Persian Wars, Peloponnesian War, and Alexander — Two Perspectives on Greek-Persian Conflict

THREE PROMISES recite (MG-8 Living-Descendant + MG-9 Humanity-FIRST + MG-10 Resilience-FIRST); turn-and-talk on yesterday's exit-ticket or I-STILL-WONDER

• Display Three Promises posters
• Lead recite intentionally
• I-STILL-WONDER chart quick scan

PERSIAN WARS (490-479 BCE): Persia attempted to conquer Greek mainland. Battles: MARATHON 490 BCE (Athenian victory under Miltiades); THERMOPYLAE 480 BCE (Spartan King Leonidas + 300 Spartans + ~7,000 Greek allies held the pass 3 days; defeated when betrayed); SALAMIS 480 BCE (Athenian fleet under Themistocles defeated Persian fleet); PLATAEA 479 BCE (Greek land victory). Greek primary source: Herodotus 'Histories' (c. 430 BCE — 'the father of history'). Persian-perspective sources are scarce because Persian historiography emphasized Achaemenid royal inscriptions rather than narrative history — but the BEHISTUN INSCRIPTION (Darius I, c. 522-486 BCE, carved on cliff in modern Iran, trilingual Old Persian + Elamite + Akkadian) gives the Persian-imperial frame: Darius lists conquests, calls Greeks 'Yauna' (Ionians), but no surviving Persian source treats the Greek Wars as the central event Herodotus made them in Greek memory. APPLY MG-7 MULTI-PERSPECTIVE: Greek and Persian sources record different events as central. PELOPONNESIAN WAR (431-404 BCE): Athens (with Delian League allies) vs Sparta (with Peloponnesian League allies). Thucydides 'History of the Peloponnesian War' is the major primary source. Athens lost in 404 BCE — ending the Classical Athenian democracy's peak. ALEXANDER THE GREAT (356-323 BCE): king of Macedonia from 336 BCE. Conquered Persian Empire 334-330 BCE (battles Granicus 334, Issus 333, Gaugamela 331), Egypt 332 BCE (founded Alexandria), reached Indus Valley 326 BCE. Died Babylon 323 BCE age 32. After his death, his empire split into HELLENISTIC KINGDOMS: Ptolemaic Egypt (Cleopatra VII last queen, d. 30 BCE); Seleucid Empire (Western Asia); Antigonid Macedonia; Attalid Pergamon. NUANCED ASSESSMENT: 'Alexander the Great' is a Greek/Roman-tradition title — Persian + Indian + Egyptian perspectives often record Alexander as conqueror with significant destruction. Persepolis was burned by Alexander 330 BCE. Modern Iranians often remember Alexander as 'Iskandar the Accursed.' Modern Greeks remember him as the spreader of Greek civilization.

• MG-7 multi-perspective in action.

  model Greek sources (Herodotus) center the Persian Wars as the defining event of Greek identity. Persian sources (Behistun Inscription + royal inscriptions) treat the Greek conflicts as a minor frontier matter; the Greek war is not the central narrative of Persian imperial history. Multi-perspective shows that the 'same event' can be central from one perspective and peripheral from another.

  prompt What do Greek and Persian sources record differently about the Persian Wars?
• Refuses the single-narrative 'Alexander the Great' default.

  model Greek/Roman tradition: 'Alexander the Great' — spreader of Greek civilization. Persian tradition: often 'Iskandar the Accursed' — conqueror who burned Persepolis and destroyed the Achaemenid Empire. Egyptian: Alexander founded Alexandria. Indian: marked the limit of Greek incursion eastward. Multi-perspective.

  prompt How is Alexander remembered differently across cultures?

• Name 2 Persian War battles.
• What is the Behistun Inscription?
• How is Alexander remembered in Iran vs. Greece?

Apply MG-7 Source Card to comparison of (a) Herodotus Histories VII on Persian forces at Thermopylae and (b) Behistun Inscription Column IV mentioning Yauna (Greeks) as one frontier among many.

M-6-F-CUL-13-A Map

MG-4 Classical Mediterranean Map zoomed: Alexander's conquest route 334-323 BCE traced in red (Macedonia → Granicus 334 → Issus 333 → Egypt 332 → Gaugamela 331 → Persepolis 330 → Bactria → Indus Valley 326 → Babylon 323). Persian War battles marked: Marathon 490 BCE, Thermopylae 480 BCE, Salamis 480 BCE, Plataea 479 BCE. Peloponnesian War theater (Delian League / Peloponnesian League) shaded. Hellenistic Kingdoms after Alexander's death (Ptolemaic Egypt + Seleucid + Antigonid + Attalid) shown in different colors. Modern country outlines faint gray; modern Tehran + Athens + Cairo + Istanbul labeled for living-descendant orientation. Style: clean educational map.

MG-4 Map

Classical Mediterranean Map — physical map showing Aegean Sea + Eastern + Western Mediterranean basins with Greece (Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, Delphi), Asia Minor (Troy, Ephesus, Halicarnassus), Persia (Persepolis, Susa), Phoenicia (Tyre, Sidon, Carthage), Egypt (Alexandria after 331 BCE), Italy (Rome, Pompeii, Ostia), Iberia (Carthago Nova), and Britain (Londinium); routes of Alexander's campaigns 334-323 BCE in one color, routes of Punic Wars 264-146 BCE in another, extent of Roman Empire at maximum (117 CE under Trajan) in a third; modern country outlines faint gray. Scale bar km and mi; compass rose. Style: educational, 18-by-12 inch print.

M-6-F-CUL-13-B Photograph

Photograph of Behistun Inscription (Darius I, c. 522-486 BCE, carved on cliff face, modern Kermanshah province, Iran). Inscription shows trilingual Old Persian + Elamite + Akkadian cuneiform with relief depicting Darius standing over defeated rebels with foot on chest of Gaumata. Caption: 'Behistun Inscription, c. 522-486 BCE. Darius I lists his conquests + claims divine right under Ahura Mazda + names Yauna (Greeks) as one frontier among many. Deciphered by Henry Rawlinson 1837-1857 — the key to cuneiform decipherment. UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006. Modern Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization stewards site.' Style: clean archaeological photography of cliff inscription.

• Mark Alexander's route 334-323 BCE on MG-4

  scaffold Empty route line
• Apply 2-perspective writing prompt: write 3 sentences from Greek perspective on Marathon, 3 sentences from Persian-imperial perspective on the same battle

  scaffold Sentence frames for each perspective

• Name 2 Persian War battles + who won.
• How is Alexander remembered in Iran vs. Greece? (multi-perspective)

• Preview Lesson 14 (Athenian direct democracy AND its exclusions)

• Find one fact about Hellenistic Alexandria (Egypt) — the Library of Alexandria, the Pharos Lighthouse, or Hellenistic Egyptian-Greek cultural fusion.