Student Essay 18840
The Persians and Greeks fought in the Persian Wars because of two main causes, the Persian expantion and the Ionian revolt. Cyrus the Great, an outstanding statesman and general, thought it was time for Persia to expand. Cirrus took his army and had triumphed in the Middle East.
The Ionian revolt was the second cause of the Persian Wars. Ionia occupied a narrow coastal strip on then East Mediterranean, which is now West Turkey, and the neighboring Aegean Islands which now mainly belong to Greece. The high Persian taxes angered the Ionians. Also, they were afraid that their Greek culture would be taken away so they started to rebel against Persain rule. Athens sent over twenty of their ships to help Ionia. Persia was upset about Athens helping the rebellion. After the Persians crushed the revolt, they murdered and buried the men, while keeping the women and children for slaves. Nine years after the rebellion, King Darius I, Cyrus the Great's grandson, wanted to punish Athens for their aid. He sent over six hundred ships to try and take over them with Mardonius. They conquered Thrace and Macedon, but the fleet was crippled by a storm. The Greeks feared for their survival, and their general appealed to the Delphi Oracle on advice of how to turn away the Persian invaders, even though they had better training than the over confident Persians. The Persian Wars began around 492 BC. The now fearless Greeks and the large, mighty Persians fought constantly. One of the first attacks was on the coast plain of Marathon, where the Athenians, 10,000 men, decisively defeated the Persians. Many of the most important battles in history occurred here such as, the battle of Salamis and the battle of Thermopylae. During the battle of Marathon, Athens sent for Spartan help by sending Pheidippides. He ran 150 miles from Athens to Sparta in two days. The Spartan forces however arrived the day after the battle.
During these battles, javelins and...
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