Background: Xerxes and Hellenic league Flashcards
After the battle of Marathon, background to later battles Transition form war against Darius to against Xerxes
In the third year after Marathon, in which country did Darius face a rebellion?
Egypt
In Persian law what has to happen before an expedition can leave?
A successor must be chosen
What was the argument that happened before the expedition?
Which of Darius’ sons should be proclaimed heir
obviously Xerxes won
What stopped Darius from going to war with Greece and Egypt?
His death
In what year did Darius die?
485BC
What does fighting away from home help prevent?
Rebellions in the empire
Who does Herodotus say is responsible for persuading Xerxes to invade Greece?
Mardonius, his cousin
What does Herodotus claim Mardonius really wanted?
To be governer of Greece
The ruling family of which Greek state offered assistance to Xerxes?
Thessaly
Who were the Pisistratidae?
Former tyrants of Athens
What/who was Onomacritus?
A collector of oracles
How did the Pisistratidae use Onomacritus?
To give Xerxes prophecies that would persuade him to invade Greece (any negative prophecies were omitted)
Over what did Xerxes build a bridge to get to Greece?
The Hellespont
What was used to make the bridge Xerxes built?
Triremes and penteconters, held together with papyrus/flax rope and anchors
Why were there small gaps in the bridge?
To let small boats through
What did Xerxes supposedly do when his bridge was destroyed by a storm?
Have soldiers whip the water and throw fetters into it
Why were there screen fences on the bridge?
To stop the animals crossing from being scared of the water
What supposedly happened to the men who built the first bridge?
They were beheaded by Xerxes
Why may Xerxes have thought building the Athos canal was necessary?
In 492 BC Mardonius lost 300 ships and 20,000 men to a storm when on an expedition in Greece
Who brought the Spartans a peace proposal from Xerxes (which they did not accept) ?
Alexander of Macedon
What did the term barbarian mean to the Greeks?
Foreigners, those who did not speak Greek
What did the Greeks call themselves as a whole?
Hellenes
Where was the meeting of the Hellenic leaugue?
The Isthmus of Corinth
chosen for its central location
Who called the first meeting of the Hellenic leaugue?
The Athenians and the Spartans jointly
Which state was recognised as the natural military leader at this point?
Sparta
although the Athenians had growing authority because of their recent victory at Marathon
Which state took presidency of the meeting of the Hellenic leaugue?
The spartans
How many states sent representatives to the meeting of the Hellenic leaugue?
31
To which state was power over the Greek forces given?
Sparta
Which two places (for land and sea) were chosen for the Greeks to fight at?
Thermopylae and Artemisium
they were close together making communication easier
What oath did the states of the Hellenic leaugue take?
That when the Persians were gone, the states that had medised would be forced to give a tenth of their wealth to the god at Delphi
