The Persian Wars
The Persian Wars
Persia was a kingdom east of the Greek peninsula. The Persians created a vast empire that eventually stretched from Asia Minor. In 490 BC, the king of Persia decided to expand his empire by attacking Athens. The Persians landed at Marathon, twenty-six miles from the polis. A messenger named Pheidippides ran to Athens without stopping to warn the Athenians of the invasion. Pheidippides died from exhaustion shortly after gasping out his news, but his “marathon run” alerted the Athenian army of the Persian landing. Soldiers from Athens marched to Marathon and forced the Persians to return to their ships. Athenian victories over the Persians at Marathon left Greeks in control of the Aegean Sea. Today, runners call long races marathons in honor of Pheidippides’ run.
Persia planned to conquer the Greek peninsula by defeating individual polis, but Athens convinced other Sparta to combine forces with one another. The combined forces were known as leagues. Athens and fierce warriors from Sparta fought the Persians, including. The Greek leagues were outnumbered, but they managed to defeat the larger Persian army.
After the wars with the Persians, the Greeks felt a tremendous pride in their culture. The great Persian kingdom no longer awed them. This pride was especially strong in Athens. The artists, poets, sculptures, and architects developed a culture that was unique to Greece. The thirty-year period after the wars (460 BC to 430 BC) was known as the “Golden Age of Greece.”
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