Greco-Persian Wars Essay

The Greco-Persian Wars

In the 6th century BCE, the city-states that existed on mainland Greek and the surrounding islands, were threatened by the Persian Empire, who came from the area that is now Iran. As the Persians expanded their empire westwards, they eventually encountered the city-states that existed on the west coast of Asia Minor. These city-states had been trading with the Greek city states for some time, and were eventually conquered by the encroaching Persian expansion in 546 BCE. In 500-499 BCE these Ionian city-states were discontent and sick of Persian rule, and rebelled. They were helped by the naval forces of Athens and Eretria. While the Ionian city states were successful at first, the Persian army eventually crushed the revolt. Persia may have crushed the Ionian revolt, but the Persian King Darius were very upset that the Greek city-states would dare oppose him. This set in motion the wars and battles between the Greeks and Persians that stretched from 490 BCE, with the battle of Marathon to the battle of Salamis and Plataea in 480 BCE.

In 490 BCE, the Persian

The armies from the Eastern provinces were gathered in Kritala, Cappadocia and were led by Xerxes to Sardis where they passed the winter. Early in spring, it moved to Abydos where it was joined with the armies of the western provinces. Then the army that Xerxes had mustered marched towards Greece, crossing the Hellespont on two pontoon bridges. The numbers of this Persian army range from Herodotus’ unrealistic figure of 2.5 million, to the more realistic number of around 200,000 soldiers that most modern historians agree on. At a central point of mainland Greece, the Isthmus of Corinth, thirty-one city-states meet, in the autumn of 481 and again in the spring of 480 to devise a strategy. It is agreed that they will combine their resources, both military and naval, in a common force under the command of