Historical Events of Ancient Greece

What importance did the Battles of Marathon and Salamis, and the Punic Wars have for Ancient Greece and Rome?

Ancient Greece:

The battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion on Greece. Citizens of Athens and citizens of Plataea revolted against the Persian army. The battle was a very big victory for the Greeks. From this victory, they gained confidence in their defense system and a new battle tactic called phalanx. The phalanx tactic is when a group of people comes closer together in a line formation.

In this battle, the Greeks were armored with shields and were able to make a wall to protect themselves using the phalanx tactic.

In 480 BC, the Persian Army took their second attempt on invading Greece. In order to defeat the Persians, the Greek city-states came together to fight as one. Because of the Greeks success, they brought an end to the Persian wars and saved Greece from being invaded by the Persians. Their victory supports and shows that their defense and strategies surpass the Persians defenses. The Greeks had gained a position of power, success, recognition, and respect. Because of all of this, the battle of marathon and salamis is still known today as one of the greatest wars in history. After the Persians were defeated, Greece was left alone for good. This led to the assemblage of Athens and the start of the golden age and the Delian League.

Ancient Rome:

The Punic wars occurred between 264 BC and 146 BC. The three wars were fought by Rome and Carthage and Rome won all three. The first battle was fought over the control of the islands Sicily and Corsica and ended with Rome taking control over both islands. Sicily became Rome’s first overseas province, which made it easier for them to travel to and from other cities and countries when trading. This increased their empire and trading routes. When fighting in the first war Rome had an army with very little experience but was able to prove how strong they were, which gave them power. Because of their little experience, the Roman navy benefited from all the wars in gaining combat experience on sea and skills on training. After the Punic wars, the Romans were supplied with wealth because Carthage was forced to pay a large war debt to Rome in silver. Their wealth led to increasing and continuation of their empire. After Rome defeated Carthage, they became the dominant power in the Mediterranean Region. When Carthage lost, they were put to an end, leaving Rome to have control over Spain. The main reason the three wars were fought was for the control over sea trade and when Rome defeated te Carthage, they gained control over it.

What were the major contributions of Ancient Greece and Rome to modern Western society? Please be specific and organize your response into the following categories:

Government ( Greece ) :

Direct democracy was first introduced in Greece. Direct democracy is a form of government in which citizens rule and not representatives. This democracy started in Athens and is now a Athens legacy. The modern trial by jury was originally started in Ancient Athens. The jurors were all Athenian citizens and had to be over 30 years of age. In the United States, we have narrowed down the number of jurors to just 12 on the court. Today, in the united states we use a  democratic system called representative democracy, which is when citizens vote on who make the decisions in a country. Democracy in Greece was successful because of the things Pericles did. He increased the amount of public officials who were paid, which meant anyone could serve if they were elected by the lot.  Although the United States uses a different kind of democracy than what Greece used, the idea of democracy all started in Greece and spread out into the western civilizations as time passed by to become what it is today. The reason why that was able to happen was because their democracy was successful.

Military ( Greece ):

The Ancient Greece army was a very strong army. One of the major contributions from the Greek military was technology. With Greek being the first to use technology during warfare and combat, they are the reason why we have advanced technology in military’s today. One of the technologies invented was the catapults and giant siege engines. Today, our military’s have been inspired and advanced these technologies to the ones used today. The Greek military also contributed their tactics and formations. Alexander the Great was the king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and the one to invent the first formations during a battle. One of these tactics includes the phalanx formation. Because of this tactic Greece gained victory over Anatolia and Gaugamela, which ended the Persia’s power In the battles Greek and Roman armies wore similar armor. Greek soldiers wore square breastplate on their torso. Romans only wore one greave on their left leg, Greeks wore greaves on both legs. Greaves are metal armor worn to protect the legs. As with technology, armor has also been advanced to protect soldiers from greater threats such as bombs. Greaves have been improved to protect the legs from explosive devices.

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