How Did The Persian Wars Influence Greek Culture

The Persian Wars was also one of the most important events in Western Civilization because it allowed the Greeks to become dominate and their culture spread throughout the known world. The Greeks victory of the Persian Wars also puts a stop to the Persians. The Persian Wars started when Athens aided the Ionian slave revolts in the Asian Minor and ended with the Spartans victory at the Battle of Platea. The Persian Wars consist of three battles: the Battle of Marathon, Battle of Salamis and Battle of Platea. Two Greek victories of Salamis and Platea will allow Greece to win and stop the Persians. At the Battle of Platea is where the Spartans finally put a stop to the Persians. (Williams) After these victories the Greeks started to see themselves as Greeks, not as their own

The Greek’s success made it clear that there was a wide gap between their culture and the culture of those who are not Greeks. Herodotus, a Greek historian who was the first to write an account of the Persian Wars, thought that the Greeks won and excelled because they were free men, while the Persians were subjects of an autocracy. (Frankforter & Spellman, 92). After the war, Athens went through a Golden Age. Athenian culture is significant to our history, they had a great impact on our world. We get a lot from Athens’ culture, from architecture, philosophy, literature, science, Olympic Games, to even the word music its self. These Greeks founded a culture we still identify with. They also introduced use to democracy, along with our first dedicated history and vocabulary for politics. (“Ancient Greek…”) However, we would not have experienced the effects of the Greek culture, if the Greeks lost the Persian