Persian War

Today in class, we took notes on the Greeks and the Persians. Below are the notes from today.

• Spartans were known for their tough, ruthless infantry.
• infantry- soldiers who fought on land.
• Spartan boys trained from the time they were seven.
• Athens had a great infantry too, but nothing could compare with their navy; the most effective weapon was the trireme.
• Trireme- technological ship; fastest ship at the time.
• the phalanx- close rank dense grouping of warriors.
• armed with long spears and interlocking shields.
• soldiers would advance slowly toward the enemy until they broke through their ranks.
• Persian Empire vs. Greece- Persian empire was way bigger than Greece.
• Persians have a huge army and nearly unlimited resources.

Greek Army

• iron weapons meant ordinary citizens could afford to bear arms.
• foot soldiers (hoplites) trained from an early age.
• armed with spears, swords, and shields.
• often fought in phalanx formation
• "home field" advantage
• motivated to preserve democracy.

Persian army

• first archers (damage from a distance)
• then Calvary (they disrupt communication between generals and soldiers)
• then lightly armored infantry (carried spears, swords, and bows)
• large numbers
• professional army (soldiers for hire or mercenaries)