The Greco-Persian Wars

Date: 499 - 449 BC

Location: Greece, Western Anatolia, Thrace, Macedonia

The Greco-Persian Wars, which were declared by the Persian Emperor Darius the Great were, hence the name, conflicts between the Greek city-states and the Persian Empire. Darius, who at first planned to invade Greece after annexing Thrace, suffered a defeat by the Athenians and Thebians at Marathon in 490 BC, when 10000 Greeks held the pathway to Athens. An army of 25000 Persians arrived off the coast of Marathon, several kilometers far from Athens. After the significant weakening of the Persian army, the Persians saw that they had to retreat, or better yet, get back on the ships and sail to Athens. The Greeks then force marched back to defend their home city. It sure seemed like a marathon too! Luckily for the Greeks, the Persian army was beaten off and Darius and his army were forced to go back home.

Darius's son, Xerxes the Great, came to the throne right after his father. At first, he had to deal with several revolts throughout his empire, but then, he decided to turn his attention to the Greeks. He planned on leading the largest invasion the Greeks had ever seen, and so departed from Sardis alongside his army. At Hellespont, he ordered to build a fleet in case anything sudden happens, notwithstanding the fact that he had to cross the narrow strait. The Spartans and Athenians decided to ally briefly, only to beat off Xerxes, and so the two armies first clashed at Thermoplylae in 480 BC. Unfortunately for Xerxes, he suffered a crushing defeat, and led his other army, that lay right across the mountains, to Athens. There, 300 Athenian soldiers were defending, and Xerxes managed to kill all but two. He then entered Athens, which was uninhabited; all the citizens seemed to have fled. The only hope for the Athenians now was to defeat the Persians at sea, at the crucial Battle of Salamis that same year. Xerxes then returned home, but his army remained in Greece for another year until they were once again defeated at Platea. Persia was no longer a threat to Greece.