How many wars were in ancient Greece?

Answer 1

There were two main Persian campaigns into mainland Greece:

1. Darius I of Persia, in 490 BCE, sent a punitive expedition against Athens and Eretria - defeated by Athenian forces at the Battle of Marathon.

2. Xerxes I (Darius' son) - defeated in the naval battle of Salamis 480 BCE, and in 479 BCE in the land battle of Plataia and the sea-land battle of Mykale.

3. There was subsequent fighting, including the naval battles at Euurymedon 466 BCE and Cyprus 449 BCE, after which Persia signed a peace, undertaking not to intrude into Greek waters.

Answer 2

Greece was made up of hundreds of independent city-states stretching from present day France, around the Mediterranean littoral through to Asia Minor and the Black Sea. These cities oftern formed various leagues for mutual defence and pursuing their interests by force.

This myriad of city-states had running disputes with each other for various reasons - territorial ownership, but sometimes trade, religious matters, etc. And there were external foes to repel, subdue or pillage. Resolution of the problems was often settled by mediation by a third party, but more often was resolved by war.

So in any and every year there would have been one or more wars in progress for the 1,000 years of recorded Greek history before Rome absorbed the Greek world and brought the Pax Romanum to them. And this 1,000 years doesn't include the previous 1,000 years when the Greek tribes were progressively taking over mainland Greece from its existing inhabitants by force.

Answer 3

Endless.