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Military Achievements and Leaders: Ancient Greece

Military Achievements and Leaders: Ancient Greece. Created By: Andrew Boyce Hussein Rajan Luke Siekris. SPARTA. The Spartan People. Expert warriors At the age of 20 named fully fledged warriors Knew only one home and family, the barracks and their unit

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Military Achievements and Leaders: Ancient Greece

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  1. Military Achievements and Leaders: Ancient Greece Created By:Andrew BoyceHussein RajanLuke Siekris

  2. SPARTA

  3. The Spartan People • Expert warriors • At the age of 20 named fully fledged warriors • Knew only one home and family, the barracks and their unit • Girls also given rigorous training to become mothers of healthy children • Women regarded as most beautiful in all Hellas and as tough in spirit as men • Spartan people freest in all Greece • Mother to son “Come back with your shield or on it”

  4. Training for Spartan Soldiers • Training started at age 7 • Physical training was a must • Training was harsh but effective • Fox Time • Each soldier learned absolute and unwavering loyalty • Also learned to swim, jump, run, wrestle, box, and most importantly dance • Thought dancing helped in the movements of battle • “Spartans do not ask how many, but where”

  5. Hoplites • Heavily armoured infantrymen • Wore bronze helmet, breastplate, and greaves (shin protectors) • Each carried a hoplon, meaning a weapon, and a wide, heavy wooden shield reinforced with bronze • “Hoplites” mean “man at arms” • The main unit in a Greek army • Hoplite training was based more on working in numbers than individuality • Forms phalanx

  6. Phalanx • Line up shoulder to shoulder • Held shield up with one hand and spear with other • Push spears between shields • Each rank does this • Minimum 7 ranks • Enemy sees a wall of shields and spears • Once they met enemy, the men in the back would push forward • If a man died on a spear, his body would be flung around until the battle is over

  7. Leonidas and Heroic Stand at Thermopylae • A Spartan king • Made a last stand at Thermopylae to give Greek cities time to prepare defences • Had 300 Spartans and 7000 other allies against an army 20 times that size • Chose to fight in a mountain pass so the Persians couldn’t use their numbers • First day, the Persian leader Xerxes sent in his regular troops who got butchered • Second day, Xerxes sent in his best troops, “Immortals”, but they were also beaten back • On the second night, Greek traitor told Xerxes of a pass to get behind Spartan force • Leonidas learned of this and sent his allies away • Remained with his 300 Spartan bodyguards • Fought in a tight circle so the enemy could not break their formation

  8. Leonidas died fighting and a fierce battle was fought over his body • Persians pushed back four times • Arrows finally killed last Spartans • Body of Leonidas beheaded and crucified • Bravery still looked back on today • British held pass against German advance in World War II at Thermopylae but were surrounded and overwhelmed Above: King Leonidas

  9. Brasidas • 431 B.C. Repelled an Athenian sea borne attack against Methone • 429 B.C. Elected high official • 425 B.C. Helped plan out assault against Athenians at battle of Pylos, severely wounded • 424 B.C. Thwarts an Athenian attack against Megara and due to his diplomatic and military skills, manages a successful expedition to Macedonia where he convinced them to break all allegiance to Athens • 422 B.C. Dies fighting at the battle of Amphipolis

  10. Amphipolis • Brasidas shows commanding genius • Athenian commander sent a force Brasidas knew he couldn’t beat • Brasidas waited until commander told his men to head back to the base, thinking Brasidas won’t fight him • Brasidas charges out into an unorganized Athenian army, causing heavy casualty’s and making the army flee • The Spartans lost only 9 men, 1 of whom was Brasidas

  11. The Persian War VS

  12. What was the Persian War? • The war was fought between Greece and Persia • Consisted of 11 major battles from 492 B.C.E to 449 B.C.E • The battles of Marathon and Salamis were considered to be the most decisive ones in the history of the Persian/Greek war. • Battle of Marathon took place on September 12, 490 B.C.E • Militiades and Datis who led them to victory led the Greek army • Battle of Salamis took place in 480 B.C.E • Greek army led by Themistocles, which was another victory • Themistocles was one of the most influential leaders in Greek history • There were 4 main Greek and Persian commanders during the time of these battles. • There were 2 different Greeks fighting the Persians, the Ionians and Athenians • The war ended in a signing of a peace treaty

  13. Timeline of Events • 500 BCE - Ionian Greek revolt within Asia Minor (this is what started the Persian/ Greek war) • 490 BCE - Battle of Marathon (Decisive Greek victory over the Persians) • 481 BCE- Greek League (Greek league against Persia, with Sparta in charge of the army, and Athens, the navy.) • 480 BCE- Battle of Thermopylea (Persian victory) • 479 BCE- Battle of Salamis and Plataea (Salamis was a naval victory for the Greeks and Plataea was the battle that ended the Persian invasion) • 479 BCE- Battle of Mycale (Another decisive victory for the Greeks) • 477 BCE- Aristides forms Delian League (Athens, in charge of the Delian League, went on the offensive to free the Ionian cities.) • 466 BCE- Battle of the Eurymedon River (The last Greek victory in the war) • 449 B.C. - Peace of Callias (Persia and Athens sign peace treaty)

  14. Conditions that Influenced the War • Many Greek colonists set out from mainland Greece, evicted by the Dorians, and ended up in Ionia in Asia Minor • The Ionian Greeks came under the rule of the Lydians and King Croesus • In 546 BCE the Persians took over Ionia, leaving the Greeks under Persian rule • The Ionian Greeks found the Persian rule oppressive and attempted a revolt with the help of the mainland Greeks • Mainland Greece then came to the attention of the Persians and war between them begun • With mainland Greece invading Ionia, now under Persian rule, created a lot of tension and anger causing both countries to fight back

  15. Effects of the Persian War on the Greek Empire • Athenians felt that the Persian war was a defining moment in their history • The victory of the war over Persia made Athens one of the strongest city- states in Greece • Wealth followed with the power as Greece gathered lots of money and riches from the war • Many states started looking towards Athens for help opposed to Sparta • The alliances that Athens made after the victory as well as the Delian league would catapult it into immense power • This power made Athens the cultural center of the Greek world • The Spartans grew increasingly frightened of Athenian power and suspicious of their intentions • Although Athens had this great amount of power, it would also cause their downfall • This would eventually lead to the Peloponnesian war

  16. Themistocles • Born in 524 BCE and died in 460 BCE • He was the son of Neocles • Athenian general and statesman • One of the Greeks best military commanders • Commanded the Athenian fleet at the battle of Salamis • Convinced the Athenians to strengthen and expand the Greek navy, which eventually led to the victory at Salamis • The navy grew from 70 to 200 ships • He had the harbors fortified as well • Funding for this came from the new silver mines and the total money used came out to about sixty million dollars

  17. After the death of Militiades, Themistocles gained a sufficient amount of power and did great things to Greece • He had Piraeus made into a harbor/fortress for Athens • Athens thus became the finest trade center in Greece • Themistocles was considered a hero • However with the passage of time he became less popular and resented • In 471 BCE, he was ousted and retired to Argos where Artaxerxes I, king of Persia, welcomed him

  18. The Battle of Marathon • Took place in Marathon, Greece • Took place on September 12, 490 BCE • The first victory over the Persians • Led by Militiades and Datis • Athens army was about one third the size of the Persians • The Athenian army consisted of 10,000 Athenians and 1,000 Plataeans • The Greeks managed to win by enclosing the Persians in a circle • The Persians had nowhere to run and were taken out by the onslaught of Greeks • The Greeks then marched back to Athens to celebrate their victory when they came across another Persian force • The Greeks, exhausted and hungry, managed to fight off the invading Persian force and defend the city

  19. Peloponnesian War VS Sparta Athens

  20. What Was The Peloponnesian War? • The Wars were fought between Athens and Sparta and their allies respectively. • Athenians were lead by Pericles, but he died in the second year of the war from the plague that killed many of Athens’s population. • There were two main Peloponnesian War • First Peloponnesian War was from 460-445 BCE and the second war was from 431-404 BCE • The first war ended with a truce. Athens would maintain their empire of the sea and the Spartans would maintain their empire on land. Athenians were very strong at sea, and the Spartans were strong on land. In the war, the Spartans out numbered the Athenians 2-1. • In the second war, Sparta won and became the leading force in the region. Sparta’s victory lead to the fall, and eventual end of the great Athenian Empire.

  21. Timeline of Events • 460-445 BC - First Peloponnesian War • 445-431 BC – Peace Treaty between Athens and Sparta was made. It dissolved after 14 years, even though it was supposed to last 30 years. • 431 BC- Second Peloponnesian War begins. This was the main and most significant of the two wars because it lead to the collapse of Athens and might of Sparta. • 430 BC- Plague in Athens which claims the life of Pericles (he died a year later in 429 BC), the leader of the Athenians in the first two years of the war. After he died, he was succeeded by Nicias. • 421 BC- the Peace treaty of Nicias was signed. This was treaty was signed because the sides thought they could wear each other down but since they couldn’t, they decided a treaty would be better and Sparta could keep the land it conquered and Athens could keep its allies and continental territories. Alcibiades was Nicias’ enemy in parliament and he convinced the Athenians to keep fighting.

  22. 415-413 BC- The Athenian expedition to Syracuse, where they lost badly. After this, the Athenian Army was slowly crumbling because they lost a lot of their harbour and naval fleets. Spartans took advantage of the Athenian weaknesses and attacked. • 404 BC- Athens finally surrendered which marked the end of the great Empire of Athens.

  23. Conditions That Influenced The War • Spartans were getting suspicious and fearful of Athens’s economic power and wealth and were not happy with the thirty year peace that was agreed to between them and Athens • Several Greek states formed a Delian league in 478 BC in order to create and fund a strong navy with could be used against the Persians. Over the years, Athens converted the Delian league into an Athenian Empire and used the navy as their own. This increase in the Athenian military challenged the Spartans, as they were the sole military strength in Greece until then. • Athens placed economic sanctions against Megara, an ally of Sparta. • The Athenians had become power hungry and very arrogant and were ready to capture the Greek mainland which was home to Sparta’s allies and was their “turf” • The growing hostility turned into a war when there was a insignificant event in the distant part of the Greek mainland which finally triggered the Peloponnesian War

  24. Effects of The War • The Athenians slowly lost power and strength after the battle at Syracuse in 415 BC, and by 404 BC, the Athenian Empire had collapsed • Spartans were the new strength and they restored democracy in 403 BC • The main effect of the War was the collapse of Athens but the reinstatement of Democracy under the Spartan rule.

  25. Alcibiades • Alcibiades was one of the most powerful and influential leaders of the Peloponnesian war. • He was born in Athens in 450 BC • He was a close relative of Pericles and after his death from the Plague, Alcibiades succeeded Pericles and ruled under the same principles and as Pericles • He lead the Athenians in to battle at Syracuse, but had to leave because he had to stand trail for an act of vandalism. • Ironic because he fled to Sparta when he was convicted for vandalism but disagreed with the King and moved back to Athens where he became a general • his constant failure with the army and his losses for Athens in battles lead to his dismissal from the Army and his move back to Sparta for refuge. • He was killed when exiting his burning home by a shower of arrows by the Spartan Army

  26. The Battle of Syracuse • Took place in Syracuse, near Sicily in the fall of 415 BC. • The goal of the Athenians was to expand the Athenian empire and deprive Sparta of a supply source by taking over Syracuse. • Athenians laid a siege on Syracuse and built a wall around them • Syracuse was about to surrender and give Athens their land when Spartans arrived with 2,000 men and counter attacked the Athenian armies. • In the spring of 413 BC, the Athenians had lost their ships and tried to flee, but were forced to surrender • Both Nicias and Demosthenes (the Athenian leaders of the battle), were executed • This was the beginning of the fall of Athens

  27. Bibliography BOOKS • Roberts, Timothy R. Ancient Civilizations. New York: Michael Friedman Publishing Group, 1997.

  28. Bibliography Internet Sites • Largent, Kimberly J. Leaders and Battle Database. 2005. 6 Nov. 2005 <http://www.lbdb.com/TMDisplayLeader.cfm?PID=5399&WID=55>. • Racial Nationalist Library. Leonidas the Spartan.. 6 Nov. 2005 <http://library.flawlesslogic.com/leonidas.htm>. • TMP TM. "Spartan Organization?" Topic. 15 Aug. 2005. 6 Nov. 2005 <http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=50922>. • Wikipedia Encyclopedia. The Peloponnesian War. 04 Nov. 2005. 04 Nov. 2005 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peloponnesian_war>. • Gill, N S. Peloponnesian War. 2005. 3 Nov. 2005 <http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/peloponnesianwar/a/timepelopwar.htm>. • Gormley, Larry. Leaders and Battles of the Peloponnesian War. 2005. 3 Nov. 2005 <http://www.lbdb.com/TMDisplayWar.cfm?WID=55>.

  29. QUESTIONS Who fought in the Peloponnesian War? Athens and Sparta What was Sparta’s strength? Their army Who was the main leader of the Greeks in the Persian war? Themistocles What started the Persian war? Ionian Greeks revolted against Persian rule What was the purpose of the last stand at Thermopylea? To give Greek cities time to prepare defences. Do you think the last stand worked? Why?

  30. Your Mission • You are King Leonidas, you have decided to make a last stand against the invading Persians to give the Greek cities time to prepare the defences. Using “soldiers” provided, You will have 5minutes to figure out the best strategy to defend the given area with the troops provided. After we review everyone's strategy, we will tell you whose was the best and why. • REMEMBER: The Persian Armies attack in two waves. So be prepared for a double attack. They also have the use of Archers so be prepared for attack from the air. • You have 5 minutes starting….NOW

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