38Chapter 2
(sometimes called Zarathustra). A dualistic system in
which Ahura Mazda, the god of light, truth, and good-
ness contends eternally with Ahriman, the god of dark-
ness and evil, Zoroastrianism condemned graven
images and maintained the highest of ethical precepts.
Its radical distinction between good and evil would in-
fluence early Christianity, and Ahriman has been seen
by some as a prototype of the Christian Satan.
Under Cyrus I “the Great” (c. 585–c. 529 B.C.) the
Persians conquered Babylon, together with Egypt,
Syria, Palestine, and most of Asia Minor. Persian suc-
cess was based largely upon imitating Assyrian military
tactics while reversing the Assyrian policy toward con-
quered peoples. Like the Assyrians, the Persians used
cavalry, many of them armed with bows, to pin down
the enemy’s infantry until their own infantry could de-
stroy them. But Persian government was generally be-
nign. It avoided atrocities, except in cases of outright
rebellion, and asked only that new subjects pay tribute
and provide troops for the army. Because local institu-
tions were typically preserved, many parts of the
former Assyrian Empire welcomed the Persians as
liberators.
Greek involvement with the Persian Empire began
when Cyrus the Great conquered the kingdom of Lydia
in 546 B.C. Located in western Asia Minor, Lydia was
heavily influenced by Greek culture and famous for its
wealth. The Lydians are credited with the invention of
modern coinage. Under the fabulously wealthy king
Croesus they established a loose dominance over the
Ionic communities of the western Aegean. When Lydia
fell, the Persians assumed control of its Greek depen-
dencies. In 499 B.C. several Ionian states rebelled
against local rulers backed by Persia and asked main-
land Greeks to help. Sparta, worried about the internal
threat of helot rebellion, refused, but Athens and theIllustration 2.5
Reconstruction of a Greek Trireme from the Era of the Per-
sian Wars.The Olympias,shown here coming into port, was
constructed on the basis of ancient evidence and commissioned
into the Greek navy in 1987. Like the triremes of Themistocle’s
day, it is propelled by 170 rowers arranged on three decks. Sup-
plemental power is provided by square sails rigged on two masts.
In this photo the stern where the triarch or commander sat is
shown at left. The bow with its formidable ram is visible on the
right.