The Greeks, by comparison, were fragmented, with only 30 or so city-states actively opposing the Persian invasion; even those were prone to quarrel with each other.
Second Persian invasion of Greece. The Athenian general Themistocles succeeded in luring the Persian navy into the narrow Straits of Salamis, where the huge number of Persian ships became disorganised, and were soundly beaten by the Allied fleet. The Allied victory at Salamis prevented a quick conclusion to the invasion,...
The Athenians and Spartans led the Greek resistance. About a tenth of the Greek city-states joined the 'Allied' effort; most remained neutral or submitted to Xerxes. The invasion began in spring 480 BC, when the Persian army crossed the Hellespont and marched through Thrace and Macedon to Thessaly.
Finally, it moved to attack Athens, landing at the bay of Marathon, where it was met by a heavily outnumbered Athenian army. At the ensuing Battle of Marathon, the Athenians won a remarkable victory, which resulted in the withdrawal of the Persian army to Asia.
Asia Minor had been brought back into the Persian fold, but Darius had vowed to punish Athens and Eretria for their support for the revolt. Moreover, seeing that the political situation in Greece posed a continued threat to the stability of his Empire, he decided to embark on the conquest of all Greece.
The first Persian invasion of Greece, during the Greco-Persian Wars, began in 492 BC, and ended with the decisive Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC....First Persian invasion of Greece.Date492 – 490 BC.ResultPersian victory in Thrace and Macedon Persian failure to capture Athens2 more rows
At the famous Battle of Thermopylae, the Allied army held back the Persian army for three days, before they were outflanked by a mountain path and the Allied rearguard was trapped and annihilated....Second Persian invasion of Greece.Date480–479 BCLocationGreeceResultGreek victory
Economic problems in Sparta had led to a drop in population. Even if they had had the will, the Spartans could no longer field an army of sufficient size to dominate. Soon, other cities in the Peloponnese gained their liberation from Spartan hegemony.
482 BC – 479 BCSecond Persian invasion of Greece / Period
The Persian Empire began to decline under the reign of Darius's son, Xerxes. Xerxes depleted the royal treasury with an unsuccessful campaign to invade Greece and continued with irresponsible spending upon returning home. Persia was eventually conquered by Alexander the Great in 334 B.C.E.
The Battle of Mycale was one of the two major battles that ended the second Persian invasion of Greece during the Greco-Persian Wars. It took place on or about August 27, 479 BC on the slopes of Mount Mycale, on the coast of Ionia, opposite the island of Samos.
The End of the Greek Polis It is common to consider the Greek polis ended at the Battle of Chaironeia, in 338 B.C, but An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis argues that this is based on the assumption that the polis required autonomy and that was not the case.
Constant war divided the Greek city-states into shifting alliances; it was also very costly to all the citizens. Eventually the Empire became a dictatorship and the people were less involved in government. There was increasing tension and conflict between the ruling aristocracy and the poorer classes.
The Greeks were finally defeated at the Battle of Corinth in 146 BC. Rome completely destroyed and plundered the city of Corinth as an example to other Greek cities. From this point on Greece was ruled by Rome.
By around 800 BCE, there were many poleis which functioned independently.
The rise of the polis. The territory of Greece is mountainous; as a result , ancient Greece consisted of many smaller regions, each with its own dialect, cultural peculiarities, and identity. Regionalism and regional conflicts were a prominent feature of ancient Greece.
It formed the Delian League, ostensibly to create a cohesive Greek network among city-states to ward off further Persian attacks. Under the leadership of Pericles, Athens grew so powerful that the Athenian Empire could effectively dictate the laws, customs, and trade of all her neighbors in Attica and the islands of the Aegean.
A map of Greece showing the Aegean, Cretan, and Adriatic seas. Various ancient Greek city-states are depicted in bright colors. The map shows some of the many city-states and includes the places that various characters from. are supposed to have come from.
Greek colonization led to the spread of the Greek language and Greek culture, but it also resulted in tensions with the neighboring Persian empire, culminating in the Persian Wars.
The territory of Greece is mountainous; as a result, ancient Greece consisted of many smaller regions, each with its own dialect, cultural peculiarities, and identity. Regionalism and regional conflicts were a prominent feature of ancient Greece. Cities tended to be located in valleys between mountains or on coastal plains and dominated the countryside around them.
Due to the increasing populations of the city states and the insufficient resources available, many Greeks began to look outward and create settlements outside of mainland Greece. Between the eighth and sixth centuries, hundreds of colonies were established on the coasts of the Mediterranean and Black seas.