[Sidenote: =The Greeks of Asia Minor=]
=271. The Old Wars of the Greeks.= The once greatest enemies of
the Greeks were the Persians, living in western Asia. The Persians
conquered Asia Minor. Here on its coast the Greeks had planted many
cities, and they naturally sent ships and soldiers to aid their kinsmen.
[Illustration: AN ATHENIAN WAR GALLEY]
[Sidenote: =The battle of Marathon=]
The king of the Persians, Darius by name, whom we read about in the
Bible, sailed with a great army across the sea to Greece. One hundred
thousand Persians met ten thousand Greeks on the battlefield of
Marathon. The Greeks won.
The old folks and children among the Greeks waited for the news with
breathless anxiety. The minutes grew into hours. At last they saw a
runner coming. He was covered with dust. He had been on the battlefield
and was running to tell the waiting people of the great victory. He
dropped dead as he called out, "Victory!" He had run twenty-four miles!
Both Europe and America have celebrated the victory at Marathon by
naming one of their races in the great Olympic contest the Marathon
race.
[Sidenote: =Xerxes' forces=]
Again, a new king, Xerxes, who reigned over Persia, decided to
overthrow Greece. He gathered a vast host from forty-six tributary
states. He also gathered a fleet greater than any Greece had.
[Illustration: THE PERSIAN KING FLEEING IN THE BATTLE OF ISSUS]
The city of Sparta gave three hundred brave soldiers. Their leader
was Leonidas. The Persian army had to march along the narrow pass of
Thermopylae that ran between high mountains and the sea. Here stood the
brave Spartans. For two days Leonidas held the pass. Through a mountain
road the Persians gained the rear of the Spartan army. But the Spartans
did not retreat. Every Spartan fell fighting for his country. A noble
example!
[Sidenote: =The battle of Salamis=]
The Greek warships met the Persians in the Bay of Salamis and overthrew
them completely. Xerxes took his army and hastened back to Persia. Asia
might be ruled by tyrants but the Greeks were bound to be free.
=272. How Alexander Spread Greek Ideas.= But these wonderful deeds were
not all the Greeks were to do. We have seen Alexander come to the head
of the Greek Empire. He had a wonderful army and resolved to teach the
Persians a lesson or two as well as to spread Greek ideas.
[Sidenote: =The march of the Greeks=]
Alexander's army was not large, but it was the best trained in the
world. Think of the Macedonian phalanx! All the cities of Persia fell
into his hands. Before he was thirty years old, southwestern Asia and
Egypt recognized his rule. Alexandria, situated at the mouth of the
Nile River, was founded by him. It became a center of Greek ideas and
boasted the largest library in the Old World.
=273. Why Alexander Failed.= Alexander's army made its way to India.
But its great general, now only thirty-two, was drunk with power. He
even permitted the people he conquered to worship him as a god. He
loved the wine-cup too well and was stricken with a fever and died.
There was no one to take his place, but much that was finest and best
in Greek life remained to the world.