XERXE Flashcards
Hellenic League?
formed in Corinth in 481 BC
Resist the Persians
Who was Xerxes and why did he attack?
Son and successor of Darius
Attacked as revenge for burning of Sardis and shame of Marathon and persuaded by Mardonius his best general.
Battle of Thermopylae?
-Only interested in 1st defending Isthmus of Corinth but told to help defend closer at Thermopylae
Possibly in hopes that Persia would wipe out their long time rival Athens and be weakened for Sparta to finish them off.
-They were also reliant on Athenian naval capability
- 300 hundred Spartan hoplites led by Leonidas
- fight them in a narrow passage between cliffs and the ocean.
- Traitor told Persian forces of a road and led Xerxes and commander Hydarnes took Immortals to surprise attack them.
- Leonidas dismissed a large amount of the soldiers
- tells army that they shall dine in the under world tonight.
- Spartans try to gain an advantage by trying to gain a higher ground.
- they fought bravely managing to kill many immortals as well as two Xerxes brothers.
- battle bought Greece more time and raised morale.
Name of traitor?
Ephialtes
Battle of Salamis?
480
- Oracle “find safety behind wooden walls” meaning their ships
- need to destroy navy to stop them traveling else where and start destroying there
- Peloponnesian wanted to cut back to the isthmus
- Athenians determined to stay where they were and fight in the narrows.
- Themistocles tricked Xerxes by sending slave who tells them Greeks are really scarred and are planning on fleeing soon.
- Xerxes responds by immediately attacking
- Themistocles also wanted them to fight in the narrows to give the greeks a better fighting chance.
- also had advisor Artemisia queen of Halicarnassus
- smaller ships easier to move and sink larger Persian ships.
- Persians lost 200 Hundred ships
- Xerxes leaves army and returns to Asia
What Mountain did Xerxes watch the battle of Salamis from?
Mount Aigaleo
Quote?
From battle of Salamis Xerxes “my men have become women and my women have become men” Book. 8.88
Artemisia story at the battle of Salamis
Being pursued by Athenian ship, she attacks a Persian ship with king on board she was not getting along with anyway to seem that she is defected from the Persians as to not be attack by the Athenian navy. She pulls down Persian colours and raises Athenian.
Battle of Plataea
479 August
Persians cut off source of water causing Greeks to have to move camps.
- Spartans did not know how to Siege so had to wait for Athenians to come to get foothold in the wall of the encamped Persians
- Mardonius killed during battle (Mardonius in a Persian general left in charge by Xerxes)
- He lost battle by not learning his lesson at marathon which was not to enter into conflict with greek heavy armour and by not using their cavalry wisely.
Gold tripod created with 31 city states that participated in the battle
- effectively ended the Persian invasions
According Herodotus what was Xerxes character flaw?
Hubris (imagined himself on the same levels as Gods)
Names that were involved and spelling
Xerxes Leonidas Hydarnes Artemisia Mardonius Themistocles
