25. Q. In what naval contest were the Persians soon after totally
defeated? A. The battle of Salamis.
26. Q. On the same day of the battle of Salamis what contest occurred at
the island of Sicily? A. The battle of Himera, in which the Carthaginian
forces under Hamilcar were utterly routed by Gelo, the tyrant of Syracuse.
27. Q. In the following year what land and what naval battles gave the
final death blow to the Persian rule in Europe? A. Platæa and Mycale.
28. Q. What league was formed to keep the Persians out of the Ægean? A. A
league called the Confederation of Delos, the different states annually
contributing to Athens a certain number of ships, or a fixed sum of money
for the support of the navy.
29. Q. After the banishment of Themistocles and the death of Aristides,
who were the leading men at Athens? A. Pericles and Cimon.
30. Q. To all students of Grecian literature, who must always appear as
the central figure of Grecian history? A. Pericles.
31. Q. What is the period during which Pericles ruled Athens called? A.
The Age of Pericles.
32. Q. During the latter part of the life of Pericles what war broke out
in Greece, which lasted twenty-seven years? A. The Peloponnesian war in
which nearly all the states of Greece took part, Athens and Sparta being
on opposite sides.
33. Q. What was the plan for the conduct of the war on either side? A.
The Spartan plan was to invade and desolate Attica, while that of Athens
was to ravage the coast of the Peloponnesus with its fleet.
34. Q. While the citizens of Attica were seeking protection within the
walls of Athens, what leader died during the pestilence that followed? A.
Pericles.
35. Q. Who was chief among the demagogues that now arose in Athens? A.
Cleon, a cruel, arrogant boaster, who gained power by flattering the
populace.
36. Q. What was the fate of Platæa during this war? A. It was besieged by
the Spartans, and when those defending the city surrendered every man was
put to death and the city razed to the ground.
37. Q. After peace had been established, by the influence of what
demagogue was the bloody contest renewed? A. By the influence of
Alcibiades, a young nobleman, the nephew of Pericles and pupil of
Socrates.
38. Q. What naval expedition was fitted out at the instance of
Alcibiades, and with what result? A. An expedition against Sicily. The
Athenian ships were defeated, and the troops attempting to flee by land
were overtaken and forced to surrender.
39. Q. Before the final defeat of the expedition, to what rival city had
Alcibiades given his support upon being summoned to Athens to answer
charges that had been brought against him? A. To Sparta.
40. Q. How was the Peloponnesian war ended? A. By the surrender of Athens
and her fleet, and the destruction of her long walls.
41. Q. By whom was Athens now for a time ruled? A. An oligarchy of thirty
persons. After they had ruled only eight months the Athenian exiles
returned in arms, overthrew the tyrants, and re-established a democratic
government.
42. Q. What is meant by the “Retreat of the Ten Thousand” in Grecian
history? A. The march of ten thousand Greeks from the heart of the
Persian empire through a hostile country back to Greece.
43. Q. What battle, under what general resulted in the overthrow of
Spartan rule, and made Thebes the chief city in Greece? A. The battle of
Leuctra, the Theban army being led by Epaminondas.
44. Q. At what place did Epaminondas fight his last battle and die in the
moment of victory? A. At Mantinea.
45. Q. When Philip came to the throne of Macedon, to what end did he bend
every energy of his mind? A. To becoming the head of all Greece.