Humanities Homework Help

HIST 12 Collin College Greece and Persia Relationship Discussion

 

PART 1: Answer the following in 300 words after reading the source below.

Herodutus is considered the father of history, what does his description of Xerxes tell us about the relationship between Greece and Persia?

https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/ancient/herodotus-…

PART 2: Write a response to these two posts below from my classmates.

Response 1 (From Mohzghan)The Persian wars against Greece were caused because Darius, the Persian king, wanted to expand their empire. The battles with the Persians affected ancient Greece greatly. The Persians destroyed Athens, but the Athenians built the beautiful buildings that are important cultural aspects today. In 461, the war started between Athens and Sparta. In the meantime, Athens was still at war with Persia. Sometimes, the Athenians were successful, and sometimes the Persians were victorious. In 480, the Persian king Xerxes decided to avenge his father’s defeat at Marathon. If Xerxes could defeat the Greeks on the sea, all Greece would be his, including Sparta. All of Xerxes’ advisors suggested a sea battle. Then with a huge army and a large navy, he attacked Greece and defeated his enemies at Thermopylae. Thessaly and Boeotia were added to the Persian possessions, and Athens was captured.

According to Herodotus, “the size of Xerxes’ expeditionary force was over two million men and four thousand ships. Diodorus Siculus and Quintus Curtius Rufus confirm the enormity of Xerxes’ army, though their numbers differ from Herodotus and from each other. In order to move his ships freely, he had a canal dug across the Isthmus of Actium near Athos, the remains of which are still visible in the present day. He assembled his forces to cross the Hellespont into Europe and, Herodotus reports, watched them as they stood in formation. The size of the army and its majesty”. (World History Encyclopedia, 2021)

The Greece cities, the most important which were Sparta and Athens, maintained relationships with one another. Strained these relations were from time to time, the Greeks considered their past ties and recognized that mutual defense was their best, and it was the only hope against outside aggression like Xerxes that could place in the field and on the sea. At the time of the Persian threat, that weak union was all that stood against Persia’s domination of Greece and thereby all of Europe.

Response 2 (from Emily Solis): Xerxes had a tough and impenetrable mindset. Once King Xerxes had a plan and or an opinion he set on it. In the article provided for us, titled “Herodotus: Xerxes Invades Greece, from The Histories“, we read about how the war unfolded with the Persians and the Greeks. Xerxes was in a higher position of power and used his authority to lead a war which he decided to put forth more emotion than strategy. As stated in the story, Xerxes gives a speech to gather Persians for his planned war. Xerxes states, “But for myself, I will say that, from the day on which I mounted the throne, I have not ceased to consider by what means I may rival those who have preceded me in this post of honour, and increase the power of Persia as much as any of them. And truly I have pondered upon this, until at last I have found out a way whereby we may at once win glory, and likewise get possession of a land which is as large and as rich as our own nay, which is even more varied in the fruits it bears- while at the same time we obtain satisfaction and revenge. For this cause I have now called you together, that I may make known to you what I design to do.” (IHSP 3). As Xerxes gave this motivational speech to his citizens, he mentioned as well that he will uphold his father’s legacy and hold power to their name. Xerxes’ uncle mentions to him that leading solely with emotion will have them be weaker since it could lead to their downfall. As noted in the article the Greeks were fearless. Xerxes noted that the relationship with the Greeks was a relationship not favored in his position to power the continent and grow Persia. Xerxes believed that he must follow in the direction in which his father led Persia and thus created a detestable relationship between Persians and Greeks.