I. The Final Exam Essay Questions: How did the differences in Persian and Greek political and military organization determine the course of the Persian Wars?
There are a variety of approaches to this essay. Your essay should, at the very minimum, mention and discuss Sparta, Athens, Persia, hoplite warfare, the Persian Imperial Army, Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis, Plataea, the consequences of the Persian Wars and why it led to the rise of Western Civilization. Within this essay is an opportunity to also discuss hoplite warfare, the Greek polis, and how the Greeks responded to the Persian threat. Likewise, an alternate approach would be to focus on the Persians and their response to the Athenian threat. It is not enough, however, to just mention Marathon. An “A” essay would discuss the legacy of Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis for the western world.
Resources:
Here are excellent academic websites for The Persian Wars:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook07.html
http://www.boisestate.edu/courses/westciv/persian/
Aeschylus, The Persians
http://classics.mit.edu/Aeschylus/persians.html
MIT, The Internet Classics Archive
http://classics.mit.edu/index.html
The Essay:
Each essay should have an introduction and a conclusion. Your introduction must have a thesis (a sentence or two long) that summarizes your answer. Write a thesis that you can defend. Each thesis statement must be underlined. The body of your essay should provide very specific facts that support your thesis and demonstrates your understanding of the material. Your essay should end with a conclusion that summarizes your answer.
The Thesis Statement:
Each essay must have a thesis statement that is underlined. This statement should be one or two sentences that summarizes the argument or analysis that will form the body of your essay. Reduce your answer to a single question. After you have decided what question your essay will answer, write one sentence that answers that question. That is your thesis statement. Your thesis statement should summarize your conclusions about your essay. It should clearly express one main idea.
