Lawrence Redmond
Mardonius
During the 5th century BC, the Persian Empire was embroiled in military conflict, as the Persian Empire was attempting to rule the Greek city states. During early 5th century BC, which ranged from 499 BC to 449 BC, one Persian military leader, Mardonius, was regarded as one of the bravest and most trusted of all Persian military commanders. Mardonius, who shared a close relationship with the King Darius I and King Xerxes of Persia, was an ambitious man, who rose through the Persian military ranks to become a trustworthy military commander, who fought on behalf of the Persian Empire, to conquer the Greek city-states and promote the ideas of further expansion of the Persian Empire.
Mardonius was born to a wealthy noble family that provided the aspiring Mardonius with privilege and opportunity. First, Mardonius was the son of Gobryus, who along with six other men in 522 BC was responsible for usurping the throne from Magian and vesting Darius I with the Persian throne (“Mardonius”). Because of Gobryus’s loyalty to King Darius I, Gobryus was given great power and wealth (“Mardonius”). Second, Mardonius married King Darius I’s daughter, Artozostre; thereby, cementing a close relationship between Mardonius and King Darius I. Third,
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However, before an assault on the Greek mainland could be executed, King Darius I died and the throne was given to King Darius I’s son, King Xerxes. Xerxes was Mardonius’ brother in law and Madonius had considerable influence over his brother-in-law; therefore, it was not surprising that Mardonius assisted King Xerxes in choosing the seven commanders to lead the continued invasions of the Greeks (“Mardonius”). Historians note that of the seven military commanders of the Persian invasion of Greece, Mardonius was by far the most trusted and respected by the King (Stewart
The Persian invasions of 470 – 479BC saw the Battle of Thermopylae, The Battle of Artemisium, The Battle of Salamis, The Battle of Plataea and The Battle of Mycale. These battles also saw the contributions of many key individuals, which lead to the victory of the Greeks in the ends as well as the rise of the Greek navy.
(http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/text?lookup-trm+ov+8.5&vers=engligh&browse+1). In conclusion, the Greeks defeated the Persians in the Persian Wars aided by unforgettable acts of heroism, divine support, and most importantly, Greek unity.
Not Knowing that Theseus was his son he had planned on poising him. Theseus then pulled his sword on the king, king Aegeus instantly recognized the sword and proclaimed to the city of Athens that Theseus is his son and heir. Years before Theseus had arrived to Athens the king of Crete Minos’ son, Androgeus was visiting the Athenian King Aegeus. Aegeus, “he had sent his guest on an expedition full of peril to kill a dangerous bull” (Hamilton 2. 211). Unfortunately Mino’s son had died on the expedition and Minos acted violently and invaded the country capturing Athens. He declared that he would destroy the city unless every nine years the people sent him a tribute of seven maidens and seven youths to the Labyrinth for the Minotaur to devour them. The year had came for the sacrifices for the Minotaur, Theseus at once came forward and offered himself to be one of the victims, in hope of killing the Minotaur in order to stop the sacrifices and save his
In the sixth century B.C, the land that we now call Iran was the center of the largest empire in the world. The kings of Ancient Persia( such as Cyrus the Great) were the leaders of a great civilization that made amazing advances in laws, goverment and communication. Founded in 550 B.C by King Cyrus the Great, the Persian Empire spanned from Egypt in the west to Turkey in the north, and through Mesopotamia to the Indus River in the east. Unlike most empires at that time, the Persian kings were benovelent rulers, and allowed a diverse variety of diffrent people with diffrent ethnic backgrounds. The Persian empire was split into three diffrent empires with three diffrent time periods but the first empire was called the Achaemenid Empire. It began with King Cyrus the Great and ended with King Darius III.
In the years that follow Persia grows its empire. Then king Darius decides to force the Ionians to settle their differences by sending his son-in-law Mardonius to suppress the tyrants and set up a democracy. Along with those objectives Mardonius also had another motive for his trip. King Darius instructed him to “subjugate as many Greek towns as he could” (p. 338). Herodotus shows a big difference between his beliefs and the beliefs of most modern day historians while describing Mardonius’ journey. Herodotus gives a report of a wreck in Athos and says that those who did not drown were eaten because “the sea in the neighbourhood of Athos is full of monsters” (p. 338). This is contrary to what I think a modern day historian would say happened in this ship wreck. According to Herodotus this wreck does not stop the Persians from subduing the Brygi,a Macedonian tribe that attacked the Persian fleets. This account exemplifies the brute strength of the Persian army because even after a loss they are able to overpower a tribe of people. The Persians are known for their organization so it was only right that they return back to Asia in order to regroup after losing so much during the shipwreck and battle with the Brygi. The Persians battle tactics appear to involve large fleets of ships. These fleets include
According to Diodorus, Dionysius came to power by discrediting the military leaders` in order to have him appointed general with supreme power by the assembly (Diodorus 13.91-2, 95). Dionysius was now able to do whatever was necessary to win the war giving him virtually limitless power over the state. He also convinced the assembly to recall Syracusan who were in exile to help aid in the war, providing Dionysius with plenty of new supporters among the returning people (Diodorus 13.92). He then gained a bodyguard o...
Before Xeones became a squire he tells of the agoge, which is the thirteen year training program for the Spartan youth. He tells about Alexandros and how they became close friends through the years of training. When Xeones becomes Dienekes squire all of his duties change and he started to see more of the battles. He tells of the many battles he was at and what they were like. Xeones explains the bravery of the Spartans when they were in battle and what the individual soldiers were like. Eventually the Spartans learn that the Persian army was coming to take over all of Greece. Xeones then explains what the Spartans did to prepare for the invasion. The Spartan army sent a group of three hundred highly trained soldiers to Thermopylae to defend the pass until the rest of Greece could prepare their armies.
He was planning to lead their joint forces for an invasion of the Persian empire
In the years following the Persian Wars in 479 B.C., Athens had come out on top being the most dominantly powerful of any Greek city with a navy that had superior strength that increased day by day. The Athenians “ruled with heavy-handed, even brutal force as well as with reason” (Kagan 2). This was due largely to the fact that Athens had a stable and effective government, which only increased their advantage in proving themselv...
Alexander the Great was a man with no equal in History. He was one of the most important forces known to man. Alexander the Great then crossed the Hellespoint, which is now called the Dardanelles and, as head of a Greek army undertook the war on Persia that his father had been planning. The march he had begun was to be one of the greatest in history. Alexander was one of the biggest influenced on people of all time and one of the most powerful personalities. He really molded people into acting the correct way. He brought people together and showed them how to live better. He defiantly changed the lives of many. Alexander the Great was born in 356 BC Philip his father was the brother of Perdiccas III king of Macedonia. His mother’s name was Olympia’s. Olympia’s was the daughter of King Neoptolemus I. He was known wide to be a great powerful man. Alexander had a younger sister named Cleopatra. The whole family had a lot of very important background. It was a fact that Alexander and Cleopatra’s parents did not get along. At this time it was a Macedonian tradition to have many wives. Philip had several and Olympia’s hated them all. She felt much hate towards them. When one of her rivals gave birth to a retarded son Arridaeus, there were many rumors that Olympia’s poisoned him.
Although the Spartans and Athenians fought for almost 20 years, there was a time when they lived in harmony. Almost 15 years before any disturbances the Athenians and Spartans fought together in the Persian war. During the Persian war, the Spartans were thriving in their fight against the Persians, however over time the Persians began to grow stronger. After being to lose their fighting streak, the Athenians came in to help the Spartans and bring an end to Persian dominance once and for all (The Delian League, 1). After defeating the Persians in 449 B.C., the...
Cambyses I, one of the earliest Achaemenid kings, ruled Persia around 600 B.C. Upon his death, his son Cyrus II took over as king in 559 B.C., and later became known as Cyrus the Great. As the ruler of Persia at the age of 41, Cyrus wanted to gain more power to strengthen the Persian Empire. He started by negotiating an alliance with the Babylonians against the Medes, who at this time were being ruled by Cyrus’ grandfather Astyages (Cyrus, the Great). Around 550 BC Astyages was worried that his grandson might be trying to form an alliance with his enemy Nabonidus, King of Babylon. Astyages called for Cyrus to come to him in the capital of Ecbatana to discuss the matter, but Cyrus would not (Pettman). With the support of the Babylonians, Cyrus led a revolt and defeated the Medes (Cyrus II, the Great). The Nabodinus Chro...
Darius fled again and was murdered by one of his own men, “It’s said Alexander
In Sparta, Xeones became a helot and he was given to a Spartan soldier named Dienekes. Xeones was trained to fight like a Spartan and later became Dienekes’s battle squire. When Xeones was about twenty, the Spartan king, Leonidas, announced that three hundred Spartan men would be sent on a suicide mission to Thermopylae to hold off the invading Persian army. Dienekes was chosen to go. On the first and second day of battle, many Persians were killed, but only a few Greeks. At the end of the second day, Xerxes found a secret path where part of his army could go through and completely surround the Greeks on the next day. Leonidas was informed of this and sent a group of Spartans, including Xeones and Dienekes, on an unsuccessful mission to kill Xerxes. On the third day, the Persians surrounded the Spartans and they all were killed.
... them. He kept the Greeks composed compared to how much the Persian fleet was panicking and losing formation.