Persian - Greek Wars the Term Paper

The Greeks initiated the process of retaking their cities previously conquered by Persians and set tributes. Under the lead of Alexander the Great, Greece enlarged its spatial boundaries "from southern Egypt to the gates of China." (Robert Morkot, Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece)

Ending the war

Twenty years after the commence of Persian attacks, Greek military general Themistocles managed to obviate the Persian threat over Greece. "The Greek victory was aided by the strategy of Themistocles. Xerxes returned to Persia. [...] the defeat of this army in 479 at Plataea near Thebes by a Greek army under the Spartan Pausanias and a Greek naval victory at Mycale on the coast of Asia Minor ended all danger from Persian invasions of Europe." (the History Channel, Persian Wars)

Consequences of the wars

After vanquishing the Persian power, the Greeks earned a reputation for possessing the most powerful fleet. Still not trusting the complete defeat of the Persians, some Greeks did not return to their homes in Athens.Following the victory, the Greek city states along with other islands and Sparta formed the Delian League.

During the decades that followed Xerxes' defeat, Athens became a major cultural center. Tourists came from all over Greece to observe the tragedies performed in honor of the gods." (Greece: A Political, Social and Cultural History, p. 201). Had it not been for the numerous Persian attacks on the country, Greece would have been able to develop sooner into the center of arts.

Bibliography

Victor Hanson, John Keegan, Wars of the Ancient Greeks: Smithsonian History of Warfare, September 2004

Robert Morkot, Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece, Penguin Non-Classics, January 1997

Sarah B. Pomeroy, Stanley M. Burstein, Walter Donald, Jennifer Tolbert Roberts, Ancient Greece: A Political, Social and Cultural History, October 1998

Official Website of the History Channel, Persian Wars, 2004

http://www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/search/search.php?word=PersWars, last accessed….....