Winter 480: Preliminaries to Plataea Flashcards
What did the Persian fleet do after Salamis? What did Xerxes fear at this point?
- Withdrew and sailed for Asia without delay and made its headquarters at Samos
- Xerxes feared another revolt from the Ionians
Where did Xerxes go after Salamis?
- He was escorted to the Hellespont with 60,000 Persian soldiers, besieging states who revolted following Salamis
What affect did Salamis have on the Persian strategy?
- It ended the Persian strategy of a combined naval and military invasion
What reason does Thucydides give for his view that the battle of Salamis was the one that saved the Peloponnese?
- “it prevented the Persians from sailing against the Peloponnese and destroying the cities one-by-one for no system of mutual defense could be organised in the face of Persian naval superiority…the fate of Hellas depended on her navy”
Where did Mardonius go after Salamis?
- He moved north, now in command of the land forces, to winter in Thessaly until the campaigning season next year
What was Mardonius’ new strategy? What had he realised? What alternative benefit would his strategy have? What two things did he then do?
- To detach Athens from the Greek league
- He had realised that unified, the Greeks were a formidable force, but would be easy pickings if they were separated
- The Athenian fleet would also substitute for the loss of the Persian fleet
- Sent Alexander (King of Macedonia) as an arbitrator of a peace offering from the Persians to the Athenians
- Meanwhile gold was sent to Sparta’s enemies in the Peloponnese, most notably Argos, to try and undermine Sparta’s resistance
What did Mardonius promise Athens? What did he say would happen if they did not make peace? What did Sparta do when they heard of this?
- Mardonius promised Athens that, if they joined with the Persians, Athens would be promised autonomy and freedom, and would be given any land desired and help rebuilding the temples
- He said that if they did not make peace, the city would once again be occupied and devastated
- Upon hearing of this message, the Spartans sent delegations of their own to Athens to urge the Athenians to reconsider any proposals and remain loyal to the Greek cause
According to Herodotus, how did the Athenians respond to Mardonius’ ‘peace offering’? (5 - 3 of which are quotes)
- The Athenians made it clear that they weren’t to be bribed or intimidated by Persia
- “So long as the sun holds its course we will never make peace with Persia”
- “We will fight…trusting in the aid of the gods and the heroes whom he has disregarded, and burnt their houses and adornments”
- “We do not want those who are out friends and protectors to suffer any harm at Athenian hands”
- The Greeks wouldn’t abandon their kinship and countrymen
According to Herodotus, what did the Athenians say to the Persians about their rejection of Mardonius’ offer? (3 - 2 of which are quotes)
- “We think that it is an ignoble thing to be afraid” (THEY SAID THIS TO THE SPARTANS #SHADE)
- The Athenians said that they wouldn’t wish for their temples to be destroyed and couldn’t abandon their kinship with the other Greeks
- “As long as one Athenian is left alive, we will make no agreement with Xerxes”
What did the Athenians do after rejecting Mardonius’ offer?
- They evacuated Athens again and retreated to Salamis, knowing the Persians would strike in the spring and recapture the city. From here they pleaded with the Spartans and the Peloponnesians for assistance
According to Herodotus, what reason do the Spartans give for not lending assistance to Athens at this time (when they had evacuated Athens again)? What were the Spartans doing at this time?
- They do not actually give a reason for not helping the Athenians. The Ephors delayed answering the call for help for almost a fortnight
- During this time, the Spartans continued to build their wall across the Isthmus
What does Herodotus claim is a possible explanation for why the Spartans did not immediately help the Athenians when asked? (quote)
- “the fortifications of the Isthmus were now complete, and they therefore felt that Athenian help was no longer necessary”
What can we learn about the Spartan/Athenian alliance from Sparta’s delay in assisting the Athenians?
- The alliance was insincere
What eventually convinced the Ephors to send help to the Athenians? How many did they send? Where the Athenians aware of this? What did they subsequently do?
- The fear of turning the Athenians into enemies
- Sent 5000 Spartans to help them
- The Athenians were unaware that they had sent help and so threatened to join Xerxes. The Ephors promptly swore that they had in fact sent help
Compare how the Phocians reacted to assisting the Persians vs the Thebans. When/why did the Phocians send men to help the Persians?
- The Phocians were more reluctant to join the Persians than the Thebans were and did so “from necessity rather than willingly”
- The Thebans and the Persians were on very good terms. They held a banquet for the most important Persians
- The Phocian army only sent men to help the Persians after this banquet, almost as if the Theban’s relationship convinced them
