History Social Science Standards WH6.4 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of Ancient Greece. P ersia A ttacks G reeks the Looking Back, Looking Ahead Section 2 explained how Greeks built strong but separate city-states. At the same time far to the east, the Persians were building a powerful empire. It was only a matter of time before Persia would try to invade Greece. Focusing on the • The Persian Empire united a wide area under a single government. (page 352) • Both Sparta and Athens played roles in defeating the Persians. (page 354) Locating Places Persia (PUHR • zhuh) Marathon (MAR • uh • THAHN) Thermopylae (thuhr • MAH • puh • lee) Salamis (SA • luh • muhs) Plataea (pluh •TEE • uh) Meeting People Cyrus the Great (SY • ruhs) Darius (duh • RY • uhs) Xerxes (ZUHRK • SEEZ) Themistocles (thuh • MIHS • tuh • KLEEZ) Content Vocabulary satrapies (SAY • truh • peez) satrap (SAY • TRAP) Zoroastrianism (ZOHR • uh •WAS • tree • uh • NIH • zuhm) Academic Vocabulary vision (VIH • zhuhn) internal (ihn • TUHR • nuhl) Reading Strategy Organizing Information Create a chart like the one below to list the accomplishments of Cyrus, Darius, and Xerxes. Accomplishments Ruler 660 B. C. Zoroaster born 650 B. C. 550 B. C. 450 B. C. 650 B. C. 550 B. C. 450 B. C. 559 B. C. Cyrus becomes ruler of Persia 480 B. C. Xerxes invades Greece CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks 351 (l)Mary Evans Picture Library, (c)Bettmann/CORBIS, (r)Roger Wood/CORBIS
Transcript
HistorySocial ScienceStandardsWH6.4 Studentsanalyze the geographic,political, economic,religious, and socialstructures of the earlycivilizations of AncientGreece.
Persia Attacks Greeksthe
Looking Back, Looking AheadSection 2 explained how Greeks
built strong but separate city-states.At the same time far to the east, thePersians were building a powerfulempire. It was only a matter of timebefore Persia would try to invadeGreece.
Focusing on the • The Persian Empire united a wide
area under a single government.(page 352)
• Both Sparta and Athens played rolesin defeating the Persians. (page 354)
WH6.4.5 Outline the founding, expansion, and political organization of the Persian Empire.
The Persian EmpireThe Persian Empire united a wide area
under a single government.
Reading Connection Have you ever seen soldiers
marching through city streets on the news? Imagine the
same thing happening in Asia in the 500s B.C. Read to
learn what happened as Persian armies marched west-
ward from Asia.
The people of Persia (PUHR • zhuh) livedin what is today southwestern Iran. EarlyPersians were warriors and nomads whoherded cattle. For a time, they were domi-nated by others. Then one remarkableleader, Cyrus the Great (SY • ruhs), managed
to unite the Persians into a powerful kingdom. Under Cyrus, who ruled from559 B.C. to 530 B.C., Persia began buildingan empire larger than any yet seen in theworld.
The Rise of the Persian Empire In 539 B.C.Cyrus’s armies swept into Mesopotamiaand captured Babylon. Then they took overnorthern Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Syria,Canaan, and the Phoenician cities. Cyrustreated all his new subjects well. As youread in Chapter 3, he allowed the captiveJews in Babylon to return home. Cyrus’smerciful rule helped hold his growingempire together.
1. Location About how long was theRoyal Road?
2. Movement Based on the map,why might the Persian Empirehave been a threat to Greece?
Persian EmpireRoyal Road
KEY
352
Bronze model of Persian chariot
The Persian Empire 500 B.C.
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The leaders who followed Cyrus con-tinued to add to Persian territory. Theyconquered Egypt, western India, andThrace, a region northeast of Greece. Fromone end to the other, the Persian Empirewas about the size of the continentalUnited States today.
To connect their vast holdings, thePersians built miles of roads. The RoyalRoad stretched from Asia Minor to Susa,the Persian capital. Along the way, thePersians set up roadside stations to supplyfood, shelter, and fresh horses to theking’s messengers.
What Was Persian Government Like? Asthe Persian Empire grew bigger, it becamevery difficult to manage. When Darius(duh •RY •uhs) came to the throne in 521 B.C.,he reorganized the government to make itwork better.
Darius divided the empire into 20provinces called satrapies (SAY • truh • peez).Each was ruled by an official with the titleof satrap (SAY • TRAP), meaning “protector ofthe kingdom.” The satrap acted as tax col-lector, judge, chief of police, and headrecruiter for the Persian army. However, allthe satraps answered to the Persian king.
The king’s power depended upon histroops. By the time of Darius, Persia had alarge army of professional soldiers. Unlikethe Greek city-states, where the citizenstook up arms in times of war, in Persia the government paid people to be full-timesoldiers. Among them were 10,000 speciallytrained soldiers who guarded the king.They were called the Immortals becausewhen a member died, he was immediatelyreplaced.
The Persian Religion The Persian religionwas called Zoroastrianism (ZOHR •uh •WAS •tree • uh • NIH • zuhm). Its founder, Zoroaster,
was born in 660 B.C. He began preachingafter seeing visions as a young man.
Like the Jews, Zoroaster believed inone god. He viewed this supreme being asthe creator of all things and a force ofgoodness. However, Zoroaster recognizedevil in the world, too. He taught thathumans had the freedom to choosebetween right and wrong, and that good-ness would triumph in the end. ThePersians practiced Zoroastrianism for cen-turies, and it still has a small number offollowers today.
Explain What did Darius doto make his government work better?
CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks 353
Darius helped to organizethe Persian government.What methods did he use?
King DariusKing Darius
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WH6.4.6 Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta, with emphasis on their roles in the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars.
The Persian WarsBoth Sparta and Athens played roles in
defeating the Persians.
Reading Connection Have you and a rival ever set aside
your differences to work for a common cause? This hap-
pened in ancient Greece when Sparta and Athens came
together to fight the Persians. Read about the outcome.
As the Greeks set up colonies in theMediterranean area, they often clashedwith the Persians. By the mid-500s B.C.,Persia already controlled the Greek cities inAsia Minor. In 499 B.C. the Athenian armyhelped the Greeks in Asia Minor rebel
against their Persian rulers. The rebellionfailed, but King Darius decided the main-land Greeks had to be stopped from inter-fering in the Persian Empire.
The Battle of Marathon In 490 B.C. aPersian fleet landed 20,000 soldiers on theplain of Marathon (MAR • uh • THAHN), only ashort distance from Athens. For severaldays, the Persians waited there for theAthenians to advance. The Athenians, how-ever, did not take the bait. They had only10,000 soldiers compared to the Persians’20,000. They knew that attacking was toodangerous. Instead they held back in thehills overlooking the plain.
2 Greek force, led by Spartans, falls to Persian army.
4 Greeks defeat Persians, ending the war.
3 Greek fleet defeats Persian navy.
Persian Wars 499–479 B.C.
354 CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks
Greek statesPersian Empire1st Persian invasion,490 B.C.
2nd Persian invasion,480 B.C.
Major battle
KEY
1. Movement Which of the major battlesshown was a naval battle?
2. Place Why might attacks on the Greekcity-states have been difficult for thePersians?
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Tired of waiting, the Persian com-mander decided to sail south and attackAthens directly. He ordered his troops backonto the ships, and it was then that he madea big mistake. The first to board, hedecided, would be the horsemen in the cav-alry, the strongest part of the Persian army.
As soon as the cavalry was out of fight-ing range, the Greeks charged down fromthe hills and onto the plain of Marathon.They caught the Persian foot soldiers stand-ing in the water, waiting their turn to boardthe ships. Unable to defend themselves, thePersians were easily defeated.
According to legend, the Athenians senta messenger named Pheidippides (fy •DIHP •uh • DEEZ) home with the news. The runnerraced nearly 25 miles (40.2 km) fromMarathon to Athens. He collapsed fromexhaustion and, with his last breath,announced, “Victory.” Then he died.Modern marathon races are named for thisfamous run and are just over 26 miles long.
Another Persian Strike After Darius diedin 486 B.C., his son Xerxes (ZUHRK • SEEZ)became the Persian king. Xerxes vowedrevenge against the Athenians. In 480 B.C.he launched a new invasion of Greece, thistime with about 180,000 troops and thou-sands of warships and supply vessels.
To defend themselves, the Greeks joinedforces. Sparta sent the most soldiers, andtheir king, Leonidas (lee • AH • nuh • duhs),served as commander. Athens provided thenavy. An Athenian general, Themistocles(thuh • MIHS • tuh • KLEEZ), created a plan tofight the Persians.
The Greeks knew that as the hugePersian army marched south, it dependedon shipments of food brought in by boat.Themistocles argued that the Greeks’ beststrategy would be to attack the Persians’ships and cut off food supplies to the army.
CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks 355
Herodotus’sHistory
The Greek historian Herodotus (hih•RAH•duh•tuhs) wrote History of the Persian Wars.This is thought to be the first real history inWestern civilization. Herodotus described theconflict between the Greeks and Persians asone between freedom and dictatorship. Herehe tells of Xerxes’ address to Persian nobles:“And truly I have pondered upon this, until at lastI have found out a way whereby we may at oncewin glory, and likewise get possession of a landwhich is as large and as rich as our own . . . whileat the same time we obtain satisfaction andrevenge . . . My intent is to . . . march an armythrough Europe against Greece, that thereby Imay obtain vengeance from the Athenians forthe wrongs committed by them against thePersians and against my father.”
—Herodotus,The Persian Wars, Book VII
What reasons besides revenge does Xerxeshave for invading Greece?
Herodotus reading to a crowd
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To ready their fleet for battle, the Greeksneeded to stall the Persian army before itreached Athens. The Greeks decided thebest place to block the Persians was atThermopylae (thuhr • MAH • puh • lee). Ther-mopylae was a narrow pass through themountains that was easy to defend. About7,000 Greek soldiers held off the Persiansthere for two days. The Spartans in theGreek army were especially brave. As onestory has it, the Greeks heard that Persianarrows would darken the sky. A Spartanwarrior responded, “That is good news. Wewill fight in the shade!”
Unfortunately for the Greeks, a traitorexposed a mountain path to the Persiansthat led them around the Greeks. As thePersians mounted a rear attack, KingLeonidas sent most of his troops to safety.He and several hundred others, however,
stayed behind and fought to the death. TheGreeks lost the battle at Thermopylae, buttheir valiant stand gave Athens enoughtime to assemble 200 ships.
The Greek fleet attacked the Persianfleet in the strait of Salamis (SA • luh •muhs),not far from Athens. A strait is a narrow stripof water between two pieces of land. TheGreeks expected to have the upper hand inthe battle because their ships could maneu-ver well in tight spaces. Greek ships weresmaller, faster, and easier to steer than the bigPersian ships, which became easy targets.
The Greek plan worked. After a ferociousbattle, the Greeks destroyed almost the entirePersian fleet. Still, the Persian army marchedon. When their troops reached Athens, theGreeks had already fled.
The Persians burned the city. This onlystiffened the resolve of the Greek city-states.
At the Battle of Salamis, smaller, faster Greek shipsdefeated the Persian fleet. Near what Greek city-state was the strait of Salamis located?
Battle of SalamisBattle of Salamis
Peter Connolly
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Reading SummaryReview the • The Persian Empire united its
many lands under a single government.
• The Persian Empire attackedGreece several times. Despitetheir rivalry, Athens and Spartajoined forces to defeat thePersians.
1. Why was Cyrus considered afair ruler?
2. What was the Royal Road?
Critical Thinking3. Summarize Draw a table like
the one below. Then summarizewhat happened at each battlein the Persian Wars.
4. Imagine you arean adviser to Xerxes and arealarmed about his plan forrevenge on Greece. Compose aletter to him listing possibleoutcomes of the war.
5. DeterminingContext Reread the PrimarySource quote on page 355. Doesit matter that the quote comesfrom a Greek? Write an essaydiscussing different ways thequote can be interpreted.
CA HR5.
CA 6WS1.1; 6WA2.5
CA 6RC2.4
What Did You Learn?
CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks 357
In early 479 B.C., they came together toform the largest Greek army ever assem-bled. With solid body armor, longer spears,and better training, the Greek armycrushed the Persian army at Plataea (pluh •TEE •uh), northwest of Athens.
The battle was a turning point for theGreeks, convincing the Persians to retreat toAsia Minor. By working together, the Greekcity-states had saved their homeland frominvasion.
What Caused the Persian Empire to Fall?When the Greeks defeated the Persianarmy, they helped to weaken it. The empirewas already affected by internal problems.As these problems worsened, the empirewould gradually lose its strength.
Persia remained intact for almost 150more years. However, after Darius andXerxes, other Persian rulers raised taxes togain more wealth. They spent the gold andsilver that flowed into the treasuries on lux-uries for the royal court.
The high taxes angered their subjectsand caused many rebellions. At the sametime, the Persian royal family fought overwho was to be king. Many of the laterPersian kings were killed by other familymembers who wanted the throne.
Persian kings had many wives andchildren. The sons had little, if any, powerso they were constantly plotting to takeover the throne. As a result of such plots,six of the nine rulers after Darius weremurdered.
All of these problems made Persia vulnerable to attack. By the time a youngGreek conqueror named Alexander in-vaded the empire in 334 B.C., the Persianswere no match for his troops.
By 330 B.C., the last Persian king was deadand Alexander ruled over all his lands. Youwill learn more about Alexander the Greatand his many achievements in Chapter 8.
Cause and Effect What ledto the Persian Wars?
MarathonThermopylaeSalamisPlataea
Battle Action
Study Central Need help understanding Persia or the Persian wars? Visit ca.hss.glencoe.com and click on Study Central.
