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After the naval battle at Salamis, Xerxes realized that the Greeks were going to be a difficult people to defeat. He called another meeting of his commanders to ask for advice. Mardonius, one of his most powerful commanders, urged Xerxes to continue fighting the Greeks or be judged a coward. After listening to all his male commanders, he specifically asked Artemisia for suggestions. She advised Xerxes to leave Greece. He had come to Greece, she argued, to avenge the defeat of his father, king Darius, at Marathon. Xerxes got his revenge by burning Athens and, she continued, he could now leave with justice done. If he feared being called a coward, he could leave Mardonius in Greece to continue fighting. If Mardonius lost, it would not matter because Xerxes had already avenged Darius. If Mardonius won, his victory would be credited to Xerxes, and Persia would gain control of Greece. Xerxes thought Artemisia’s advice was brilliant and decided to leave the Persian forces under Mardonius and return to Persepolis. Mardonius was eventually defeated at Plataea in 479 BC.

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The Greek navy had been pushed back to the island of Salamis to get supplies. Xerxes, king of Persia, was anxious to defeat the Athenian naval fleet, and he felt he had them trapped. He called a meeting of his officers to receive advice. All of Xerxes’ commanders agreed with their leader and told him that the Persian navy should attack the Greeks and destroy them. However, Artemisia, one of his commanders and a woman, advised him against this action. She felt that the Greek ships were superior to the Persian navy and that the Persians should wait until land reinforcements could come. King Xerxes did not listen to Artemisia. Instead, he decided to follow the advice of his other commanders.

Meanwhile, the Greek navy under the command of the Athenian general named Themistocles stayed in a small, enclosed harbor. One day in September 480 BC, Themistocles decided to send a messenger to Xerxes. The messenger told Xerxes that Themistocles wished to switch sides and give control of his navy to Persia. Xerxes had used Greek spies before and thought this might prove to be a great offer.

He felt that with the Athenians on his side, he would be able to defeat the rest of the Greek navy. He sent his navy back to the Bay at Salamis to meet with the Athenians. He set his throne on a cliff overlooking the Bay of Salamis to watch as his navy encountered the Athenians. When the Persian ships sailed into the bay to meet the Athenians, however, the Greeks attacked them. The Greek warships, called triremes, were larger than the Persian vessels. The Persians were unable to get around the Greek navy and became trapped. They were rammed by the triremes, and their smaller ships were tossed about by a strong wind that swept across the bay. The Greek warships also trapped Artemisia’s ship. Quickly, she developed a battle plan. She knew the only way she could escape with her crew would be to pretend she had switched sides. She ordered her ship to ram a fellow Persian ship in an attempt to flee the bay. Thinking she was an ally, the Greeks did not chase her. She was able to escape and save the lives of her crew. The rest of the Persian admirals fled the bay but were pursued by the Greeks who, in the end, destroyed half the Persian fleet.

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The phalanx (shield wall) fighting formation was key to the Greeks' success at Thermopylae.

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After King Darius died, his son, Xerxes (zurk-seez), organized another attack on Greece. King Xerxes gathered a huge army. To get this army from Persia to Greece, Xerxes chose to cross a narrow sea channel between Europe and Asia.  There, he created two bridges by roping hundreds of boats together and laying wooden boards across their bows. In this way, his army was able to “walk” across the channel into Europe.

In 480 B.C.E., Xerxes marched west and then turned south. His forces overwhelmed several Greek city-states. Hearing the news, Athens and Sparta decided to work together to fight the enemy. Their strategy had two parts. The Athenian navy would try to stop the Persian navy. In the meantime, the Spartan king, Leonidas (lee-ON-ih-duhs), would try to stop the Persian army.

Some three to four thousand Greeks put aside their differences and stationed themselves at Thermopylae, where they chose Leonidas from the city-state of Sparta as their leader. With him were 300 Spartan soldiers, whom he had personally selected. The Greeks waited at Thermopylae for reinforcements from the Peloponnesus. While they waited, news reached Leonidas that one million Persians were quickly moving towards Thermopylae. Many of the Greeks favored retreating; others, however, feared that their cities would be at the mercy of the enemy. After some debate, the Greeks decided to stay, and Leonidas and his 300 stood at the front. The rest of the Greeks were stationed behind Leonidas along the path.

The Spartans made their stand at Thermopylae (ther-MOP-uh-lee). At this site, the Persian army would have to go through a narrow pass between the mountains and the sea. Leonidas had only about 6,000 to 7,000 soldiers to stop the Persians. Even so, when the Persians got to the pass, the Greeks drove them back. Xerxes sent more men, only to have many killed and others return wounded. He then ordered his Immortals, or expert soldiers, to attack. The Spartans lined up side by side in a row, their shields covering them from knees to chin. Because the Thermopylae pass was narrow, the Persians could not attack from either left or right. Some time later, the Immortals returned to Xerxes, defeated.

This fighting lasted one or two days until a Greek spy approached Xerxes. The spy told the emperor about a secret pass that would lead the Persian troops behind the Spartans. Xerxes was delighted with the news, and that night the Persian army set out. The soldiers advanced along the pass and then waited for Xerxes’ orders. Meanwhile, Leonidas, having found out that the Persians had the advantage, ordered the rest of the Greeks to retreat, leaving him with his 300.

When morning dawned, Leonidas moved along the pass to wait for the Persian army. Finally, the two groups met in a battle that left Leonidas and all 300 Spartans dead.  Legend says that the Spartans fought until every weapon was broken. Then they fought with their hands. In the end, all the Spartan soldiers were killed. The Persians’ strategy had worked. By having the advantage of the path through the mountains, the Persians were able to surround the Spartans and win the battle. They could now advance to Athens.

Once the Persians had defeated the Greeks at Thermopylae, they marched north towards Athens.

They attacked every city they encountered. They plundered the towns, and took everything they

could from the inhabitants. Whatever they could not take, they destroyed.

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Map of all the battle sites in the Persian Wars

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In 490 BC, Darius sent a fleet of 600 ships and an army to invade the bay of Marathon in Greece.  Marathon is a bay-city 25 miles northeast of the city of Athens.  The Persians expected the Greeks to come to them and fight, however, the Athenians did not come forward to the shores where the Persian army waited. They had only 10,000 troops compared to the Persians’ 20,000 soldiers.  When the Greeks refused to fight, the Persians decided to go back in their ships and sail directly to Athens to attack the city by sea. The Persians began loading their ships with their strongest units – the cavalry.  (Cavalry soldiers are fast and powerful because they ride on horseback.)  As soon as the Persian horsemen were on their ships, the Athenians charged down the hills and onto the plain of Marathon.  They attacked the scrambling Persian army which was forced to retreat after suffering major losses.

Darius vowed revenge but died before he could act on it.  His son, Xerxes [zurk-seez], took over the empire.

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This movie is a description of the major battles of the Persian Wars. It is quick, but informative.

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Leonidas Hot Gates Thermopylae Aerial Video

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A review of the Battle of Thermopylae on the ancient site

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Darius attacked Naxos in Ionia (western coast lands of Turkey) in 499 BC because its people rebelled, but after four months the Persians were forced to retreat.  The Ionians became over-confident and revolted against Persia, setting up a new government for themselves. The Ionian leader, however, knew Persia was strong and asked Sparta and Athens for help. Sparta declined but Athens sent twenty ships. The Ionians were able to conquer Sardis (today, in Turkey) but were eventually defeated by the Persians. King Darius showed mercy towards the Ionians and did not punish them. The Athenians, however, needed to be taught a lesson not to interfere. King Darius attacked Athens in 490 BC at the Battle of Marathon.

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When Cyrus died, his successor was King Darius.  Darius inherited a large empire. Darius governed the empire using an imperial bureaucracy. He assigned satraps (governors) to positions of power throughout the empire. This helped maintain control over provinces that were far away from the Persian capital. He also maintained a standing army, which was not common for that time.

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A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far, far away...

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Cyrus and the Founding of the Persian Empire

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Cyrus and the Founding of the Persian Empire

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In 550 B.C, King Cyrus of Persia conquered the Median kingdom and united the Medes and the Persians. Cyrus the Great then went on to conquer Lydia (today part of Turkey) and the Babylonian empire (in Iraq).

King Cyrus followed a policy of acceptance towards the people he conquered. For example, when he conquered the Medes, he still kept both Median and Persian officials in the government. He also allowed conquered peoples to keep their religious and cultural traditions.  This can be seen in the way he treated the Hebrews after his conquest of Babylon. His acceptance for others led him to create the Charter of Human Rights, which could be compared in some ways to the U.S.'s Bill of Rights.  It guaranteed certain rights to his people.  Additionally, he did not allow slavery within his empire.  At that time in history, it was not common for a ruler to do this.

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The term “Persia” originally referred to a territory centered around what is today the country of Iran. The language spoken by people in that territory since ancient times is known as Persian or Farsi. It is still the main language of Iran today. The Persian empire discussed in this unit did not have fixed boundaries but rather expanded and contracted based on the successes of its rulers.