Persian Wars
Last Updated      10/29/2007      10/28/2007      10/27/2007

The Persian Wars were a defining moment in Greek history.   In the middle of the sixth century BC, the Greek city-states in Ionia, which was along the west coast of Asia Minor, came under the control of the Lydians and their king, Croesus (560-546 BC).  When the Persians conquered the Lydians in 546 BC, all the states subject to the Lydians came under the control of the Persians. The Persians controlled their new subject-states very closely by appointing a tyrant to rule. They also required them to serve in the Persian army and to pay fairly steep taxes.

Revolt of the City-States
In 499 BC, the tyrant of Miletus, Aristagoras, began a democratic rebellion in 499 BC.  
He had been placed in power by the Persians.
He persuaded the Persians to launch a failed expedition against Naxos.
He began to fear for his life.
He planned a rebellion against the Persians and went to the Greek mainland for support.
Aristagoras first went to the Spartans.
They were the most powerful state in Greece, but they refused him. 
The Athenians promised him twenty ships. 
In 498 BC, the Athenians conquered and burned Sardis, which was the capital of Lydia.
All the Greek cities in Asia Minor joined the revolt.
The Athenians, however, lost interest and went home. 
By 495 BC, the Persians, under king Darius I (521-486 BC), had restored control over the rebellious Greek cities.
Athens had now gotten the attention of Darius I.
He wanted to punish the mainland Greeks for helping the Ionians.

Battle of Marathon
In 490 BC, the Persians launched an expedition against Athens.
They were met, however, by one of their former soldiers, Miltiades.
He had been an outstanding soldier in the Persian army,
He took to his heels when he angered Darius.
Unlike other Athenians, he knew the Persian army and he knew its tactics.
The two armies, with the Athenians led by Miltiades, met at Marathon in Attica. 
Darius had sent 600 ships and a well-equipped army. 
At first light Kallimachos led out his armoured force (around 10,000 men).
They lined up so that they covered the length of the Persian army.
The centre was thin and both wings were reinforced.
After several days the Persians decided to sail directly to Athens. 
When most of the Persian soldiers were aboard, Greek soldiers ran down, in close order. 
His men charged for a mile across the plain.
The Persians pushed forward, with the Greek centre hanging back.
The two wings of the Greek force moved fast and closed in on the enemy flanks.
They charged through the Persians and 'joined hands' behind the Persian centre.
The remaining troops were not prepared for this kind of attack.
This caused wide-scale panic among the Persian troops.
They rushed to get to their naval base and many were trampled to death.
64,000 Persians were killed.
The Athenians roundly defeated the invading army.
A runner, named Pheidippides, was sent to athens with news of the victory. 
Upon reaching Athens he cried out Nike (victory), and he died of exhaustion.
The distance from Marathon to Athens is 26 miles.
This is the inspiration for the modern marathon race.

Results of Greek Victory
The battle, the Battle of Marathon (490 BC), is the single most important battle in Greek history.
Had the Athenians lost, Greece would have eventually come under the control of the Persians.
All the subsequent culture and accomplishmenst of the Greeks would probably not have taken place.
For the Athenians, the battle at Marathon was their greatest achievement.
The Athenians began to think of themselves as the center of Greek culture and Greek power.
This pride was the foundation on which much of their cultural achievements were built.

The "Wooden Wall"
Rich silver mines were found near Athens. 
In 481 BC, Themistocles convinced the Athenians to use the profits from this mine to build a navy of two hundred ships.  
The Oracle of Delphi had said that a wooden wall would save Athens from Persia.
Soon Athens had the largest navy in Greece. 
They were prepared if the Persians returned. 

Xerxes
Marathon barely registered to the Persians. 
The Persians controlled almost the entire world: Asia Minor, Lydia, Judah, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. 
When Xerxes (486-465 BC) became king he launched a punitive expedition against Athens.
This time the Persians were determined to get it right.
In 481 BC, Xerxes gathered together an army of some one hundred fifty thousand men.
He had a navy of six hundred ships.
He was determined that the whole of Greece would be conquered by his army.

Thermopylae
The Athenians, however, were prepared. 
In 480 BC,  Xerxes gathered his army at the Hellespont.
Of several hundred Greek city-states, only thirty-one decided to resist the Persian army.
These states were led by Sparta, Corinth, and Athens: the Greek League.
Sparta was made leader of all land and sea operations. 
Xerxes's army was met at the pass of Thermopylae by 7000 Greek soldiers.
King Leonidas of Sparta led the Greek soldiers.
For three days, King Leonidas delayed the Persians at the narrow pass.
This gave time for people of Athens to flee to the island of Salamis. 
A herdsman told the Persians of a way around the pass.  
All the Greeks retreated except for 300 Spartans and 700 other Greeks. 
Every soldier guarding the pass was killed. 
The Persians marched on Athens and set it on fire.


Battle of Salamis
The Greek fleet tricked the Persian fleet into sailing into a narrow starit. 
The Greeks had slow, clumsy boats in comparison with the Persian boats.
They turned their ships into fighting platforms.
They filled their boats with soldiers who would fight with the opposing boats in hand-to-hand combat.
The Athenians managed to destroy the majority of the Persian fleet.
The Persians withdrew their army and returned home.

Footnote:
In other sources the Greek ships are described as lighter and faster than the Persian ships. 
The Persian ships were described as larger, heavier, and slow-moving.

Platea
One Persian general, Mardonius, remained. 
He wintered in Greece.
He was met in 479 BC by the largest Greek army history had ever known.
The army was led by the Spartan king, Pausanias.
Mardonius was killed in the battle of Plataea.
His army retreated back to Persia.

Effects of the Victory
The Spartans were principally responsible for the victory.
The Athenian fleet was probably the most important component of that victory.
This victory left Athens with the most powerful fleet in the Aegean.
Since the Persians hadn't been completely defeated, all the Greeks feared a return.
The majority of Greek city-states didn't turn to Sparta.
They turned, rather, to Athens and the Athenian fleet.
The alliances of the Delian League would benefit Athens.
Athens became the major power of the Greek city-states.
This power would make Athens the cultural center of the Greek world.
The Spartans grew increasingly frightened of Athenian power.
The Spartans were suspicious of Athenian intentions.