The Persian Wars and Ancient Naval Warfare

Question 1

Who was Xerxes?

Answer 1

Darius’s son who came to the throne when he died

Question 2

What did Xerxes want to do?

Answer 2

He wanted to match the achievements of his father so he turned to Greece

Question 3

Who else was part of the Persian army?

Answer 3

Syrians, Arabs, Ethiopians, Indians, etc.

Question 4

Who provided vessels and crews for Persia?

Answer 4

Phoenicia, Egypt and Ionia

Question 5

Why did Xerxes want to punish Athens?

Answer 5

For their treatment and involvement of the Ionian revolt and he wanted to add Greece to the Persian empire

Question 6

Who were the major ground forces?

Answer 6

Spartan hoplites

Question 7

Who was the sea power?

Answer 7

Athens, under the direction of Themistocles

Question 8

Who was Themistocles?

Answer 8

One of ten supreme Athenian generals, he allows Sparta to control the army, including the navy, although he was in charge of the naval power

Question 9

What does medise mean?

Answer 9

To play footsies with the enemy -people prepared to surrender

Question 10

Where did King Leonidas go?

Answer 10

Thermopylae with 300 Spartan soldiers and more allies with a total of 4000, but most were peasants

Question 11

What happened at Thermopylae?

Answer 11

Greeks held back Persians for a few days due to the narrow path on the mountains but a Greek traitor revealed a path across the mountain to the Persians; Leonidas then sent allies home so he had about 2000 left and had a final stand to the death

Question 12

What happened at Artemisium?

Answer 12

Athenian navy held out against the Persians fleet but then had to move as the path to central Greece laid open

Question 13

What did Sparta believe to be the last great defence?

Answer 13

Build a great wall at Ismuth of Corinth but this would leave Athens open and the Persians could just sail around to Sparta

Question 14

What did Themistocles say to do?

Answer 14

Abandon Athens and regroup the fleet at Salamis to try and trap the Persian fleet around it as the Greeks knew the waters

Question 15

What couldn’t Xerxes risk?

Answer 15

Getting cut off from his sea-borne supplies

Question 16

What does Themistocles trick Xerxes into thinking?

Answer 16

That the Greeks are medising and will make a run for it, so he will block the Megarian channel

Question 17

What is Ambelaki Bay?

Answer 17

The Greeks hid their fleets in there and as Xerxes’ fleets sailed past, they revealed themselves by trapping Persia so the Greek fleet could attack at full strength and use the choppy weather; Persians lost 200 ships, Greeks list 40

Question 18

What is a trireme?

Answer 18

Greek, oar-powered battle ship with 170 oarsmen in three tiers along each side of the vessel; they had eyes painted on the front to see where they were going

Question 19

How would triremes be used?

Answer 19

Would ram the opponent’s ship with the head of your ship, and attack on the broad side, using the weather and sea in your favour; some ships had a bronze head

Question 20

What was the disadvantage to Phoenician ships?

Answer 20

They were taller so they tipped easier and were useless in choppy weather/seas

Question 21

What happened to Themistocles?

Answer 21

He faded into the background after 478

Question 22

What does Xerxes do when he goes to Athens?

Answer 22

He finds a ghost town and tries to convince the remaining Athenian govn’t to surrender to Persia’s side

Question 23

What happened at Plataea?

Answer 23

Spartans were afraid Athens would switch, so they march north under Parsenius’s lead to fight the Persians; 5000 Spartan citizens, the rest were helots; Each side chose a strong position, the Greeks wore bronze helmets

Question 24

Who led the Persians at Plataea?

Answer 24

Mardonius, Persians had leather caps

Question 25

How did the Persian wars end?

Answer 25

Later Athens gained support from rebel groups in the Nile Delta, Cyprus, and elsewhere, so the Persians successfully contained these threats and came to a peace agreement with Athens: known as The Peace of Kallias