Essay on "Greek and Persia"

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Greek & Persia

The causes of the Greek-Persian War can best be divided into primary and secondary causes. The primary causes come with the founding and subsequent immediate expansion of the Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great. This gradually transformed the primarily Asian Persian Empire to a Mediterranean power, especially with its enlargement during Darius the Great who conquered parts of Libya. At this time, however, the Greeks were the primary political and economical force in the Mediterranean Basin and it would be natural that the expansion of another empire would collide with their interests.

It is true, nevertheless, that the same type of rationale can be used in the case of the new Persian Empire. Defeating the Greeks would make it absolute ruler of the known world at that point and ensure that its further expansion would be limitless. At the same time, the primary reasons can also group some of the economic causes of the conflict and Darius's invasion. The Greeks traded throughout the Mediterranean Basin and their colonies, as the cities in the Peninsula, were very rich. In antiquity, defeat of a nation-state would be equivalent to huge material gains that went from the provisions and gold in the city itself to selling its people into slavery. Virtually, nothing was lost from such a conquest.

On the other hand, this was also a good moment for Darius I to attack Greece because of the internal political problems that both Athens and Sparta, the most important powers in Greece at that point, faced. Sparta had been involved in the Athenian internal politics and had tried to establish the tyrant Hippias back on the Athenian throne, afraid that

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an Athenian democracy would be dangerous for the Spartan society. At the same time, Demaratus, former king of Sparta, had found refuge with the Persians and had received, in compensation for his services, several cities in Asia Minor. Both Hipias and Demaratus brought their contributions in the identification of the weak spots in the Greek Peninsula and provided valuable strategic and tactical insight. Having somebody from the enemy camp could obviously be considered an advantage and encourage an aggressive act.

It was also a battle for resources, at the same time, like many other wars. One of the traditions of ancient times (notable in the Greek - Persian Wars) was that the conquerors would ask for the surrender of a certain city, region or country by asking for 'earth and water', both essential as means of survival during this period of time (indeed, earth would be used for agriculture and for means to grow one's food, while water was obviously essential to quench one's thirst). This is how the Persians, after conquering the Greek cities along the Minor Asia coastline asked for the surrender of the Greek cities on the mainland.

Finally, another primary reason is that the Persian Empire had, at this point, the initial force of expansion, where its power was believed to be almost unstoppable. The Empire would thus benefit from the momentum behind all its previous victories: indeed, in the course of less than half a century. The military, economic and political strength that the Persian Empire had acquired during this period of time made it obvious that it would it now attempt to defeat the remaining power in the region, after the Lydian Empire had already fallen.

This is not only strictly related to its military and political might - the communication system was extremely well developed for that particular age (the postal system was one of the most competitive in history), the system of satraps who ruled in their provinces functioned well and efficiently and the Persian Empire could boast the best administrative structure of its times. With this mechanism in place, it could coagulate large armies, maneuver them efficiently and use the strategic and tactical advantages to win in battle and in war campaigns.

The secondary cause that has been constantly put forth by different historians related the causes of Darius's invasion of Greece with the Ionian Revolt. However, if one follows on Herodotus and his the Histories as the main source of information, this will need to be nuanced. While the revolt was indeed used as an opportunity by Darius the Great to see his possessions going as far as the islands of the East Aegean (Herodotus VI 31-33), nevertheless, his attitude was not necessarily a provocative… READ MORE

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AIM: The overall aim of the assignment is to write an essay on ONE of the topics listed below, drawing your evidence from the ancient sources specifically mentioned for each question. It asks you to articulate a position on the topic, based on your reading and critical assessment of the ancient sources listed, and to argue for that position in a logical fashion, justifying your arguments by reference to the ancient evidence. It is also important to address the problems that historians face in dealing with the ancient evidence for the topic under consideration.

PROCESS: To assist you in the writing of this essay, we have planned it in two stages. First, you are required to submit a THESIS STATEMENT and ESSAY OUTLINE (I, *****, have already completed this part of the assignment - THESIS STATEMENT AND OUTLINE ARE DONE! WILL SEND TO YOU TO USE FOR ESSAY). Your tutorial leader will read, grade, and comment on this. With this assistance, you will then sit down to write the essay itself.

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TOPIC: Why did the Persian king Darius launch his Greek expedition in 490 B.C. and why did it fail? How plausible is Herodotus***** account on these issues? Source: Herodotus Book 5-6.

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book and chapter or chapter reference, as appropriate, to the evidence you plan to

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The topic is in the middle but just in case here it is again:

TOPIC: Why did the Persian king Darius launch his Greek expedition in 490 B.C. and why did it fail? How plausible is Herodotus***** account on these issues? Source: Herodotus Book 5-6.

THE SOURCE USED FOR THIS PAPER IS THE PRIMARY SOURCE:

Herodotus - The Histories

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