The Fighting Spartans

3/5/20
The Fighting Spartans
  • Greeks were certainly a warlike people - especially the Spartans
  • Spartans were known for their tough, ruthless infantry: soldiers who fought on land
  • Spartan boys trained from the time they were seven 
Athens -naval power
  • Athens had a great infantry, too, but nothing could compare with their navy
  • their most effective weapon was the trireme boat
Trireme
  • a technological marvel
  • fastest ship in the world at the time
  • rowed by up to 170 men on three levels
  • could be used as a battering ram
  • agile, fast
The phalanx
  • close-rank, dense grouping of warriors
  • armed with long spears and interlocking shields
  • soldiers would advance slowly toward the enemy, until they broke through their ranks
Persian empire vs. Greece
  • Persian empire = big
  • Greece = small
  • Persian empire should win
Greek Army
  • iron weapons meant ordinary citizens could afford to arm themselves
  • foot soldiers (hoplites) trained from an early age
  • armed with spears, swords, shields
  • often fought in phalanx formation
  • “home field” advantage
  • motivated to preserve democracy
Persian Army
  • first archers (do damage from a distance)
  • then cavalry (they disrupt communication between generals and soldiers)
  • then lightly armored infantry (carried spear, sword, and bow)
  • huge numbers
  • long way from home
  • professional army (soldiers for hire, or mercenaries)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cyber Day #5

Image
3/23/20 Alexander the Great and Bucephalus          Bucephalus was Alexander's horse that he won. He was known to have a massive head, black coat, and a white sea on his brow. Alexander's father was offered Bucephalus for a large sum, but thought Bucephalus appeared untamable. But Alexander said to take the horse and if he couldn't tame it then he would have to pay his father back. Alexander goes on to tame Bucephalus by speaking to him and turning the horse away from the sun so he doesn't see his shadow. They grow up together for nearly two decades and fought many battles. Unfortunately, Bucephalus dies of battle wounds in 326BC. Alexander the Great loved the horse and even founded a city named Bucephala in honor of his stallion. Theres even a mosaic of Alexander the Great and Bucephalus in battle.  
Read more

Ancient Greece is the Word

2/13/20 Ancient Greece is the Word The world's greatest civilizations all located on water (usually river) Mesopotamia~ Tigris and Euphrates rivers Egypt~ Nile River India~ Indus River China~ Huang He River Culture of the Mountains and the Sea Describe Greece’s topography Look at Greece’s surroundings How would all this affect their culture ? What bodies of water surround Greece? What large island is to the south/southeast? Describe where Athens and Sparta are located relative to the sea, and to each other Be able to identify the following: Aegean Sea Ionian Sea Adriatic Sea (it’s just north of the Ionian Sea) Peloponnesus Athens Sparta Crete Asia Minor Macedonia Geography Greece is a mountainous peninsula mountains cover three-quarters of Greece approximately 2000 islands in the Ionian and Aegean Seas this combination shaped Greece’s culture they had many skilled sailors and shipbuilders also farmers, meta
Read more

Warring City States

2/20/20 Warring City States polis : fundamental political unit, made up of a city and the surrounding countryside/ politics (affairs of the cities), policy, political, etc. monarchy : rule by a single person (a king, in Greece) aristocracy : rule by a small group of noble, very rich, landowning families oligarchy : wealthy groups, dissatisfied with aristocratic rule, who seized power (often with military help) tyrant : powerful individual who seized control by appealing to the common people for support Transformation of government During the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, aristocrats ran the show in most of Greece Back then, rich people wielded much more influence in society, and held much more governmental power, than the middle class or the poor Aristocracy they attended symposiums , meetings where the elite men would enjoy wine and poetry, performances by dancers and acrobats, and the company of hetaeras (courtesans) while discussing politics Polit
Read more