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Greco-Persian Wars Essay

1624 Words7 Pages

The Greco-Persian Wars, often referred to as the Persian Wars, were a series of conflicts involving the Persian empire and Greek city states or poleis between 499 and 449 BCE. Beginning when the Persian controlled Greek city states rebelled, the wars continued after Athens, and other poleis gave aid to the Ionian Greeks. Throughout the decades, both sides suffered many losses and soldiers but ultimately, the Persian Empire lost at the hand of the Greeks, led by the Athens. The Greco-Persian wars resulted in a shift of power in Greece’s city states as Athens’ rose to supremacy. Athenian generals Miltiades the Younger and Themistocles helped Athens’ rise to power by supporting and leading them to victory at the battles of Marathon and Salamis. …show more content…

Herodotus states that; “one is surely right in saying that Greece was saved by the Athenians … it was the Athenians who drove back the Persian king” (Herodotus, 430 BCE). This is an excerpt from The Histories written by Herodotus in 430 BCE. Herodotus wrote The Histories to prevent the loss of knowledge about human events to time and to preserve the fame of significant achievements of ancient societies. By creating this source, Herodotus hoped to achieve a rational and deeper understanding of historical events by looking for the causes of them. Later in the book, Herodotus goes further to imply that due to the alliance with the Delian League, whichever side they joined, Athens was sure to prevail. This source was written from the perspective of a Greece historian. This excerpt has no evident bias but Herodotus’ endorsement of the Greeks over the Persians was disclosed in parts of The Histories. Herodotus’ writing has proved to be useful as it enlightens the usage of the Delian League during the wars and its influence on Athens’ win. This source is fairly reliable as the author has been given the title The Father of History and wrote close enough in time to talk to witnesses but, he was quick to believe stories, relayed exaggerated information and had preference of the Greeks. Herodotus and Gulati corroborate the importance of the Delian League by addressing their alliance with Athens and how that unity prospered Athens rise to power. By using the Delian League to build up their own power and influence, Athens continued their inevitable rise to

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