# The Persian Wars: Greece's Triumph Against Empire

### Key Facts

- Period: 499-449 BCE
- Major Battles: Marathon (490 BCE), Thermopylae (480 BCE), Salamis (480 BCE), Plataea (479 BCE)
- Combatants: Greek city-states vs. Persian Empire
- Outcome: Greek victory, preservation of independence

The Persian Wars represent one of history's most remarkable military achievements: a coalition of small Greek city-states defeating the mighty Persian Empire, the largest empire the world had yet seen. This conflict would shape Western civilization and demonstrate that unity and determination could overcome seemingly insurmountable odds.

### Marathon: The First Victory

In 490 BCE, Persian King Darius I sent a punitive expedition to punish Athens for supporting Greek rebels in Ionia. At Marathon, approximately 10,000 Athenian hoplites faced a Persian force perhaps twice their size. The brilliant Athenian general Miltiades exploited Persian weaknesses, strengthening his flanks while thinning his center. The Greek phalanx crushed the Persian wings and enveloped their center, routing the invaders. Legend says the messenger Pheidippides ran 26 miles to Athens with news of victory before dying of exhaustion, inspiring the modern marathon race.

### Thermopylae: Noble Sacrifice

Ten years later, Darius's son Xerxes invaded with a massive force estimated between 100,000 to 300,000 men. At the narrow pass of Thermopylae, Spartan King Leonidas led approximately 7,000 Greeks, including his famous 300 Spartans. For three days they held against overwhelming numbers until a traitor revealed a mountain path. Leonidas dismissed most of the army but remained with his Spartans and a few allies to cover the retreat. Their sacrifice became legendary, embodying Greek values of courage and duty.

### Salamis: Naval Masterpiece

After Thermopylae, the Persians sacked Athens, but the Athenian navy remained intact. Athenian leader Themistocles lured the Persian fleet into the narrow straits of Salamis, where Persian numerical superiority became a liability. The heavier Greek triremes rammed and destroyed the Persian ships in confined waters. Xerxes watched his fleet destroyed and retreated to Persia, leaving his general Mardonius with a land army.

### Plataea: Final Victory

In 479 BCE, a united Greek army of approximately 80,000 men faced Mardonius at Plataea. After complex maneuvering, the Greek hoplites proved superior in close combat, killing Mardonius and routing his army. This decisive victory ended Persian attempts to conquer mainland Greece and began a new era of Greek confidence and cultural flowering.

### Legacy

The Persian Wars preserved Greek independence and allowed the development of classical Greek culture, philosophy, and democracy. The conflict demonstrated the effectiveness of the Greek phalanx and hoplite warfare, established Athens as a major power, and inspired Western military thought for millennia. The wars also showed that free citizens fighting for their homeland could defeat subjects fighting for an emperor.