How did the Persian War affect life in ancient Greece?

Answer 1

After the Persian invasion was defeated, the Greeks were free to resume their internal fighting, culminating in what is now called the Peloponnesian War, which wrought great distruction throughout the Greek world: its successful conclusion by Sparta's Peloponnesian league over Athen's empire was made possible by Persian support. The weakened Greek states continued to weaken themselves paving the way for rising Macedonia to dominate mainland Greece and offer its king Phillip II the prospect of taking over the Persian empire to end any future Persian threat. His death left this project to his son Alexander. Alexander's takeover of the Persian empire set the scene for Greek culture to spread from Spain to today's Pakistan.

Alexander's victorious progression through the Persian Empire was followed by a swarm of Greek carpetbaggers taking advantage of the commercial opportunities on offer. In consequence a form of Greek called Koine became the commercial lingua franca of the Middle East, overlaying the general lingua fanca of Aramaic.

Alexander and his successors also had an inexhaustable appetite for soldiers, and the fit male population of mainland Greece flowed to Asia and Egypt. The population of mainland Greece was so depleted (from this and later internal and Roman wars) that in the 1st Century CE the historian Plutarch commented the you could not find 3,000 men-at-arms in all of Greece.

The Hellenistic kingdoms (those set up by Alexanders' successors in Greece, Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt) also used the Greek city-state model and Greek culture to establish control, order and social standards within their kingdoms. This civilising influence provided a veneer of political and cultural influence and stability which lasted until the progressive takeover by Islamic conquerors from 7th Century CE until the fall of Constantinople and end of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th Century.

And the Byzantine Empire was in fact the eastern Roman Empire - when the western Roman Empire was overrun from the 5th Century onwards, it lived on in the east - the Byzantines thought of themselves as Romans, but spoke Greek and continued Greek culture.

In religious influence, this widespread Greek culture readily provided the host for mystery cults as well as the formal state religions. Several such cults flourished - those of Mithras, Isis, Jesus etc. Emperor Constantine, although a Mithras initiate, selected Christianity as his state religion because it had a geographic heirarchy which he could use as a unifying and control tool throughout his empire.

Answer 2

It caused a pause in the usual fighting between the Greek city-states while they turned their efforts to either siding with Persia or allying against Persia,

The fighting caused great loss of life, loss of property and disruption of agriculture.

After the Persian invasion was repelled, hostilities between the cities resumed as normal.

Answer 3

Persia's attempt to impose peace on the warring Greek city-states failed, leaving them to go back to fighting each other with increased ferocity, which left them an easy mark for takeover by Macedonia.

Answer 4

By the time of the peace of 449 BCE Athens had cemented its control of the 180 cities of the anti-Persian league it led, and continued to extort the leagues funds from then, effectively creating an empire, and interfering in the affairs of other Greek city-states.

These states formed the Peloponnesian League under Sparta's leadership to counter this. The resulting conflict led to the 27-year Peloponnesian War which devastated the Greek world.

Answer 5

Persia eventually became a target of Macedonia after it had established comtrol of mainland Greece. Alexander took the Persian Empire over and extended a veneer of Greek culture throughout the Middle Eastwhich lasted until the rise of Islam replaced it.

Answer 6

For 50 years the Greek cities of Asia Minor were incorporated into the Persian Empire. After the Persian attempt to incorporate the cities of mainland Greece into the empire failed with the defeat of the Xerxes invasion, the Asian cities were freed, and formed the Delian League to protect themselves.

When the Persians conceded independence, Athens turned this league into an empire of its own, and milked money from them to spend on itself. Athens embroiled itself in the Peloponnesian War with other Greek cities led by Sparta, lost, and was stripped of this empire.

The cities freed from Athenian rule and exploitation were then reabsorbed into the Persian Empire, until freed 50 years later by Alexander the great's takeover of the Persian Empire. After Alexander's death his generals divided it between themselves, establishing kingdoms which - you guessed it - re-absorbed the cities.

Answer 7

A couple of hundred Greek cities were brought out from Persian control and were free to enter into disputes and war amongst each other.