Historical Background:
GREECE & PERSIA
MAP: the march of the 10,000
PERSIA was the heir to a long tradition
of empire in the Near East:
ASSYRIAN EMPIRE
to 1350 Old Assyrian
1350-1000 Middle Assyrian
c1230 Tukulti-Ninurta:
defeats Hittites, subjugates Babylon
1115-77 Tiglath-pileser
I
1030-19 Shalmaneser
II
1000-609 Neo-Assyrian
966-935 Tiglath-pileser
II
934-912 Ashur-dan
II
911-891 Adad-nirari
II
890-884 Tukulti-Ninurta
II
883-859 Ashurnasirpal
II
858-824 Shalmaneser
III
823-811 Shamshi-Adad
V
810-783 Adad-nirari
III
782-773 Shalmaneser
IV
772-755 Ashur-dan
III
754-745 Ashur-nirari
V (sic)
744-727 Tiglath-pileser
III (renewal of Assyria after temporary decline)
733
conquest of Galilee
726-722 Shalmaneser
V
721-705 Sargon
II
720
sack of Hama (Aramaean) -- no Gk pottery inland afterward
704-681 Sennacherib
680-669 Esarhaddon
c674.
marries daughter to Scythian king
668-c30
Ashurbanipal
c630-c23 Ashur-etel-ilani
622?-12
Sin-Shar-ishkun
611-609 Ashur-uballit
II
612: Nineveh falls to Babylonian/Median
force = end of Assyrian empire
Assyrian territories
apportioned among Babylon, Lydia, Medes, Egypt
LATE/NEO-BABYLONIAN EMPIRE
604-562 Nebuchadrezzar II
605: Neb defeats
forces of Pharoah Neco at Carchemish
561-560 Amel-Marduk
559-556 Neriglissar
556 Labashi-Marduk
555-539 Nabonidus
538 Cyrus II captures
Babylon
MEDIA
late 8th c? Deiokes: lawgiver;
builds Ekbatana (=ÔDaiukkuÕ in Assyr annals of 715?)
625-585 Cyaxares
585-550 Astyages
549 empire conquered
by Cyrus II
LYDIA/PHRYGIA
738-696/5? Midas (Mita) of Phrygia
c. 680-c. 652 Gyges: his Memnad dynasty
fairly Philhellenic
c. 652-630 Ardys
c. 630-610 Sadyattes
c. 610-560 Alyattes: destroys
Smyrna ca. 600; absorbed by Kroisos
585
concludes peace w/ Medes
c 560-46 Croeusus: Gks pay
cash tribute to Sardis
546 falls to Cyrus
II
Persian (Achaemenid) state
cities/power centers: Pers rulers exercise
power by travelling
Ekbatana (summer capital?)
Persepolis (main, new capital,
transf fr Persagidai by Darius; where tribute goes)
Susa (capital of Elamite territory,
prob less impt--winter capital?)
Sardis (Ionian ctr)
Babylon
kingship: Zoroastrian principles; gardens
as symbols of cosmos; gift-exchange
remote fr subjects, but micromanage
main aspects: patron; financial
mgr; warlord; representative of god Ahuramazda
satrapies: beg w/ Cyrus; local govÕt
forms retained (cf Rome); tribute
Darius I reorganizes into 20
tax districts (ÒnomoiÓ, Hdt 3.89-97)
records refer to peoples rather
than regions
military:
standing central army (ÒThe
10,000Ó, 1000 being kinsman bodyguard of king)
standing satrapal armies (answer
to king; satraps perhaps had personal armies)
tributary fleets (Cypriot,
Egyptian, Phoenician, Ionian)
troop conscriptions (by satrap;
retain local organizÕn; large #s, but weak)
Persian (Achaemenid) rulers
c650-620:Teispes (of Anshan)
c620-590: Cyrus I (Kurash; Kurow)
c590-559 (550?): Cambyses I
559 (550?)-530: Cyrus II the Great
(Hdt 1.108-130 on accession)
549: conquers Astyages of Media,
absorbs Median empire
546: conquers Croesus of Lydia: Lyds
had tribute relationship w Ionian Gks
Cyrus urges Gks to rebel before
attacking; after grants special status to Miletos
Lydian Paktyes leads revolt;
Gks aid and are punished; many flee
540: Pers ctrl of Asia Minor secure;
support tyrants in Gk cities
539: Cyrus II conquers
Babylon, Palestine, Syria, Phoenicia, Libya
530: Cyrus II dies fighting
in NE Media
530-522: Cambyses II
535: conquers Egypt,
w help of Phoenician fleet
522: Kambyses II dies
under mysterious circumstances
522: Smerdis (Bardiya): ÒMagi
ConspiracyÓ: final Median opposition to Persians
520-486: Darius I (son of Hystaspes,
descendant of Achemenes)
=> Behistun inscription: makes D legit
Achaemenid ruler
=> marries CambysesÕ wife Atossa;
reorg kingdom into 20 ÒsatrapiesÓ
c515: Skythian invasion:
Ionian Gk tyrants aid D
500: Megabazus, then
Otanes extend Persian hegemony in Thrace
by 500: Al Mina rebuilt and reopened;
Persians encourage Gk trade
Ath pots predominant,
but probably arrive through (E Gk?) middlemen
coins: Ath, Aig
c500; a few Ionian and Cypriot
490: naval attack on Naxos, Athens
(Marathon)
486-465/4: Xerxes I
Greek-Persian conflict
in the early fifth century: personalities
Athenians
Miltiades (II) (c560?-490): Philaidai
clan; nephew of Milt (I), Ath enterprises in Chersonese under Peisistratids;
archon 524/3; given Chersonese command after brother Stesagoras; marries
daughter of Thracian King Oloros; supports Pers in Skyth campaign; intrigues
@ Lemonos during Ion revolt, for which tried for tyranny and acquitted;
strategos 490/89; hero of Marathon; father of Kimon; dies fr wound during
unsuccessful attack on Paros
Themistokles (c524-460): father Lykominid
(regional agenda: Sounion), mother non-Ath; archon 493/2; perhaps assoc
w/switch to sortition in archon appt 487/6; author of use of Laurion silver
to build fleet in 483/2; urges Ath decampment to Salamis & hero of
battle there; (tricks Pers into entering straits); ostracized 470, goes
to Argos; accused by Sp of joining Pausanias in intries w/ Persia, flees
to Corcyra, Epiros, Macedonia (Molossia); condemned to death in absentia
in Ath; post-465 made governor of Magnesia on the Meander by Artaxerxes;
dies there (natural orsuicide)
Aristides (c525?-c467): trad poor though
prob cousin of arist Kallias; supporter of Kleisthenes; trad constructs
as upright foil to wily Themist; archon 489; ostracized 483/s (AthPol 22.7)
on accusation of Medism (M&L 21); hoplite cmmdr island of Psyttaleia
in Salamis battle (Hdt 8.76, 95), and @ Plataia; aids Themist in tricking
Sp as Ath rebuild walls; intial tribute assessment of Del Lg; then drops
out of sight
Xanthippos (c525?-c472): husband of
KleisthenesÕ niece Agariste; father of Perikles; prosecutes Miltiades
(II) after Paros; ostracized484 (M&L 42); commands Ath contingent @
Mykale in 479; leads Gk attack on Sestos, captured by Pers
Eurybiades (?): commands Hellenic League
fleet at Artemisium and Salamis; overshadowed by Themistokles
Spartans
Kleomenes (I) (reigning Agiad c520-490):
role in attempt to depose Polykrates? 511-5, meddling in Ath affairs; 499
refuses to get involved in Ion Rev; 494 (or 496?): victory @ Sepeia, panhellenizing
stance (sacrifice @ Argive Heraion), K acquitted on chg of not destroying
Argos (Hdt 6.76-8, 7.148); 491 prosecutes Aigina for Medism; latter event
shows his hostility to Eurypontid king Demaratos, whom he deposes and (has
replaced?) with sympathetic Leotychides
Demaratos (reigning Eurypontid c ):
opposes Kleom, is deposed as nothos, flees to Sp Leotychides
Pausanias: Spartan commander
Ionians
Histiaios of Miletos: collaborates
w/ Pers; @ Hellespont in 513; at Pers court in 511
Aristagoras of Miletos: successor of
Histaios in 511
Persians
Xerxes
Darius
Artaphernes: satrap of Ionia; 506,
Ath appeal to him
Mardonios: DariusÕ son-in-law
?
Persian-Gk relations
to 499
546: Sp agrees to aid Croesus against Persia,
but Sardis falls to Cyrus before aid is sent; Gks seem to think Croesus
will prevail (Hdt 1.81-3); Sp sends embassy to Cyrus to warn not to meddle
in Gk affairs (Hdt 1.141, 152-3). Gk appeals rebuffed; by c540 Ion Gks
give up resistance and pro-Pers tyrants ctrl cities
=> aftermath: Phokaians migrate to
Elea and Teans to Abdera (Hdt 1.163-8)
c540: Ionian Gks aid failed rebellion
of satrap Paktyes; Ionia made into 2 satrapies headquartered @ Sardis and
Daskyleion under Mazares and Harpagos
539: Cyrus takes Phoenicia, which gives
Persia a fleet, and Neo-Babylonian empire, so that trade moves overland
instead of to Ionian ports
525: Pers takeover of Eg by Kambyses
-- break in Gk pottery to 500 @ Naukratis
Sp/Corinth expedition against Polykrates
of Samos fails; Sp recasts foreign policy: 1) ctrl of Pelop land power;
2) avoid entanglements in E Aegean (Sealey Ch. 8)
522: Darius comes to power; Persia
takes Samos from Polykrates
Letter of Darius to Gadates
(M&L 12; Sealey p. 176)
=> Ion obligations under Darius: annual
400 a serious burden on Gks T (Hdt 3.89-92, 5.28); demands ships &
men (Lydians only $)
c518: Kleomenes of Sp rejects request
by Maiandrios of Samos for aid against Syloson & Darius, has ephors
expel him (Hdt 3.142-8)
c514-0: DariusÕ Skythian invasion
Byzantion & Chalkedon subjugated,
Macedonian Amyntas allies w/ Pers; Chersonese & S Thrace annexed as
new satrapy (Doriskos & Eion); Ionians aid D; Miltiades (embodiment
of Ath power in region) urges they destroy DÕs Hellespont bridge,
isolating him in Europe (Hdt 4.87-142). Kleom rejects Scythian request
for aid (Hdt 6.84)D retreats fr Skythia, leaves Megabyzos in chg of Eur
possessions; D inactive for a time. Perhaps DÕs main purpose is
to est base in Europe to pressure Gks and prep for attack; slaves, grain,
silver, timber from the region denied non-Medizing Gks
510: Hippias of Athens driven out by
Kleom, flees to Sp @ Sigeion
507/8: Ath aristocrats perhaps appeal
to Pers for aid against Kleisthenes (Hdt 5.73)
c506: Ath embassy appeals to Ataphernes
for help against Kleomenes, promise earth & H2O; ambassadors rebuked
on return to Ath
by 500: Ath pottery dominates market
(eg Al Mina); Sealey p. 183:
500: Persian/Milesian expedition against
Naxos. Histiaios of Miletos called to Persian court (511? reward? suppression?);
Naxian exiles approach his successor Aristagoras
=> Persian impact on Gk politics: example
of Athens & Aigina
7th c: pottery similarities suggest
close ties; commercial (?) rivalry develops.
6th c: Hdt 5.79-80: Thebes, def by
Ath, turns to Aig; in response to Aig harrassment, Ath gets (Delphic?)
oracle saying attack in 30 yrs.
5th c: Aig temple of Athene Aphaia
c480: scenes of Herakles & Ajax replace those of Zeus-rapt ÒAiginaÓ.
PindarÕs Aig odes ex of elite competition. 491: Aig offers earth
& water to Persia; Ath appeals to Sp, causing division between Sp kings:
for Osborne Ch 9, decisive moment when Sp goes anti-Persian. Question
of Sp taking Aig hostages (Hdt 6.73, 85-6). Corinth & Argos join against
Aig; outcome uncertain: Aig ends up anti-Persian. Themistokles uses threat
of Aig to aid support of Piraios fortificÕn and naval buildup
Ionian Revolt
499: Aristagoras of Miletos tries w/ Persian
backing to take Naxos and install exiles; though Hdt makes A author of
plan, suspect Pers designs on Cyclades & Euboia (Hdt 5.31.3), conflicting
w/ A/Nax plant to ctrl (Hdt 5.30). Having failed, Aristagoras goes popularis:
resigns tyranny, supports overthrow of other tyrants; canvasses mainland
Gr for support. Hekataios: naval policy (Hdt 5.38, 49-51). Sealey (p.
176) argues anti-tyrant rhetoric is smokescreen
498: Aristag seeks help from Kleomenes,
using rhetoric of freedom vs slavery, who refuses; receives some help from
Ath (20 ships) and Euboia (5)
Athenian/Eretrian/Ionian attack on
Sardis, called in by Aristagoras, using rhetoric of Ionian solidarity (cf
Bias of Priene @ PanIonian games, Hdt 1.170), whom Sp Kleomenes had driven
out; he diverts attack on Miletos to Sardis (Hdt 5.97ff); Aths suffer 2nd
defeat @ Ephesos and withdraws
497 (or 495/4): Cyprus rebels; Pers
retake w/ aid of Ionian fleet (unwilling to obey Phokian cmmdr)
c496: Histiaios suspected by Artaphernes,
flees to Byzantion and harasses shipping; H wants to return (slave tattooed
scalp story); underlying stasis in Ion cities (to Hdt 5.37.2)
495: Persians defeat Ionian fleet @
LADE (Hdt 6.81): combined Gk fleet of 350 ships loses to 600 Pers vessels
494: Persians retake Miletos. Artaphernes
set up as satrap of Ionia: new taxation system based on land survey; tyrannies
abolished; elite may suffer loss of privileges; Pers generally lenient
(Hdt 6.18)
historical interpretation
=> HERODOTOS writes ÒloserÕs
historyÓ of Ionian Revolt; rhet aim to contrast unsuccessful Ion
revolt w/ success on Gk mainland: Medizing, Asia Minor Ionians vs Ath Ionians
= tensions in Ath Empire (1.143). Sealey Ch 7: Hdt causation built on
Òjustificatory grievancesÓ: thus Ath involvement in revolt
explains Pers attack; but S notes generalized nature of 490 invasion (not
just Ath), and suggests that Scyth expedition was intended to secure Thrace
(which it did) as prelude to taking Gr; thus for S the 490 attack was meant
to secure sea route for invasion, abandoned for land-based 480 attack
=> M Lang 1968 ÒHerodotus and
the Ionian RevoltÓ Historia 17: 24-36: revolt long planned (since
513/2); Aristag and Histiaios head revolutionary movement; Hist chooses
Myrkinos for its resources & strategic position, and continues to plan
fr Susa; Aristag uses Naxian request for aid as excuse to mobilize Ion
fleet; plan backfires when Darius doubles # of ships; Aristagoras, not
Megabazos responsible for warning Naxians
K Waters 1970 ÒHerodotus and
the Ionian RevoltÓ Historia 19: 504-8: HdÕts focus on personal
motives due to his reliance on oral trad; no single cause, but individuals
provide occasion (esp Aristag); Hdt focuses on disunity and treachery:
Pers split opposition by diplomacy; only 8 Ionian states fight @ Lade,
and they quarrel; Ephesians massacre Chian survivors
Aftermath of Ionian Revolt
494: Battle of Sepeia: successful Sp
invasion of Argos, after conclusion of 50-yr truce (Hdt 6.76-82)
493: Pers fleet captures islands, cities
in N Aegean
Themistokles (c525-c460) archon; uses
silver @ Laurion to construct fleet (Òwooden wallsÓ; cf Aisch
Pers 233-8); also gets Ath to accede to Sp leadership (Plut Them 7.3f);
perhaps Peiraios wall constr
492: Mardonios (DariusÕ son-in-law)
brings more forces to As Min; imposition of ÒdemokratiaiÓ
(Hdt 6.43.3); Mardonios attacks Thrace and Macedonia; his fleet is destroyed
in a storm off Mt Athos
491: Darius demands earth & water
fr mainland Gk states; Kleomenes attempts to punish AiginaÕs Medizing
thru Pel Lg (Hdt 7.133), thwarted by other king Demaratos; then bribes
Delphic Oracle to declare Dem illegitimate, but found out; flees perhaps
to Arkadia to engineer return to Sp
490: Kleom recalled to Sp, prosecuted,
goes crazy and cuts himself to pieces
=> Generally: the Persian experience
coalesces ideas of Òto HellenikonÓ (Hdt 8.144.2)
Herodotean causes
of Persian wars
like epic, over-determined
Athens appeals to Persia following
KleomenesÕ invasion (5.73)
Demokedes of Kroton, Hippias of Athans,
Demaratos of Sparta: exile to Persian court (3.133-7)
Demokedes of Kroton, doctor @ Persian
court, wants to go home (3.125-37)
Syloson of Samos (brother of Polykrates):
elite appeal to Persian power
Aigina offers earth & water to
Persia (6.73ff)
Hippias urges Darius to take Athens
()
=> Hdt privileges persona vengeance
motive, revenge
=> his main chain is: tension betw
Pers-supported tyrants (4.137.2); MiltiadesÕ attempt to free Ionians
vetoed by HistiaiosÕ assertion that Ion tyrants owe their positions
to Persia, though demoi want demokratia; narr beg w/ Airstagoras &
Naxians
=> revolt ill-conceived and deserved
to fail (5.105): persoanl ambition not good cause; failure fr hybris
ATHENIAN policy before
Marathon
Sealey (Ch 7) concludes that Ath pursues
no long-term program in the 490s; that Themistokles rises to power slowly
in this period; that Ath rejection of earth/H2) tribute to Persia due to
AiginaÕs apparent acceptance of Pers hegemony (ie local fear rather
than ÒprincipleÓ)
Sealey rejects idea that Ath pol factions
form along pro/anti-Sp lines, looks to personalities. HippiasÕ
involvement in 490 attack suggests continued Peis support in Marathon region;
from this perspective, anti-Persian = pro-Alkmaionid
consider also personal embassies: eg
Aristagoras of Miletos @ Athens (Hdt 5.97) appeals to sympathy, machismo
Òethnic prideÓ, greed: broaches 1) Asian wealth; 2) ostensible
weakness of Persians as warriors; 3) Ionian connection to Ath
Sealey suggests fear of treachery may
motivate Aths to take the offensive; yet S contradicts himself by saying
that fear of 5th column motivates, but at same time failure of same to
materialize = evidence of Ath unity
493: Argos & Aigina at war w/ Ath;
Corinth opposes Pel Lg support of Aig
power of drama: (prob ) 493 = performance
of PhrynikosÕ ÒSack of MiletosÓ -- Sealey likes the
Òtoo-close-to-homeÓ explanation for his being fined; but
perhaps the impt point is, who prosecutes? presumably opponents of Persian
intervention (Alkmaionid?)
MiltiadesÕ return in 493: his
experiences on border of expanding Pers infl (eg @ Hellesp bridge) makes
him a persuasive speaker
483/2: construction of Ath fleet fr
Laurion silver fund (Themistokles)
SPARTAN policy before
Marathon
failure in Samian campaign of 525 (515?)
convinces Sp to quit meddling in E Aegean
c519: Kleomenes engineers alliance
between Ath & Plataia (Hdt 6.108; Thuc 3.68.5)
c513: Dorieus to N Africa, founds Kinyps
c511: Anchimolios leads Sp fleet against
Phaleron (Hdt 5.63)
Dorieus expelled fr Kinyps
510: Dorieus to Sicily, helps Kroton
destroy Sybaris; dies in battle @ Herakleia
508/7: Kleom aids IsagorasÕ
party in expelling Kleisthenes (Hdt 5.63-5, 70, 72)
506: KleomÕs attack on Ath frustrated
by revolt of Corinth, other allies, Demaratos (Hdt 5.74f)
c503: Corinth leads opposition to Sp
plant to restore Hippias (Hdt 5.90-3)
499: AristagorasÕ rhetoric fails
@ Sparta (nb he has a MAP): Ath/Sp contrast in Hdt; AristÕs ambiguity
and SpÕs ambiguous relationship to tyrants (Hdt 5.38, 49-51)
Hdt 7.133-7: Sp compensatory heralds;
Sealey Ch 8 sees as attempt at rapproachment w Pers
491: hostility between Sp kings: Kleom
deposes Demaratos over issue of punishing Aigina for Medism
1st Persian Attack (490
BCE)
Darius gathers fleet @ Cilicia sends
w former Ath tyrant Hippias against Attica,
en route: attack Naxos (sacked), Eretria
(betrayed), Karystos (defeated), Delos (respected)
Miltiades, Athenian general, leads
Gks to victory @ Marathon; Hdt glorifies Milt over polemarch Kallimachos,
who is killed
Pheidippides (Pan) sends to Sp; Spartans
claim to be unable to aid for relig reasons
Alkmaeonids accused of signalling Persians
to sail around Cape Sounion and attack Ath
yet see above: Sealey argues
anti-Persian = pro-Alkmaionid -- impossible to tell if chg is unjustified
attack by anti-Alk faction
Interim
=> MEDIZING POLEIS: Thebes; Aigina;
Macedon (Hdt 4.1, 83-144, Strabo 7.305). Sealey Ch 8: cause for reproach
only after repulse of Persians (but cf Sp vs Aigina in 491)
490/89: Miltiades leads fleet against
Paros; is wounded and abandons siege; prosecuted @ Ath, fined 50T but dies
of gangrene; son Kimon pays fine. precedent for Aths using Medizing as
pretext for plunder and extension of infl
490-80: Themistokles vs Aristeides
for ctrl of Ath policy
Sparta: marriage irregularities
in royal houses; probable Messenian unrest
488/7: War of Athens with Aigina
first ostracism, of Hipparchos, HippiasÕ
grandson; pattern of ostracisms and (at least alleged) link to Medizing
suggest the anti-Persian policy is popular w demos; yet when 2nd round
looms, ostracized are recalled
archon choice by sortition (AthPol
22.5; cf Arist Pol 5.1303a15f: Herea in Pelop adopts sortion in order to
avoid excessive competition among candidates)
486: Darius succeeded by Xerxes I;
succession and Eg revolt delay 2nd attack
Megakles ostracized, PeriklesÕ
maternal uncle (prob, and Pind Pyth 7.14-8)
485: Pers prepare for attack: bridges
and canals
483/2: Shipbuilding program under Themistokles
(Laurion silver)
Ostracism of Aristides
481: as threat impends, attempts to
patch up inter-Gk disputes, appeal to uncommitted states (eg Gelon of Syracuse:
Carthaginians); Sp emerges as leader of resistance, ie
HELLENIC LEAGUE
(Hdt 7.132, 144f, 172; 8.3; M&L
24-7; Sealey Ch 8). Sp in ctr; Ath sullen. membership optional; limited
Pers objective though continues to 460s; Ôsame friends & enemiesÕ
basis (suspension of Ath/Aig conflict)
481: 1st (Foundation) Congress (location
unknown): not actually named; member-states send probouloi; victors dedicate
serpent inscr @ Delphi (M&L 27), Òthese fought the warÓ.
Sealey sees 3 constituents: Sp and Pel Lg (dominant); Ath/Plataia/Thespis
(Ath general vetoed); Cor and dependencies. Sends unsuccessful embassies
to Sicily, Corcyra, Crete, Argos; Hdt 7.150.2: Xerxes comes to terms w/
Argos.
480: 2nd Congress (Isthmus): intra-Thessalian
rivalry leas opponents of Thess Aleuadae to obtain 10,000 hoplites to try
to hold passes fr Macedon to Thess; Aleuads apparently win out and hoplites
return, infecta re
Ath exiles recalled: ostracism
tension set aside (ÒThemistokles DecreeÓ)
2nd Persian Attack (480-79)
480: Persians invade by land, approx.
200,000 and > 1,000 ships, Xerxes personally in chg; Thessalians appeal;
10000 hoplites invest Tempe pass but withdraw before Pers cross Hellesp
THERMOPYLAI (Hdt 7.175-8.21): Gks may
have thought 7000-man force insufficient; Sp success; death of Sp king
Leonidas
Pers fleet battered by storms on Magnesian
coast
ARTEMESION (Hdt 7.175-8.21): Gks perhaps
pin hopes on naval victory (yet nb Pers success @ Lade in 494); fleet is
ÒnewÓ (Ath contingent raised mainly post-483/2); Gks attack,
but are driven back after 3 days; Gk fleet retreats to Salamis
Persian fleet proceeds to Phaleron,
arriving 9 days after Thermop (Hdt 8.40-2)
Aths empty Attika (Hdt 8.40-2); Persians
occupy Athens; destroy Acropolis
ÒDecree of ThemistoklesÓ:
3rd c inscription @ Troezen, perhaps preserving 5th c material; likely
text referred to inDemosth 19.303 (348). Provisions all (jenoi, tekna,
gunaikai) to decamp to Troizen; presbutai and kthmata to Salamis; tamiai
and iereai to remain; departure in 200 ships; names Sp, Cor, Aigina as
allies; specifies ÒtomorrowÓ (aurion); detailed provisions
for mobilizÕn (# of ships, age classes, officers, etc); recall of
exiles; contra Hdt shows evac of Attika prior to battles of Thermop &
Artemis
Hdt 8.49-64: against prevailing
desire to fall back and fortify Isthmus, Themistokles prevails on Sp Eurybiades
to keep fleet @ Salamis, engage there
SALAMIS (Hdt 8.97-107, 113-120, 130;
M&L 23; Aesch Pers): Gk naval victory; tricky Themistokles; claim of
Corinthian cowardice
Xerxes w/ Pers fleet returns to Sardis,
leaving large infantry contingent under Mardonios, who overwinters in Thessaly,
offers Aths generous terms
479: Mardonios invades Attika again
(summer)
Ath embassy to Sp (Xanthippos, Myronides,
Kimon) complains about failure to take initiative; tension in Hel Lg about
failure to est defensive line in Boiotia
Mardonios sacks Ath and withdraws fr
Attika, perhaps owing to threat of unrest in Ionia; Gks under Sp Pausanias
pursue into Boiotia; skirmishing
PLATAIA (Hdt 9.12-89): decisive Gk
victory; Mardonios and most of his army killed
MYKALE (Hdt 8.131f, 9.90-107, 114-21)
on same day as Plataia (trad), Gk (largely Ath) fleet led by Sp king Leotychidas,
gathered @ Aigina, enticed by Chians to Delos; Samos appeals; def Pers
Hel Lg council (Hdt 9.106): proposal
to transplant Ionians vetoed by Aths; islanders admitto to Hel Lg, but
not mainland Ionia (too difficult to defend); afterwards all but Athenians
(under Xanthippos) return home
Persians retreat under Artabazus
Gk navy victorious @ Mt Mykale; ceded
to Ath ctrl (Hdt 8.3), fleet sails to Abydos under Aristides & Xanthippos
to find Persian bridge over Hellespont destroyed
Themistokles celebrated @ Sp, but given
no command
479/8: fleet besieges Persians @ SESTOS
and finally take it, crucifying Pers governor for sex in Protesilaus shrine
@ Elaious (Hdt 9.114-22; Thuc 1.89.2). Hdt makes Sestos a purely Athenian
affair; Thuc includes so-called allies fr Ionia & Hellespont.
LAST DAYS of THEMISTOKLES: Thuc 1.135-8:
Th implicated in Medism of Pausanias; Th at the time traveling, ostracized,
in Pel Ôw residence @ ArgosÕ; flees to Corcyra, then to Molossia.
hellride to Ephesos; appeals to Artaxerxes (succeeds Xerxes in 465/4),
learns Persian. Finds respect & governeorship of Magnesia w/ Persians.
Thuc gives a peaceful death. Sealey thinks Th a suspicious figure in Pel,
perhaps Argive agent
Persian Wars bibliography
J Balcer 1987 Herodotus and Bisutun: Problems
in Ancient Persian Historiography Historia Einzelschriften 49 Stuttgart
J Cook 1983 The Persian Empire London
R Frye 1983 The History of Ancient
Iran Munic
D Graf 1985 ÒGreek Tyrants and
Achaemenid PoliticsÓ in J Eadie and J Ober edd The craft of the
Ancient Historian London pp 79-123
P Helm 1980 ÒHerodotusÕ
Medikos Logos and Median HistoryÓ Iran 19:85-90
J Hofstetter 1978 Die Griechen in Persien:
Prosopographie be Griechen im persischen Reich vor Alexander Berlin
H Sancisi-Weerdenburg and A Kuhrt 1987
Achaemenid History II: The Greek Sources Leiden
R Sealey 1976 A History of The Greek
City-States Berkeley
From the Persian Wars
to the Peloponnesian War
478 Sp. Pausanias leads allied
fleet against Cyprus, Byzantium; his recall
Pausanias successfully opposes
Spartan attempts to depose the Delphic council for Medizing
death of Gelon
477 Delian Lg. est.
c476 Kimon takes Eion (Pers.-held),
Skyros (non-Gk; bones of Theseus); Karystos (Medizers),
Naxos (proth poliw:
forcible reintegration into Del. Lg.)
Hiero transplants Naxians and
Katanians to Leontini, refounds Catania as Etna (Pind P 1, Soph Women of
Etna)
476-467 Hiero I tyrant of Syracuse
474 Cumaeans appeal to Hiero,
who sends fleet and defeats Etruscan fleet @ Naples
472 Perikles choregos for Aisch
Persai
c470 Argos destroys Tiryns
c469 Kimon’s double victory over
Persians @ Eurymedon
468 Sophokles 1st victory in
tragedy
468/7 fall of meteor at Aigospotamai
(Parian Marble)
467 death of Hiero I of Syracuse
ca 467 large meteorite falls near
Aigispotamai in Thrace (addressed by Anaxagoras)
c466-405 period of democracy in Sicily
c465 failed Ath. settlement at Ennea
Hodoi in Thrace
Thasos rebels fr. Del. Lg.;
forced back after 3-yr. siege
Messenain uprising prevents
Sp. fr. aiding Thasos
Pericles’ unsuccessful prosecution
of Kimon for not invading Macedon
Ephialtes’ reforms
465/4 Artaxerxes succeeds Xerxes
Themistokles ostracized
463 (prob.) Perikles general
with Ephialtes
Perikles prosecutes Kimon after
Thasos campaign
462 Ephialtes and Perikles reform
Areopagos
earthquake in Peloponnese;
Messenian uprising
Ath. contingent under Kimon dismissed
by Sp as help against Messenians
Messenians give up to Sp at
Ithome on terms
462/1 Kimon ostracized
Ephialtes assassinated
Megara and Argos ally with
Ath
460s end of Sicilian tyrannies
460-454 Ath supports Egyptian revolt
fr. Persia
460-46: 1st Peloponnesian
War (or dated 458-456)
c459 Cor/Epidauran fl. def. @ Haliai
Ath def. Aig. at sea and lays
siege; Cor attempts aid by invading Megara but is itself def.
c458 oligarchic Ath faction makes
overtures to Sp.
battles of Oinophyta and Tangara:
Ath conquest of Boiotia
birth of Lysias (Athens or
Sicily); d. ca. 380
building of Long Walls between
Peiraios and Athens
457 Sp. supports Doris against
Phocis; Ath def. @ Tangara
Thessaly deserts Ath alliance
456/5 Ath Tolmides circumnavigates
and raids Peloponnese
454 Ath loses 250 ships in Egypt
Ath Tribute Lists begin
Ath attempts to install pretender
in Thessaly
Kimon recalled; leads expedition
to Cyprus; dies
returning fleet def.Phoen/Cyp/Cilic
fl. near Cyprian Salamis (last large-scale battle w/ Persia)
(prob) transfer of Delian League
treasury to Ath
453 Perikles’ unsuccessful siege
in Acarnania and Cor Gulf(P’s 1st mention in Thuc.)
late 450s to early 440s Ionians
disaffected with Ath rule => despatch of cleruchies
c452 Sikel uprising under Duketios
451 5-yr spondai
irregularities in ATL show
disaffection in league (Peace of Kallias?)
Kimon returns from ostracism
Perikles’ citizenship law
c450 ‘Congress Decree’: Perikles
invites rebuilding of temples (contravenes ‘Plataian Oath’)
post-450 Perikles divorces wife
and cohabits w/ Aspasia; birth of younger Perikles
450/49 Athens and allies move against
Cyprus; death of Kimon
prytany system est.
c447 2nd Sacred War: Sp., then Ath
takes ctr. of Delphi
Perikles in Chersonese/Thrace
construction begins on Parthenon
446 Euboia, then Megara revolt
(latter aided by Cor. and Sicyon)
Pleistoanax advances to Eleusis,
then retreats
30 Years Peace: Sp -- no
concessions
Ath -- abandons
Pelop. (Megara, Achaia, Troezen)
last datable Pindaric ode
446-31: Interwar Period
Perikles subdues Euboia
445 construction of 3rd Ath.
long wall
c445 Brea colony provisions suggest
Ath. designs on Thrace (cp. Ennea Hodoi)
war between Akragas and Syracuse
444 Thurii founded
c443 ostracism of Thucidides (s.
of Milesias)
3rd (“Middle”) Long Wall constructed
442? musical contests @ Panathenaia
reorganized
construction of Odeion
441 Euripides’ 1st victory in
tragedy
441-439 Samian revolt
440s Ducetius, leader of Sicel uprising,
in Corinth
440 death of Duketios
440-30s Herodotos fl.
440/39-7/6 (prob) restrictions on
comedy
437/6 Amphipolis founded by Ath
on site of Ennea Hodoi
Perikles’ Black Sea expedition
435 Corcyra and Corinth’s longstanding
hostility flares over Epidauran stasis
Corcyra def. Cor @ Leukimme
late 430s Megarian decrees exclude
Meg. fr. ports and Attica (Charinos’ decree)
Anaxagoras and Pheidias prosecuted
434 Cor readies fleet
433 Corcyra appeals to Ath;
Ath sends a few ships; besieges Potidaia, which appeals to Corinth
and Sp; Perdiccas
foments revolution in Chalcidia; league @ Olynthus
Siris recolonized by Taras
and Thurii as Herakleia
433/2 Ath renews alliances with
Leontini and Rheguim (orig. 440s?)
432/1 embassies between Sp and Ath
431-404: Archidamian War
(breaks out in Spring 431)
431 Thebes attempts to take Plataia
Thucydides begins writing
Sparta appeals to var Sicilian
cities
430/29 Perikles removed from office,
tried and acquitted, reelected general
Potidaia capitulates to Ath on
terms
430/429 plague in Ath and death
(fall 429) of Perikles
Plataia invested
Phormio victorious at sea
Sitalkes leads Thracian incursions
into Macedonia
430-25 Amphilocian Argos against
Acarnanians allied with Ath
428/7 Mytilenean Revolt
trial and execution of Plataians
427 Ath supports Leontini vs.
Syracuse
Corcyran civil war: Ath partisans
secure control (to 410)
Gorgias of Leontini (with Tisias)
comes to Attica, addresses Athenian assembly
(ca) birth of Plato
Sicel uprising
427-4 war between Syracuse and Leontini
426 Athenian purification of
Delos (Thuc 3.104)
426/5 Demosthenes in W Greece: Messenians
convince him to attack Aitolians; Aths defeated
destruction of Ambrakia
425 Eurymedon and Sophokles’
‘1st Sicilian Expedition’ via Sp., Corcyra
occupation of Pylos
Demosthenes besieges Spartiates
at Sphacteria
Corcyran civil war ends
Darius II succeeds Artaxerxes
424 Nicias takes Cythera in
Peloponnese
Sicilian council at Gela leads
to peace with Ath
Ath est. @ Nisea in Megara
Demosthenes fails to reest.
Ath ctrl. of Boiotia (def. @ Delion)
Chalcidia and Perdiccas seek
Pel. aid; Brasidas sent to N. Aegean
Thucydides exiled
423 1-yr armistice (ignored
by Brasidas)
Brasidas quarrels with Perdiccas;
some Ath. success in N. Aegean
invasion of Boiotia
422 Amphipolis falls to Sp;
Kleon and Brasidas die (opponents of peace)
Brasidas’ successes
Kallias Decree (?): borrowing
fr. cult treasuries may indicate Ath financial woes
=>if 434/3, Ath prep for war prior
to Corcyra
Kleinias Decree: improved tribute
collection
422/1 negotiations betw. Ath and
Sp
expiration of 30 yrs.’ peace
betwn. Sp and Argos
deaths of Kleon and Brasidas
421 Peace of Nicias: 50 yr;
ret. to 431 except Thebes keeps Plataia and Ath Nisea; tribute set at
Aristides’ level; return of Sphacteria
captives; right of amendment for Ath and Sp alone
ephors Kleoboulos and Xenares
(peace opponents) elected at Sp
420 Panacton: wanted by Sp to
swap for Ath-held Pylos; Boiot. demands alliance with Sp
Sp/Boiot. --> Ath/Argos/Elis/Mantinaia
(‘Quadruple Alliance’)
Corinth’s attempt at forming
Argive league fails
419 Argos attacks Epidauros
with Ath support
418 Battle of Mantinea: Sp/Arcadia
def. Quad Alliance; Argos and Mant. conclude peace with Sp
417 pro-Ath party takes ctrl.
in Argos
416 Melos crushed by Ath; Sp
offers no aid
Syracuse backs Selinous, Ath
Egesta in Sicilian conflict
415 (418?) Hyperbolos: last ostracism
(Alcibiades and Nicias set aside rivalry to effect)
415 Sicilian Expedition; mutilation
of herms; Alcibiades’ defection
Sikel uprising (in response
to Ath invasion)
414 Sp sends Gylippus to Syracuse
Sp invades Argos (end of Peace
of Nicias)
Ath embassy to Carthage, ignored
413 Ath defeat at Epipolai
Eurymedon and Demosthenes bring aid
to Ath fleet; its annihilation
Diokles reforms Syracusan democracy
Sp fortifies Decelea
Ath substitutes 5% tax on sea-borne
goods for tribute
Sp undertakes major fleet construction
Sp agrees to aid revolts in
Lesbos; plans against Chios and Ionia
412 Pelop. Congress @ Corinth:
fleet to Chios, then Hellespont
Ath repels Sp fleet near Corinth
Chios, Erythrai, etc. rebel.
Ath rebuilds fl, est. base on Samos
Alcibiades flees Sp for Tissaphernes
Sparta negotiates with Persia
Lesbos and Klazomenai revolt
and are returned to Ath fold
412-11 Sp treaties with Persia.
Treaty of Lichas: Persian ctrl of Ionia
411-10 oligarchic coup in Ath
Alkibiades recalled
revolt of Euboia
fall of the 400
Pharnabazus woos Pelop. fleet
north (from Tiss.); Sp foments revolt around Hellespont
Ath def. Sp fleet @ Kynossema
near Abydos
Theramenes supports Macedonia
king Arches @ Pydna
Ath def. Sp fleet @ Kyzikos;
Sp appeal for peace rejected
Sp recaptures Pylos
410 Persia loses control of
Egypt
Selinus, threatened with destruction
by Segesta, appeals to Carthage, who sends force
ca 410 Athenian public archive est
@ Mêtroon
410-399 revision of Athenian laws
409 Thrasyllus def. by Tiss.
near Ephesus; joins Alcibiades (intial hostility between armies);
combined force def. Pharnabazus
near Abydos
Carthaginians destroy Himera
408 Alcibiades negotiates Chalcedon
fr. Pharn, takes Byzantium
408/7 nauarchy of Lysander; his
personal network
Darius II decides for Sparta,
sends Cyrus to supersede satraps
407 Alcibiades ret. to Ath,
picking up 100T fr. Samos en route. Cleared of impiety charge;
gesture of securing Sacra
Via; sails for Samos, securing Andros en route
Diokles banished from Syracuse;
Hermokrates attempts to return and is killed
young Dionysios (later
D I) among Herm’s men
407-380 Lysias active
406 Kallikratidas replaces Lysander,
fails to inherit his network
Ath def. Sp @ Arginousai; trial
of generals after storm losses; Sp peace offer rejected
deaths of Euripides and Sophokles
Carthaginians launch major
attack on Sicily, take Akragas
Dionysios comes to power in
Syracuse
405 Carthaginians take Gela
and Kamarina, then make peace
Konon reelected general; Lysander returns
to Sp fl
Ath def. @Aigispotamai; Lys
cuts grain to Ath; Konon--> Persia
Sp fails to free Gk islands.
Samos alone stands by Ath
installation of narrow oligarchies,
harmosts, decarchies by Sp
405-367 Dionysos I of Syracuse
404 Theramenes negotiates surrender
with Sp (Corinth and Thebes urge Ath destruction):
destruction of long walls,
return of exiles, offensive and defensive alliance with Sparta;
surrender of fleet; return
to ‘patrios politeia’; establishment of 30, reorganization of boule; harmost
and garrison
Kritias ascendant; Theramenes
executed
Lysander takes Samos and installs
decarchy; ret. w/ 470T; whereabouts unclear 403-400/399
Gylippos accused of embezzlement;
Sp law forbidding private $
Sp Klearchos turns tyrant in
Byzantium
Thrasyboulos leads anti-30
Ath exiles @Phyle in Boiot.; Thebes fears Sp
Artaxerxes II succeeds Darius
II; Cyprus restive
403 Battle of Mounichion and
overthrow of 30
Thrasyb. takes Piraeus; death
of Kritias; 30 flee to Eleusis
Pausanias leads Pel. force
to Attica; Boiotia and Corinth refuse to join;
Lysander raises force with
30 at Eleusis; Pausanias negotiates abolition of 30,
de-garrisoning of and domestic
autonomia for Ath.
Lysias granted citizenship,
his Against Eratosthenes (speech 12), loses citizenship.
403/2 Eukleides archon (doesn’t
take office until October: Ath Pol 39.1, 41.1)
401 Sp aids Cyrus against Artaxerxes
(Xen. Anab.); Cyrus def. @ Cunaxaca;
Tissaphernes demands submission
of Ionian Greeks