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Ancient Wars
The Ancient period is generally accepted as being 600 BCE to 500 CE, before which was the Archaic period, and after which began the Medieval period. However as there is not an Archaic Wars category, it is acceptable to post pre-500 BCE military questions in this area.
1,657 Questions
Why did Sparta want to weaken Athens power in ancient Geece?
Athens had headed the Delian League which protected the eastern Greek cities from Persian dominance. When Persia withdrew, Athens turned the league into an empire, and used this power to interfere in the affairs of other Greek cities. This led the cities of the Peloponnesian League to appeal to Sparta to lead action to limit Athens' power. Athens refused compromise and a destructive 27 year war ensued, which the Athenians lost, and were stripped of their empire, reducing them to a second rate power which could no longer try to dominate Greece and live high on the proceeds.
During the siege of Rome by the Gauls in 390 BCE Marcus Manlius with a small force held out in the citadel for months after the abandonment of the city. He led a post-invasion revolt of the plebs against the ruling elite an was condemned to death by the Senate which was controlled by them.
Why did the greek city states lose power at the peloponnesian war?
Greek city states lose power at the peloponnesian war due to economic, infrastructural and agricultural ruin.
What is significant about an Olmec head?
It's size - ranging from the Rancho La Cobata head 3.4 metres to the pair at Tres Zapotes 1.47 metres, weighing 25 to 55 tonnes.
Did Cleisthenes overthrow Sparta in 508 BC?
Yes then in years later he created the first democratic constitution.
The island Salamis is in the Saronic Gulf near Athens, Greece .
37°57′5″N 23°34′0″E
What was the battle of marathon over?
The battle of Marathon was a result of the Persians under King Darius the First to punish the Greeks for supporting the Ionian Revolt where Sardis had been burned after capture .
The battle was essentially where the Greeks defeated a Persian punitive expedition that failed .
Why did Sparta initiate the series of conflicts known as the Peloponnesian War?
Sparta was upset with Athens attempt to control other Greek city-states
What does flank mean in the battle of marathon?
The "flank" when referred to in these terms means the side or sides. Therefore you would be instructed to protect the left or right flank (side) or to protect the flank (both side)
How many Persians died from the 300 Greeks?
My guess is that you're talking about the Battle of Thermopylae. The Persians lost about 20,000 men, but there weren't "300 Greeks" ... there were 300 Spartans, in a mixed force totaling around 7,000 Greeks in all. They managed to hold off the Persian army for around a week, including two days of actual fighting.
When the (much larger) Persian army found a way around the narrow pass to outflank the Greeks, the Spartan general Leonidas and a force of about 300 Spartans (and around 1200 other Greeks from various cities) remained to hold off the Persians while the bulk of the Greek force escaped to warn the cities of Greece that the Persians had taken the pass and were on their way. This rear guard was essentially annihilated on the third day of fighting. All told, the Greeks lost between 2,000 and 4,000 men in the battle.
Which Persian emperor was killed at the battle Marathon?
Persia had a king, not an emperor. The Persian king Darius I was at home in Persia when the battle of Marathon took place, so he was not killed at Marathon. Darius the Great died of natural causes 14 years after Marathon.
Why were the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis important?
The battle of Thermopylae was a delaying land action to force the Persians into a sea battle to try to destroy the Persian fleet which threatened the Greek cities whih kept their main armies at home to protect their cities against amphibious attacks. This plan failed as the Persians won the sea battle of Artemesion in the strait next to Thermopylae, and the Thermopylae force was withdrawn as it was no longer required. So Thermopylae turned out to be unimportant other than propaganda for the Spartans on the sacrifice they made to allow the other Greek contingents to escape when the delaying position was abandoned.
The southern Greeks tried again at the sea battle of Salamis, this time defeating the Persian navy, with the result that the Persian fleet no longer threatened the Greek cities and they were able the following spring to send out their armies to combine against the Persian army and its Greek allies and defeat it at the battle of Plataia.
This land defeat was helped by the Persian army being depleted because it's defeated navy was withdrawn to Asia Minor and could no longer protect the Persian resupply fleet, and half the Persian army had to be sent back to Asia as it could not be fed during the winter in Greece.
So Thermopylae is just a good story. Salamis sealed the outcome of the war.
What changes in the Greek states resulted from the Greek defeat at the battle of Chaeronea?
Macedonia established dominance of mainland Greece, exercised through control of a majority of votes in the Amphictyonic League and Philip II's recognition as Hegemon (leader) of Greece.
The subsequent Macedonian invasion and takeover of the Persian Empire absorbed the military manpower of the Greek cities and so their habitual fighting amongst each other was curtailed. The ensuing Hellenistic kingdoms established by Alexander the Great's generals continued to maintain control and dominance of the Greek city-states.
Why was the Peloponnesian War an important war in Hellenic civilization?
It lasted 27 years, devastated the Greek world from Sicily to Asia Minor, and Athens was stripped of the alliance of Greek cities it had built up to oppose Persian power, but converted to an empire for its own benefit.
This and the subsequent fighting between the Greek cities so weakened the main Greek cities that it paved the way first for Persia to reclaim its control of the Greek cities in Asia Minor, and then for the rise of Macedonia to dominate mainland Greece and use this as a platform to move on to taking over the Persian Empire and spread a veneer of Hellenic culture through western Asia.
Why did the Athenian army not go out and fight the Persians when they arrived at Marathon?
They did go out to Marathon but lurked in the hills to avoid the Persian cavalry. They were awaiting the arrival of the Spartan army to help them.
However when they saw the Persian cavalry being embarked on ships they took the opportunity and ran down and defeated the inferior unarmoured Persian infantry caught without the protection of their cavalry.
After defeating the Persian infantry, the Athenian infantry realised the Persian cavalry was being shipped around the coast to Athens to take the city in their absence, with traitors to open the city gates to let them in. The 9,000 Athenoan infantry ran back the 26 miles to Athens carrying their weapons and armour, and arrived to form up in front of their city as the Persian cavalry was being disembarked. The Persians gave up and went home.
This run by the Athenian army is celebrated today in the marathon race. Today's runners get it easy, not having to run in sandals carrying weapons and armour. Much tougher lot in those days, and of course they had the incentive of saving their homes and families.
What did the battle of Marathon say about the Greeks?
It was about Athens and Eretria who had interfered militarily in the Persian Empire in Asia Minor. The Persian punitive expedition ha already taken Eretria helped by treachery within the city. The Persian attempt against Athens was also based on treachery within Athens.
The Persian plan was that it's army would land at Marathon to draw out the Athenian army to 26 mils north of the city. The Persian infantry would hold the Athenians and their Plataian allies there while the Persian cavalry was shipped around the coast to Athens, and would gallop up to the city where Athenian traitors would open the gates for them. The Athenian army would then be stranded in the open with nowhere to go between the city and the Persian infantry at Marathon.
The Athenian position was to hang around the hills at Marathon where the superior Persian cavalry could not get at them, waiting for the arrival of the Spartans who had promised to support them. However when they saw the departure of the Persian cavalry, they seized the opportunity and ran down and defeated the inferior unarmoured Persian infantry left without cavalry support. The Athenians then realised where the Persian cavalry was going, and their 9,000 heavy infantry ran back over the hills to Athens, forming up in front of the city just as the Persian cavalry was disembarking. Frustrated, the Persians went home. The Spartans, arriving too late, marched on to view the Marathon battlefield, congratulated the Athenians and went home.
Prior to all this, the Persians had put down the Greek Ionian Revolt in Asia Minor, where at the crucial battle of Lade half of the Ionian city contingents defected to Persian side.
All this says about the Greeks: beware treachery within their ranks, beware their steadfastness, opportunism, ruthlessness and ingenuity.
How did Greece delay the Persian invasion?
After failing in their punitive mission against Athens for its support of Greek city revolutions in Asia Minor within the Persian Empire, Persia decided to incorporate the Mainland Greek cities within its empire and appoint a Persian governor to keep them quiet.
This invasion was delayed because of a revolt by Egypt which was part of the Persian Empire. Then King Darius died and the invasion was again delayed until successor king Xerxes got control. He then sent emissaries to bribe the Greek cities to submit, which many did, and he was then faced with the cities of southern Greece holding out. So after ten years of delays, the Persian invasion got going.
Xerxes mounted a two-prong invasion - a land force and a naval force. The naval force protected his essential sea supply line and threatened the Greek cities, which therefore kept their land forces at home, allowing the Persian land forces to pick the cities off one at a time.
The Greeks decided they must first destroy the Persian navy to remove this naval threat and allow their cities to send out their armies to concentrate against the Persian army and make a real fight of it. They blocked the pass at Thermopylae with a small army force to compel the Persians to turn the position with a naval attack; the Greek fleet was lying in waiting to pounce on the Persian navy. Unfortunately the Greeks lost the naval battle and retreated to try again (this time successfully) at Salamis in the south. The holding (not delaying) force at Thermopylae, its mission now finished, was withdrawn under cover of a stay-behind contingent from Sparta and Thespia.
