When the invasion by Xerxes became imminent in 480 BCE, the city-states met in a council to determine their strategy. There were some difficulties they had to overcome: * First, Xerxes' agents had alread been through Greece in a softening up campaign, with bribes and promising dissident factions in the cities that they would become the rulers of their cities under his overall rule. The council was therefore unsure who was reliable and who had 'Medised', but certainly suspected cities such as the Thessalians and Thebes which would be the first to be run over by Xerxes' forces and therefore most likely to switch sides. * Second, Xerxes had a superior fleet (drawn from Phoenicia, the Greek cities of Asia Minor and the islands, and Egypt). This gave him the amphibious capability to attack any of the cities near the coast (which most were) one by one. So the cities were reluctant to send out their armies to a joint force against the invasion, but kept them at home to defend their cities. The states of the Peloponnese talked of building a wall across the Isthmus of Corinth, and sending some of their soldiers to man it, but this was a sham as the Persian fleet could simply outflank this and land soldiers directly at the cities, and the contingents would never actually be released from their cities. Athens knew it was exposed, and made plans to evacuate the city, sending the families to cities in the Peloponnese for sanctuary, with all its manpower, including its infantry, manning its 200 warships. Athens and Sparta sent an expeditionary force of 100 ships and 10,000 infantry north to the pass at Tempe to act as a delaying force and stiffen the resolve of the northern city-states. The king of Macedonia, who had no option but to side with Xerxes, sent secret word to them that Xerxes intended to bypass this by cutting an inland road, so this expedition was withdrawn. The plan was then resolved that the only way to free the southern cities to come out and fight was to destroy the Persian amphibious capability. As the Persian fleet was almost twice the size of the Greek one, and had larger ships, it was determined to arrange to engage it in narrow waters so that the Greeks would not be overwhelmed. The strait between the island of Euboea and the mainland was selected, and small forces sent from several of the cities to block the land route at the Thermopylae pass to force the Persians to send their fleet through the strait nearby to outflank the land blockage. The pass was held for three days, and on each day a naval engagement was fought, with the combined Greek fleet coming off second best. It was withdrawn to the Strait at Salamis for a second attempt there, which was successful. The Persian amphibious capacity was broken, and Xerxes could not even protect his sea supply line and had to take half his army home as the countryside could not support them over winter. As planned, no longer threatened by Persian amphibious attacks, the cities of the south joined their forces at Plataia the following spring and defeated the remaining half of Persian army and its Greek allies. At the same time the Greek fleet destroyed the rump of the Persian fleet at Mykale in Asia Minor.
By xerxis trying to take over the greek empire
The Greeks settled on the seaboard and river valleys, and each group formed independent city-states - a defensible commercial city surrounded by arable lad. The Persians were people of the mountains and plains, rather than cities, and the empire they established was widespread and similar - the cities were centres of governance and commerce, rather than the core of the separate states as the Greeks did.
Because most of the records historians have about the Persians were written by Greeks, the history is very skewed (Greeks hated the Persians- they had lots of wars). It's very negatively biased.
Basically the greeks themselves, Persians, romans, goths, and that's about it.
The Persians threatened the Greeks
The Mediterranean Sea.
The Greeks had superior armor and tactics than did the Persians .
The Persians wanted peace and prosperity in their empire. It included the Greek cities of Asia Minor, who were restive and were stirred up and supported by Greek cities of mainland Greece. The Persians concluded that the only way to get peace was to incorporate the mainland Greek cities in their empire and appoint Greek tyrants to each city to keep them quiet. Some of the cities joined the Persians, the southern city-states resisted, putting aside temporarily their usual fighting between themselves and spent 50 years warding off the Persian Empire. The Persians became tired of this and agreed to stay out of Greece, and left the Greek cities to go back to their usual fighting amongst each other. Athens kept hold of the Greek cities which had supported them in the defence against the Persian Empire and converted them into an empire of its own.
They incorporated the Greek cities in Asia Minor and the Islands into their empire. The mother cities in mainland Greece interfered on the side of these cities against the Persians who decided to bring those mainland cities within the em pire to create an ethnic frontier. This attempt failed.
The Greeks stood their ground and fought for their freedom against the Persians. Their victory caused the Greeks many lives.
The Greeks stood their ground and fought for their freedom against the Persians. Their victory caused the Greeks many lives.
The Greeks settled on the seaboard and river valleys, and each group formed independent city-states - a defensible commercial city surrounded by arable lad. The Persians were people of the mountains and plains, rather than cities, and the empire they established was widespread and similar - the cities were centres of governance and commerce, rather than the core of the separate states as the Greeks did.
The Greeks.
It did not. Athens was occupied by the Persians, its people evacuated and given refuge in southern Greek cities and its forces were embarked on its fleet to help defeat the Persians at sea.
It did not. Athens was occupied by the Persians, its people evacuated and given refuge in southern Greek cities and its forces were embarked on its fleet to help defeat the Persians at sea.
The Greeks saw the Persians off, so nothing changed.
the Greeks were powerful
The Persians gave up trying the stop the Greeks disrupting peace by fighting amongst themselves. Having seen off the Persians the Greek cities went back to fighting each other, engaging in devastating wars. The Persians left them to it.