Pericles gave a few reasons for giving this funeral oration. The main purpose Pericles gave his speech was to praise the Athenian war dead. For example, in the speech he states, “When men’s deeds have been brave, they should be honored in deed only and with such honor as this public funeral”. He goes on to explain in the speech that a friend of the dead who knows all the facts is more likely to think that the words of the speaker are not good enough or do not meet their expectations. Although a listener that does not know the dead will be envious of anything that surpasses his own powers or knowledge.
In 431 BC these collusions went to war against one another in a clash called the Peloponnesian War. The war, which continued for a long time, is named for the Peloponnesus, the promontory on which Sparta is placed. The aftereffect of the war was the smashing thrashing of Athens and the end of its maritime domain. An all the more long-range result was the debilitating of all the city-states. This made them powerless against a takeover by Macedonia a few decades later.
Without the Athenian stand, the battle along with the victory would not have been possible at Plataea. A large portion of the Persian army was trapped in the camp. They were slaughtered and the destruction of this army and the remaining Persian navy, ended the invasion. The Persian war was settled at the battles of Salamis and Plataea. This would end all future attacks by the Persians against the Greek states.
Greek art travels through time rapidly, changing in styles and contexts. Grecian art starts in 620-480 BCE and ends in 325-31 BCE. The sculptures, vases and architectural landscapes vary, signifying the affect that the time period has on the pieces. In the early years of the fifth century BCE, Greek cities (currently modern Turkey) led by Miletos, rebelled against Persia; therefore, commencing a period of rivalry between these two cultures. In 490 BCE, during the Archaic period, in the mainland, Marathon, the Athenians impelled off the Persian army.
The causes of the Peloponnesian War proved to be too great between the tension-filled stubborn Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta. As Thucydides says in Karl Walling’s article, “Never had so many human beings been exiled, or so much human blood been shed” (4). The three phases of the war, which again, are the Archidamian war, the Sicilian Expedition and the Decelean war, show the events that followed the causes of the war, while also showing the forthcoming detrimental effects that eventually consumed both Athens and eventually Sparta effectively reshaping Greece.
Beginning in 492 B.C., a series of wars erupted, appropriately entitled the Persian Wars, which lasted around thirteen years. Because of the constant battles between the Persians, led by Xerxes, and Greece, both civilization started growing weaker and weaker. When the wars ended, the Greeks were successful at defeating the Persians. However, being in a weakened state caused the Greek city- states (mainly Athens against Sparta) to fight amongst themselves in order to have more influence over the rest of the city-states. This type of war was termed the Peloponnesian War and continued from 431B.C.
The Greeks lost their first battle against the Persians. The Persians second attempt for an invasion was located at Marathon in Greece in 490 BC. The Persian generals Datis and Artaphernes had 48,000 men and a few sh... ... middle of paper ... ...ve victory in the war, the Athenians could rightly be said to have saved all Greece from Persian domination.” (Jona 4). The Greeks stopped the Persians from conquering the rest of Persia. The city of Athens is in ruins, but sooner or later the Greeks will rebuild it to be a more fabulous city.
Thus began the Age of Pericles, the period of Greek history when Pericles ruled Athens. Under Pericles, Athens went through a period that has become known as the Golden Age of Athens (480-404) B.C. Athens developed a more democratic form of government that gave power to those who were Athenian. These rights did not apply to women or slaves. In 490 B.C, the Athenians defeated Persian invades at the Battle of Marathon.
It is one of the most studied wars in history. The Peloponnesian War ravaged Greece for over 30 years during the 5th century B.C., and had a permanent effect on the Greek world. Athens and Sparta, two major city-states, fought each other relentlessly for control of the Mediterranean. The once great empire of Athens would ultimately be defeated, and its counterpart Sparta would be weakened severely as well. This war would negatively affect Greece's world power, and it would pave the way for an invasion by Macedonia later in history.
A mighty Persian fleet set sail for Greece, but met disaster in ferocious storms off the cape of Mount Athos in 492 B.C. Darius sent another force in 490 B.C. Accompanying Darius was Hippias, a former despot of Athens who was exiled in 510 B.C. Hippias maintained some support in Athens and hoped to once again rule the city, despite his age of 80. On this occasion the Persians sacked Eretria and moved into the bay of Marathon to strike Athens.