5/5/17
CB
Week 6 Essay History - Lesson 30
Week 6 writing assignment:
Answer two of the following questions.
1. Describe the circumstances leading to the Persian Wars. Why were they significant events in Western history?^
2. According to Herodotus, what advice is Xerxes given regarding war with the Greeks? How does Xerxes respond?
3. Why was the Peloponnesian War fought? What was its long-term significance?
4. What points is Pericles trying to make about Athens in his Funeral Oration?^
5. How was Athenian government organized? How much citizen involvement in government was there?
Greek names are often weird but try to follow along with the names. (long essay) I'm going to split the questions into 2 PARTS to make this more orderly. Even though there is no specific requirement for word count I'll include it anyways. There is a bit of commentary on this one but it's still factual. My "opinions" are not the main idea it's just something I decided to add while writing. Not every detail of the Persian Wars is included. (that'd be waaay too long)
wordcount: 970
(Question 1) The events leading to the Persian Wars are interesting and a bit complicated. A lot happened and built up to lead to the result of war; these events are significant to note in western history and I will explain why. First I will address the history though and finish with the western civilization piece of it. First off, the Persian Empire involved a big area and widely expanded. Athens came to the Persian Empire and wanted an alliance with them because they were a city-state and the Persian Empire was so big and they were seeking protection. They had no idea where Athens was, they had never heard of it on account of the difference in size. But even so, the two were willing to make an alliance. Athens wanted a fair agreement but The Persian Empire was arrogant and always like to be the superior in their deals. They asked for some earth and water, the Athenians (they were representatives) didn't know what that meant so they did it (smart). What that little deal meant was they were agreeing that the Persian Empire was fully sovereign over land and sea. Naturally, the Athenians (representatives sent there for the purpose I stated) didn't like this but went along as if they did because they didn't want to go back to Athens emptyhanded. The citizens when they got back and heard what happened thought this agreement belittled Athens, but never officially canceled it. So for all the Persians knew, their contract with the Athenians was still intact. The Persians ruled over Asia Minor where the Ionian Greeks lived. The Ionians had an uprising against the Persian Empire. They didn't want someone dominating over them. The Ionians went to Sparta for help. They tried dropping coins on the table of the Spartans in hope of getting help with their uprising. But they were rejected. The Spartans didn't want to be corrupted by bribes and sent them away. Athens was more considerate and sent 20 ships in support of their uprising. This was a big deal because at the time Athens had a fleet of about 50 ships it was generous of them. The Persians won this skirmish in 494BC. King Darius 1 of Persia sought revenge on the Greeks for the Athenians and Ionians defiance. It was a lopsided struggle, the Persian victory seemed confirmed. The Persians had numerous troops. The Athenians, worried, hurry to Sparta for assistance. Sparta in the middle of a religious ritual refuses to help Athens. In 490BC the Persians send representatives to Sparta demanding some earth and water. Spartans say basically "Oh you want earth and water okay!" then they throw the representatives in a well. Later, the Spartans realize what they did was wrong, from bad omens, go and apologizes for violating diplomatic principals and for their "rude" behavior. (An understatement "rude"). They sent some reps to the Persian Empire to throw in a well but they were arrogant and thought they were too good to do the same. The Persians make a show of force in Athens. This made them mad, it was a punishment from the Persians for their "brazen actions". (I find it funny that part, and how Sparta acts through this whole essay and handles all the situations, they were serious about their religion though :) ) Then the Battle of Marathon took place (490BC). Surprisingly Athens was victorious over the Persians, like David and Goliath. The next morning the Spartans show up with 2000 soldiers, but the battle is already over they missed it. Many Persians perish and a smaller number of Greeks. The Spartans survey the battle site and are impressed. It becomes a memorable and honorable thing to say you have fought at Marathon. That concludes the first battle of the Persian Wars. Ten years later, Xerxes, son of Darius, sends a quarter of a million men and over 500 ships to Greece a troubling thing for Athens. Many of the city-states unite inevitably to repel the invasion. 300 Spartans (very good trained soldiers) hold off the invading Persians as long as they can at the narrow mountain pass Thermopylae in Greece. A Greek betrayed the confidant of the greeks and gave away a secret passageway around the narrow mountain pass. A slaughter of the Spartans ensued and only 2 survived. Spartans fought until the death in a dramatic and determined battle. They resisted hard until they were eventually overwhelmed in a brave last stand. This battle recalls the Battle of the Alamo. One Athenian urged surrender and was killed on the spot, you can see how they felt about that. A proclamation went out from Athenians to Athenians urging them to protect their families. They all fled. When the Persians finally arrived it was a ghost town. Athens was burned to the ground the city melting and smoking to ashes. Homes, buildings, roads almost everything was gone, black ashes. A sad day for Athens. Under the influence of the military leader, Themistocles, Athenians had managed to build a substantial navy. The Greeks prevailed over the Persians at the naval battle of Salamis, and then also on land in Plataea in 479BC. That brought an end to the Persian Wars, there were a few scuffles but ultimately it was over. This shows the Greeks resilience in tough times they could unite as one to fend off an invader! All this matters to western civilization because if the Persians had just assimilated the Greeks into them all of their contributions to us could've been destroyed. Thought (philosophy), art, science, mathematics, the dramatic arts. As well as a wipeout of the self-governing city-states. Western civilization lives to see another day! That is my summary of the Persian Wars, the events that took place, and how it connects to Western Civilization today.
*added note* (Later in history, even though the Persians, this big powerful force, couldn't defeat them they weakened themselves with the fighting among themselves. Which ended up making them defenseless (because they were so beaten down) against outsiders. So someone came and swooped them up in their despair, and took over. I think it's crazy that united they couldn't be defeated but when they fought amongst themselves and divided then they were taken down.) That was an unnecessary note pertaining to the question but I added it to elaborate some later history, kinda like a commentary. I think learning from past experiences/mistakes in history is important to not let history repeat itself! That (and the war probably) could relate to many different situations today. And of course learning about the ancient civilizations is nice.
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