Persian Wars Study Guide

Question 1

What type of political structure existed in ancient Greece?

Answer 1

Greek society was fractured into tiny city states, such as Athens, Sparta, Corinth

Question 2

What term describes the culture that spread beyond Greece?

Answer 2

Hellenistic culture

Question 3

Where could Greek city states or poleis be found?

Answer 3

From what is now France all the way to Turkey

Question 4

What were the Greek peoples in Turkey known as?

Answer 4

Ionian Greeks

Question 5

Who ruled the Ionian Greeks?

Answer 5

King Croesus of Lydia

Question 6

What modern-day country corresponds to the ancient Persian Empire?

Answer 6

Iran

Question 7

Who overthrew Bardiya in 522 BC?

Answer 7

Darius I

Question 8

What was the Persian Empire typically known as?

Answer 8

The Achaemenid Empire

Question 9

Under whose rule did the Persian Empire reach its greatest extent?

Answer 9

Darius I

Question 10

What did Athens ask for in 507 BC from the Persians?

Answer 10

Help

Question 11

What phrase did the Persians demand from Athens to show submission?

Answer 11

Earth and Water

Question 12

What did Artaphernes believe?

Answer 12

That Athens had submitted to Persian Rule.

Question 13

What happened to the ambassadors when they return to Athens?

Answer 13

They are rebuked by their own people.

Question 14

What was the response of the Spartans to the Persian messengers?

Answer 14

Kicked the messengers down a well

Question 15

In what year did the Ionian cities fall to the Persian Empire?

Answer 15

546

Question 16

Who was defeated by the Persian Empire, leading to Ionian control?

Answer 16

King Croesus and his Lydian empire, including the Ionian city states.

Question 17

How did the Persians govern the Ionian Greeks?

Answer 17

Appointed Tyrants over them

Question 18

What rebellion did Aristagoras plot?

Answer 18

Ionian Rebellion

Question 19

Who joined forces against Persia?

Answer 19

Athens and the Ionian cities.

Question 20

What city did Athens and the Ionian cities burn during the rebellion?

Answer 20

Sardis

Question 21

What did Darius instruct his servant to remind him about three times a day?

Answer 21

“Master, remember the Athenians”

Question 22

Who won the Ionian Rebellion?

Answer 22

The Ionians lost the rebellion

Question 23

What year did Persia invade Greece for the first time?

Answer 23

490 BC

Question 24

What was Persia’s intention during their invasion of Greece?

Answer 24

To burn down Athens and Sparta

Question 25

Where did the Persian force land in 490 BC?

Answer 25

Marathon

Question 26

How many men approximately made up the Persian force at Marathon?

Answer 26

About 25,000 men

Question 27

What significant event occurred with a Greek force against a Persian army?

Answer 27

Never before had a Greek force defeated a Persian army.

Question 28

What did the Athenian force do before the Battle of Marathon?

Answer 28

The much smaller Athenian force positioned itself at the head of two routes into Athens and sent a runner, Pheidippides, to Sparta requesting their help.

Question 29

Why did the Spartans not come to help the Athenians?

Answer 29

Help did not come because the Spartans were celebrating a sacred festival and would not be able to arrive for ten days including travel time.

Question 30

Who won the Battle of Marathon?

Answer 30

The Athenians won the Battle of Marathon.

Question 31

What strategy did the Athenians use in the Battle of Marathon?

Answer 31

The Athenians chose a location which would divide the Persian army in two, mounted their long-perfected phalanx, and lured the Persians into the center of the fighting.

Question 32

What happened to Pheidippides after delivering the victory news?

Answer 32

Pheidippides ran 25 miles to deliver news of the victory to Athens shouting 'we win, we win!' He immediately died of exhaustion. ## Footnote Marathon races are held in honor of this run.

Question 33

How did the Persian Emperor react to his defeat at Marathon?

Answer 33

He was mad and wanted to reinvade, but died. His son Xerxes took over.

Question 34

What did Xerxes do in preparation for his invasion in 480 BC?

Answer 34

He ordered the construction of pontoon bridges across the Hellespont and a canal to be cut across a troublesome peninsula in the Aegean.

Question 35

How many Persians invaded Greece under Xerxes?

Answer 35

Xerxes invaded with a force of five million men.

Question 36

What did King Leonidas do at Thermopylae?

Answer 36

The King of Sparta, Leonidas, took his 300 bodyguards and held the pass at Thermopylae.

Question 37

What was the Spartan attitude while waiting at Thermopylae?

Answer 37

While they waited, Spartans combed their hair and wrestled one another.

Question 38

What was Leonidas's famous reply to Xerxes's offer to let them go home?

Answer 38

'Molon labe' was Leonidas’s famous reply 'come and take them.'

Question 39

What was the Spartan response to the Persian arrows blocking out the sun?

Answer 39

'This is good news,' was the Spartan reply, 'for if the Persians hide the sun, we shall fight them in the shade.'

Question 40

How long did the 300 Spartans hold off the Persians?

Answer 40

For two days, 300 Spartans held off the Persians.

Question 41

What happened by the third day of fighting at Thermopylae?

Answer 41

By the third day of fighting, the Spartans had been defeated and the pass was open.

Question 42

What was the outcome of the Persian invasion of Greece?

Answer 42

Persians overran most of Greece, but the Greek navy continued to hold power in the Aegean.

Question 43

What happened at the Battle of Salamis?

Answer 43

At the Battle of Salamis, the Persian navy was destroyed.

Question 44

What did Xerxes do after the Battle of Salamis?

Answer 44

Fearing that his army could be cut off, Xerxes left Europe forever.

Question 45

What was the ultimate fate of Xerxes regarding Greece?

Answer 45

Xerxes would never conquer all of Greece.