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In 490 B.C the first battle of the Persian Wars was in Marathon, Greece. The Athenians defeated the Persians by using the hoplites (foot soldiers) fighting in a phalanx formation. The formation had soldiers side by side with a spear and shield. The battle was significant because it stopped the Persians from taking control of Athens. The battle is also well known for, Pheidippides running 26 miles to tell Athens about the victory. Modern-day marathon races are named after this battle.
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Athens became very strong as the leader of the Delian League after the Persian Wars. Athens economy grew and this led to the Golden age of culture. Pericles was the leader of Athens. His achievements included increasing democracy, creating the strongest navy, and building the Parthenon. Writing, Drama and Classical art were important in Greece. Mycenaean Greeks used sharp instruments to engrave their language into wet clay tablets, papyrus, parchments, wooden tablets, and stone monuments.
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He was a Philosopher who taught by asking questions. He was significant because his way of teaching known as the “Socratic Method” is still in use today. Socrates was nonconformist and a well known teacher who discussed the importance of “justice, bravery, and piety.” Socrates’s ideas were controversial because he believed in one god instead of many He was arrested and tried in Athens because he was corrupting the youth by encouraging them to think in new ways. He killed himself in prison.
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The war was fought between Athens and Sparta and their allies. Sparta won the war with some help from the Persians. Two major causes of the war were that the Spartans were upset by the power growing in Athens and the long wall the Athenians were going to build. This war is significant because it ended the Golden age. From the war, Sparta gained more power because Athens was no longer a rival and the Delian League was over. Also, this led to the formation of the Spartan Hegemony in Greece.
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In 336 B.C Alexander was became King of Macedonia. Alexander wanted to conquer the massive Persian Empire. He led his army to victories across the Persian territories of Asia Minor. In the old Persian Empire, he was an absolute monarch. He desired to model his whole government after Persian absolutism. Planned to form a ruling class by intermarriage of Macedonian and Persian nobles. Alexander the Great was significant because he spread the Hellenistic Culture throughout Europe and Asia.
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Hellenistic age began after Alexander the Great died and when his empire was divided. Greek cities were the centers of Greek culture and trade. This age brought prosperity to Greece but only to the ruler and the upper class including the merchants. The peasants and the workers in the town did not benefit from the economic growth. This age was significant because Greek science and mathematics reached their peaks. Key figures in this period were Hippocrates, Archimedes, Pythagoras, and Euclid.