Difference between revisions of "Greco-Persian Wars"
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The Greco-Persian Wars, also known as the Medic Wars (500 BC-448 BC) were a series of conflicts fought between the Zoroastrian Achaemenid Empire (in modern Iran) and the Greek city-states (most notably Athens and Sparta). The war may be best known for the Battle of Thermopylae, which has given birth to many cultural references even to this day.
History
The roots of the Greco-Persian Wars lie in 545 BC, when the Achaemenid Empire conquered and annexed Ionia. While none of the Greek city-states risked sending military units to defend Ionia, the Spartans did send a message to king Cyrus the Great, warning him to stay away from mainland Greece. Upon hearing this message, Cyrus famously replied "Who are the Spartans?".
Cyrus did not heed the Spartan message. In 514 BC, the Persians conquered Thrace and Macedonia, angering the Greeks. Ionia had been seen by Cyrus as a logical expansion of the Achaemenid Empire, though Ionia was culturally and tradionally connected to the other Greek-speaking lands around the Aegean Sea.
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