independence as a result of surrendering. Sparta tries to creat a new league to overthrow the Delian League, but fails because all they know and power in is the military.
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This event is called Alexander's ruthless empire because Persia was antagonistic towards Alexander, which means that they wanted to fight and not be conquered. On the other hand, Egypt welcomed his as a liberator. This is because they need him, they were in a time of need. Alexander was known for being well-liked and respected by all his men, because he treated them equally and had no special accommodations for himself.
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