Cyber Day #2 Work

Here is my summary of the Persian Wars.

The Persian Wars started in about 490 BC and went to about 479 BC. It was between the Persian Empire and Greece, and looking at it from the start, with The Persian's great army, huge empire, and practically unlimited resources, it seems like they are to win. There were also practically two stages to the war-

1st Stage

• the Persian armies in 550-486 BC were led by King Darius I
• the Persians fought the Athenians and their Greek allies, and lost to them 
• there was a famous land battle of Marathon in 490 BC where the Persians were again defeated by the Athenians and the Plataeans 
• news of the victory was delivered by a messenger who ran 26 miles from Marathon to Athens and later died (origin of the modern Olympic event the Marathon) 

2nd Stage 

• Under the command of king Xerxes I in 519-465 BC, the Persians arrived on the Greek shore with over 2,000,000 men between their army and navy
• The Greeks, with only 5,000 men under command of Spartan King Leonidas, held off the Persian forces at the narrow pass between the cliffs and sea at the 'Pass of Thermopylae' 
• Persian soldiers found a secret way around the pass, and defeated them
• in the naval battle at Salamis in 480 BC, ruled by Athenian general Themistocles, the Athenian navy defeated the Persian navy
• in the land battle at Plataea in 479 BC, the Greeks again defeated the Persians who were then driven from Greece
• this was the final victory in the war, which could be said to have saved all of Greece from Persian domination

Ending Stage 

• Greek city states had a new confidence and freedom 
• Athens gained the most from Persian defeat 
• caused them to become stronger as a whole and individually (government, army) 
• this war led them into their "Golden Age" even if it was brief

That was pretty much the whole war. But, here are some differences from the Persian army and the Greeks/Athenians' army: 

Persians 

• expensive weaponry
• strategy: 1. attack from a distance 2. disrupt communication 3. lightly armored infantry 
• huge numbers 
• long way from home 
• mercenaries, professional army

Greeks 

• iron weaponry
• normal citizens not all professional played a part 
• hoplites trained from an early age 
• spears, shields, swords 
• strategy: phalanx formation, used sea to their benefit
• fought on home grounds so they were familiar with the area 
• motivated to preserve democracy