Persians and Greeks

Cyrus the Great

Persian ruler and conquerer

Mesopotamia; Asia Minor

lands conquered by Cyrus the Great

Favorable treatment for favorable treatment in return

Strategy used by Cyrus the Great

left local leaders in power; allowed for religious freedom; Freed captive Jews and allowed them to return to Israel

Examples of Cyrus’s strategy

dependency and trust in public; seen as a “weak” leader

downsides to Cyrus’s strategy

Brings Persian empire to greatest size; organizes land into provinces (appoints own governors) ; royal road construction

Darius’s accomplishments

Daric

standard currency appointed by Darius

Spy network

used by Darius to keep eye on governors

Royal Road

a road in Persia used to transport items and news

fear-based traditional ruling

strategy used by Darius

Zoroastrianism

Persian religion; good vs evil; good will ultimately prevail

Tax dispute leads to war between Persia & Greek city-states

Why the Persian empire declined

Minoans, Mycenaeans

Civilizations before “Greece”

mountains and water separating areas

geographical reasons for independent city-states

small size, small population, on hill, public meeting place

features of Greek city-states

agora

name for a public meeting place

acropolis

word meaning “built on a hill”

government; laws; calendar; money; military; value system; identity

differences between city-states

language; superiority complex; common ancient ancestor; Religion; yearly festivals

common Greek traits

barbarians

non-greek speakers

city-state first, country second

greek loyalty

Kingdoms

what city-states began as

nobles

people with wealth and status

aristocracy

government ruled by nobles

economic and military strength

How nobles overthrow kings

Hoplites

non-aristocratic warriors that are highly skilled in combat

tyrant

someone who seized power in defiance of law, but ruled with the people’s support

popular government

government ruled by the people in Greece

democracy

later government given rise by popular government

kingdom; aristocracy; tyrants; popular government

list of Greek governments

Athens aids rebellious Greek city-states

Why Darius attacks Athens

The Persian Wars

500 BC-479 BC; Persia conquering Greece

Athens; they knew their land

who won the Battle of Marathon and why?

cold war

10 years of tense peace

invade Greece from north with 100,000 men

What Xerxes does after 10 years of cold war

Battle of Thermopylae

2nd Battle during Persian war; during the Greek festivals

King Leonidas

most famous military king in Spartan history; at the Battle of Thermopylae

Phalanx

a body of troops standing and moving in close formation; carried shields with interlocking parts on the side to create wall; rotation of troops

Pincer formation

what the Persians intended to do at the Battle of Thermopylae; surrounding your opponent and trapping them in crowd of soldiers.

narrow mountain pass

battle site of Battle of Thermopylae

moral victory

losing but accomplishing said goal

trireme

big ship with 3 rows of rowers

Themistocles

this Athenian leader sent a fake traitor to the Persians

Pericles

leader of Athens during its “golden age”

all male citizens

who could hold office during Athens “golden age”

Delian League

alliance of 140 Greek city-states

The Athenian Contradiction

Athens unfairly ruling the Delian League

Peloponnesian War

Greek civil war; Athens vs Sparta

Battle of Salamis Strait

fake traitor alerts Persia of Greek position; last major battle

Philip II of Macedonia

conquerer of Greece; assassinated

Alexander the Great

son of Philip II; raised Greek; never lost a battle

drinking contaminated water

how Alexander the Great died

Hellenistic Age

the time between Alexander & the rise of the Roman Empire

largely responsible for the spread of Greek culture

importance of Alexander the Great

From Susa to Sardis

which two cities does the Royal Road connect

Aegean Sea

which sea did Greece reside in

Mt Olympus

Mountain in Greece with legends related to the gods

Asia Minor

Part of the Persian empire’s land at height of Greece

Elders

Sparta’s government included the Council of ____

seven

Spartan military training began at this age

Macedonia

region that conquered Greece after civil war

Asia Minor

greek city-states in this region were the first to resist Persian rule

Hellenism

Alexander’s empire caused the spread of this

plague

weakened athens in the civil war

three

greeks held the line at Thermopylae for this many days

Darius

persian ruler at start of the Persian wars

xerxes

persian leader at end of Persian wars

parthanon

temple built in Athenian “golden age”

trade

the athenian economy was based on

persepolis

persian capital city

polis

greek term for city-state

Zoroaster

Persian prophet; Greek name

Athena

god of Athens; wisdom and victory