Greek History

The Persian Wars 499 BCE to Victory at Mykale 479 BCE

The Persian Wars of are great significance to the history of Western Civilization. The survival of the Greeks in the Persian War assured the survival of their culture. By 500 BCE the Persians had amassed an extensive empire in East. Under their domain lay Mesopotamia, Egypt, Trace, Parthia, Asia Minor and parts of India. To the Greeks, especially the Athenians, the Persians were tyrants who enslaved those that they conquered. The Persian War has its beginnings in Ionia in 499 BCE when a revolt of the Greeks living in Ionia under Persian rule was supported by Athens. This support enraged the Persian king Darius. Herodotus largely claims that it was revenge that pushed Darius to war with the Greek states; but this is probably oversimplification. Ancient Greek authors have a tendency to simplify the causes of conflicts in order to create conflict points that echo those found in Homer’s work. Darius most likely saw the conquest of Greece as an economic opportunity. In 490 BCE, Darius sent a fleet across the Aegean, hoping from island to island. The Persians, as they progressed secured several key Greek islands in the Aegean before they landed at Marathon.

The battle of Marathon has always had particular significance in western history. The battle is largely definitive of the triumph of democracy over tyranny. The idea that a small contingent of loyal, freedom loving citizens could hold off one of the largest and most powerful armies of the day has always captivated western thought. This is more myth than truth however. The people of the day would not have seen this battle and the Persian War in general as some great clash of ideals, rather they would have seen this battle as yet another standard fare. The myth of the battle of Marathon is quite different then the truth. Most of what we know about the battle comes from the writings of Herodotus and recent historical work has suggested that much that we had taken as fact from his works may in fact be incorrect. It has been suggested that the Persians were in fact the ones outnumbered at Marathon not the Athenians. This fact could upset what is one of most critical tales in Western society. However, since most of this work remains to be completed, this particular history of the First Persian War will examine what considered the traditional history of the Persian War.

When Darius reached the coast at Marathon he had expected a rather easy landing, what he got was a battle that ended his adventures in the west. When the Athenians learned of the Persian attack, they sent a runner to Sparta for help. However, the Spartans declined as they were celebrating a religious festival. The only ally the Athenians were able to get troops from, were the Plataeans. The Greek forces took up position on the main road into the plain. For reasons that are not yet known, Militades led a charge against the Persians. This is rather confusing for several reasons. Firstly, Militades was not the commander of the Greek army on that particular day. Secondly, the Greeks could only have gained by delaying the battle. Delay might have given the Spartans a chance to enter the battle. None-the-less, the Greeks met the Persians on the plains of Marathon. As they fought, the Persians began to break through the centre, however the Greeks were victorious on the wings and were able to turn back the Persians that had broken through the centre. Confused and routed, the Persians retreated to their boats. Herodotus put the Greek losses at 192 and the Persians at 6400.

The Greek victory at Marathon did not ensure Greek success in the war as the Persians still grossly outnumbered the Greek forces. The Persians set off in their boats for Athens, however the Athenians beat them back to the city and the Persians withdrew their fleet and returned to Persia. It is not exactly known or understood why the Persians decided to retreat at this point, perhaps it was due to the fact the Spartans had sent their army towards Athens. The reason, whatever it is will probably remain a mystery. When the Spartans finally did arrive, they congratulated their Greek allies on a job well down and went back home. Today a burial mound still exists in Greece that is a tribute to those who fell at Marathon. Within the mound lie the remains of the Athenian dead.

With the defeat of the Persians, the victorious commander Militades was at the height of his power and influence. Ironically the Athenians convicted the man considered to Athens greatest hero shortly after his great victory. Militades has used his influence to convince the assembly to attack and siege the island of Paros. The attack failed and Militades was convicted of “deceiving the people”. Initially he was to be executed, but a fine of 50 talents was levied against him instead. However, Militades died of gangrene before he could pay the fine. The danger of one man gaining too much power can be seen in the example of Militades. The Athenians greatest weapon again me with too much power was the ostracism. The “ostracism” was first introduced by Kleisthenes as a kind of “negative popular vote”. Every year Athenians would cast votes against their own citizens, the person who won, or lost in this case, was forced into exile for ten years.

Despite the stunning victory at Marathon the Greeks remained fearful that Persian retaliation lay on the horizon. These fears were partially culled when Darius son Xerxes became embroiled in a revolt in Egypt in 486 BCE. Darius died later in 486 BCE, after the death of his father Xerxes quickly and brutally suppressed the revolt in Egypt. It was not until 483 BCE that Xerxes was able to turn his attention towards Greece. According to Herodotus, Xerxes did not inherit his father’s love of war. Herodotus claims that this lack of enthusiasm is largely responsible for Xerxes defeat in the Second Persian War. Herodotus recounts Xerxes preparations when he finally did decide to move against the Greeks in 483 BCE, in great deal. According to Herodotus Xerxes attempted to build a bridge across the Hellespont. When the first pair of bridges were destroyed, Herodotus states that the King ordered the engineer responsible killed and the Hellespont whipped. Herodotus estimated Xerxes forces to number 5 283 220. This number is absolutely ridiculous, however it does tell us that the Greeks believed that Xerxes drew a large number of forces from across his empire in order to counter the Greeks.

The expedition of Xerxes, unlike his fathers’, was a combined action of both land and sea. The first battle of the war took place at Thermopylae, like the battle of Marathon, Thermopylae is one of the most famous battles in history, but for vastly different reasons. The Spartans and their allies, led by the Spartan general Leonides took a defensive position in narrow pass between the mountains and the sea. For a time they succeeded in holding the Persians back as the nature of the location in which they were fighting forced them into a bottleneck. However, the Persians eventually found a mountain path that allowed them to surround the Greeks. Leonides, sensing the hopelessness of the situation allowed the Greek allies to flee while his Spartan warriors prepared for the final stand. While Marathon demonstrated the Athenian ideal of the strength of free men fighting for their homeland, Thermopylae added to the Spartan mystique of the warrior. In Spartan society there were only two ways to come back from a battle, with your shield held high, or on your shield. At Thermopylae the Spartans made a heroic sacrificial stand that exemplifies the warrior code that each Spartan lived by.

At the same time as the battle of Thermopylae another battle was being waged on the waters near Artemisium. Using the triremes that Thermistocles had convinced the Athenians to build after they discovered a rich silver mine, the Athenians were able to fight the Persians to a draw. The battle of Artemisium is significant as it showed the Athenians the quality of Thermistocles leadership. This trust gained by the Athenians of Thermistocles would be important, as Athens would soon face its greatest test. After the victory at Thermopylae road to Athens was completely open. The Athenians, in order to decide the proper course of action to take called a meeting of the assembly. At the assembly the Athenians decided that it would be wise to consult the Oracle at Delphi for advice. The Oracle delivered the Athenians a cryptic message that stated that the people of the city would find safety behind a wooden wall. According to Herodotus, Thermistocles interpreted this message to mean that the Athenians would find safety behind their wooden ships. With a stirring speech Thermistocles was able to convince almost every Athenian citizen to abandon his or her homes and evacuate the city. Thermistocles strategy at the battle of Salamis is often considered to be one of the greatest military strategies in western history. With their wives and children safe on the island of Salamis, every able bodied Athenian citizen boarded a trireme and prepared for what would be the turning point of the Second Persian War.

Thermistocles, in a cunning move sent a servant to Xerxes who acted like a defector and revealed Thermistocles supposed plans to escape from Salamis. While the Persians prowled the waters all night waiting for the Athenians to attempt their escape, the Athenians were able to rest and prepare for battle the next morning. In the morning the Athenians refreshed and ready for battle met the weary Persians in battle. The Athenians were able to draw the Persians into the narrows where the Persians were unable to keep formation. In the confusion the Greek crews sunk ship after ship. The battle of Salamis turned the tide for the Greeks in the Second Persian War. It was at this point that Xerxes decided to secure his own escape and fled back to Persia, leaving his army under the command of Mardonius. Numerous skirmishes and battles followed Salamis, but for the most part the Persians had lost the initiative. At the battle of Platea Mardonius was eventually killed and the remainder of the Persian fleet destroyed at the battle of Mykale in 479 BCE. Though the Persians were defeated, their influence in Greece was strengthened through the contacts they had made with a variety of Greek city-states during the war. The Persians would continue to have their hand in Greek affairs until Alexander the Great swept into Persia in the 4th century BCE.

Next: The Pentecontaetia and the Peloponnesian War: 448 to 405 BCE
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