Importance of the Persian Wars
In the city-state of Athens, the Persian Wars were not just a conflict that reared its ugly head and went away. The Persian Wars were a dire fight to the finish that passed into the very heart and soul of the city-state, bringing out her finest heroes and changing her face and character forever. During the course of the wars, three major things happened that changed the course of history. First was the rise of Themistocles as a leader on the Athenian battlefield. Themistocles was the general that poured all of Athens' silver into shipbuilding between the two wars. He saw that although they had been lucky at the Batt
Athens' navy became the queen of the sea, eventually winning the Persian wars and allowing them to control the Aegean. This feeling, combined with more than a little greed gave the world the short-lived Athenian Empire, one of the Wonders of the Ancient World, and a legacy that has survived more than two thousand years and still counting. All the temples on the Acropolis were destroyed. He rebuilt the Acropolis, and gave Athens the Parthenon, sacred temple of Athena, as well as all of the other famous buildings that stand there today. le of Marathon against the Persians, Athens should not expect that luck to hold. Without their navy, it's very doubtful that Athens would have become the imperial power it did. Finally, the third important event was the war itself, or more specifically, Athens' victories. The second important event was the burning of Athens and the Acropolis. This navy, as previously stated was the pride and joy of Athens and allowed them to pursue their imperial leanings with the Delian League. Before this time, Athens was not a military power at all. In later years, however, Pericles had other plans. By the end of the Persian Wars, Athens had beaten the most powerful empire in the world, twice, and came out of the wars with the world-class navy, if not the best the world had every seen. This feeling was embodied by the leader Pericles, who rebuilt the Acropolis, oversaw the flourishing of Greek culture that came after the wars, and eventually challenged Sparta, starting the Peloponnesian War and ultimately ending Athens' reign of power. All this victory and gain instilled in Athenians a feeling of invulnerability, as if nothing could go wrong.
Common topics in this essay:
Persian Wars,
Persians Athens,
Delian League,
Wars Athens,
Athens Parthenon,
Athens Acropolis,
Peloponnesian War,
Ancient World,
persian wars,
rebuilt acropolis,
,
|