What was the role of the Spartans in the Persian War?

Answer 1

There was no 'Spartan-Persian' War. There were two main Persian invasions, in 490BC by Darius I and 480BC by Darius' son Xerxes I. Sparta arrived too late at the main battle of the First invasion which the Athenians crushed at Marathon. In the second Persian war, Sparta sacrificed their best men along with their King (Leonidas I 490-480BC) at the battle of Thermopylae. 700 Thespians and 300 Thebans also gave their lives to delay the Persian advance. The Persians marched onto Athens which they sacked while the Athenians were safe on the island of Salamis. The Athenian fleet then defeated the vastly outnumbering Persian fleet at the battle of Salamis. The enormous land army engaged with 10000 Spartans leading about 30000 other Greeks at the battle of Plataea in 479BC and defeated the Persian invasion which then returned home to Sardis.

Answer 2

It was evacuated when the Persians advanced into central Greece and its population too refuge in other cities in the Peloponnese. Its army embarked on its fleet and helped win the sea battle of Salamis.

When the Persians withdrew for the winter it was reoccupied by its inhabitants.

Answer 3

The were leading cities of about two hundred Greek city-states which combined and fought to keep Persia from absorbing them into its empia

Answer 4

They provided naval and land contingents at the battles of Salamis and Plataia, and commanded the combined Greek city-state forces at both.