Ancient Greece: Part 2: The Persian Wars (94) (2 of 2)

A few years after the Persian defeat at Marathon, King Darius died. He was succeeded by his son Xerxes, who yearned to avenge the humiliation of the Persians. In 480 B.C., Xerxes mounted another invasion of Greece. His army was so large, Greek historians tell us, that wherever they marched they drank the rivers dry. This is obviously an exaggeration, but it is clear that the Greeks were vastly outnumbered.

The Greek city-states came together in an alliance to resist the Persians. As Xerxes troops marched into northern Greece, a small group of Greeks led by Spartans tried to hold them off at a mountain pass called Thermoplylae. Someone warned a Spartan warrior that when the Persians shot their arrows, there were so many of them that they blotted out the sun. "This is pleasant news," the Spartan replied coolly. "If the Persians hide the sun, we will have out battle in the shase." When the Persians attacked, the Greeks fought fiercely The small band held off Xerxes' mighty army for several days before being overwhelmed and slaughtered. Afterward the name "Thermoplylae" would come to stand for great courage against overwhelming odds.

Ther Persians marched south, capturing Athens and burning much of the city. But then the tide of war turned in favor of the Greeks. In a great sea battle at Salamis near Athens, the Greek and Persian fleets confronted each other. The Greeks were again outnumbered, but their warships were faster and nimbler than those of the Persians. Also, as a seafaring nation, Greece had many more skilled sailors than did Persia. At Salamis, the Greeks managed to sink much of the Persian fleet. The remaining ships fled back to Persia. Fearing capture, Xerxes fled as well. Still hoping to capture Greece, he left behind a large portion of his land army. But the following year (479 B.C.), the allied Greeks crushed the Persian forces at the battle of Plataea. By coming together, the Greek city-states had defeated the most powerful epire on earth. Persia would never again threaten the independence of Greece.