Persian Wars

Ionian Revolt

After the city-state fell, the revolts in the Persian Empire crumbled, due to a lack of leadership. The revolt had several lasting effects. The Ionian enlightenment ended. Darius I's anger for Athens grew, because of the aid they provided to the Ionians, and gave him the incentive to invade Greece.

Solon

Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic, and moral decline in archaic Athens.

Spartan Code

No soldier was considered superior to another.Suicidal recklesness, berserkery, and rage were prohibited in a Spartan army, as these behaviors endangered the phalanx. Recklessness could lead to dishonor, as in the case of Aristodemus. Spartans regarded those who fight, while still wishing to live, as more valorous than those who don't care if they die. They believed that a warrior must not fight with raging anger, but with calmed determination. By the laconic way of life, Spartans must walk without any noise, and speak only with few words.

Spartan government

Two kings ruled the city, but a 28-member 'council of elders' limited their powers. These men were recruited from the highest social class, the aristocratic Spartiates.

Battle of Salamis

a naval battle fought between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes in 480 BC which resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks

Athens

began as a Mycenaen community and grew to become a city that, at its height, epitomized the best of Greek virtues and enjoyed such prestige that the Spartans refused to sack the city or enslave the citizens, even after Athens' defeat in the Peloponnesian War. This set a model that would be followed by future conquerors who would defeat Athens but not destroy it.

Battle of Marathon

culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece. The Greek army decisively defeated the more numerous Persians, marking a turning point in the Greco-Persian Wars.response to Athenian involvement in the Ionian Revolt, when Athens and Eretria had sent a force to support the cities of Ionia in their attempt to overthrow Persian rule. The Athenians and Eretrians had succeeded in capturing and burning Sardis, but they were then forced to retreat with heavy losses. In response to this raid, Darius swore to burn down Athens and Eretria.

Battle of Plataea

final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I.

Battle of Thermopylae

fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece.a delayed response to the defeat of the first Persian invasion of Greece, which had been ended by the Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon

Xerxes

fourth king of kings of the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia. Like his predecessor Darius I, he ruled the empire at its territorial apex.

Cleisthenes

noble Athenian of the Alcmaeonid family. He is credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing. statesman regarded as the founder of Athenian democracy, serving as chief archon of Athens

Lycurgus

quasi-legendary lawgiver of Sparta who established the military-oriented reformation of Spartan society in accordance with the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi

Sparta

recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars.[2] Between 431 and 404 BC, Sparta was the principal enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War,[3] from which it emerged victorious, though at a great cost of lives lost. Sparta's defeat by Thebes in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC ended Sparta's prominent role in Greece. However, it maintained its political independence until the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC.

Messenian Revolt

started around 40 years after the end of the First Messenian War with the uprising of a slave rebellion. This war lasted from 685 to 668 BC. Other scholars, however, assign later dates, claiming, for example, that 668 is the date of the war's start, pointing at Sparta's defeat at the First Battle of Hysiae as a possible catalyst for the uprising.

Darius

third king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. Also called Darius the Great, he ruled the empire at its peak.He seized power after killing king Gaumâta, fought a civil war, and was finally able to refound the Achaemenid empire, which had been very loosely organized until then

Pisitratus

tyrant of ancient Athens whose unification of Attica and consolidation and rapid improvement of Athens' prosperity helped to make possible the city's later preeminence in Greece.