The Persian Wars

In 500 BC the Greek city-states on the western coast of Anatolia rose up in rebellion against Persia, the Athenians sent a small fleet in support of the revolt, which Darius took as a pretext for launching an invasion of the Greek mainland. His forces advanced toward Europe in 492 BC, but, when much of his fleet was destroyed in a storm, after this, in 490 BC a Persian army of 25,000 men landed unopposed on the Plain of Marathon, and the Athenians appealed to Sparta to join forces against the invader. Owing to a religious festival, the Spartans were detained, and the 10,000 Athenians had to face the Persians aided only by 1,000 men from Plataea. The Athenians were commanded by 10 generals, the most daring of whom was Miltiades. The Greeks won a decisive victory and then prevented a surprise attack on Athens itself by quickly marching back to the city. As well as many more battles to come.

The Persian wars were a Greco-Persian Wars, also called Persian Wars, (492–449 BC), a series of wars fought by Greek states and Persia over a period of almost half a century. The fighting was most intense during two invasions that Persia launched against mainland Greece between 490 and 479.

In the generation before 522, the Persian kings Cyrus II and Cambyses II extended their rule from the Indus River valley to the Aegean Sea. After the defeat of the Lydian king Croesus (c. 546), the Persians gradually conquered the small Greek city-states along the Anatolian coast. In 522 Darius came to power and set about consolidating and strengthening the Persian empire. A rebellion against Persia started and this uprising, known as the Ionian Revolt (500–494 BC), it failed, but its consequences for the mainland Greeks were momentous.

The city states of Greece were able to effect the Persians that much that they were plagued by internal rebellions that hindered their ability to fight foreign enemies. The Persian Empire adopted a divide-and-rule strategy in relation to the Greek city-states in the wake of the Persian Wars, stoking already simmering conflicts, including the rivalry between Athens and Sparta, to protect the Persian Empire against further Greek attacks.

Although the Persian invasion was ended by the battles at Plataea and Mycale, fighting between Greece and Persia continued for another 30 years. Led by the Athenians, the newly formed Delian League went on the offensive to free the Ionian city-states on the Anatolian coast. The league had mixed success, and in 449 BC the Peace of Callius finally ended the hostilities between Athens and its allies and Persia.

Origin: Primary source (425 B.C)

Author: Herodotus

Perspective: Herodotus was a Greek Historian who was alive in the 5th century. This shows that he has the perspective of a Male Greek Historian from the 5th Century BC writing about events in the 5th Century BC

Motive: Herodotus's motive was to record information about events when he lived, he retold stories of war and everyday Greek life. He wanted to make future generations see Greece as a glory filled state.

Audience: The audience that the source was constructed for was the educated Greeks as well as future generations which were to read about the Greek history such as students and historians.

Context: This was written after the persian wars. He describes the greek victory and explains that someone drempt a dream that the aftermath of the war was to become a Golden Era.

Implicit and Explicit Meaning: Barbarians (Persians) were sent to the battle by Hippias whose son had dreamt of a great time of prosperity after the war. This implies that the text was already written during the aftermath of the war and creates a tale that it was predicted during the war. This also implies that there was no kinship between the Greeks and Persians.

Herodotus found the prisoners from Eretria in Aegileia (a tract belonging to the Styreans) after this he anchored the fleet to Marathon and banished the Persians and generated more violence. During this cough he lost a tooth and sighs that the land was not theirs and they could not take the land back. This implies that it was an easy swift victory against the Persians and that the Greeks did not bother to take back the land however they did take the prisoners back with them. It was just by chance that he came across the place that he and the army would be victorious.