The Greco-Persian Wars (Medic wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire of Persia and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The main cause of the wars was the Ionian Revolt against the Persians, led by the tyrant of Miletus, Aristagoras. The Persian king Darius the Great vowed to have revenge on Athens and Eretria for helping the rebellion, and sent general Mardonius to Thrace.

Athenian general Miltiades won a decisive victory against the persians at Marathon in 490 BC. Son of Darius, Xerxes, led the second invasion of Greece, defeating the Spartan general Leonidas at Thermopylae in 480 BC. In the same year, Themistocles defeated the persians in a naval battle at Salamis. The Greeks won again at Plataea in Boeotia, in August 479 BC. The same day, the Greeks won the Battle of Mycale, destroying the remnants of the Persian fleet.

Athens founded the Delian League, and continued to campaign against Persia for the next three decades. At the Battle of the Eurymedon in 466 BC, the League won a double victory that finally secured freedom for the cities of Ionia. The end of hostilities was marked by a peace treaty between Athens and Persia, the Peace of Callias.

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Voice & editing: Nicolae Bondar (myself)

Music: Swinging With The Sultan, by Doug Maxwell, downloaded from YouTube Audio Library

Information Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Persian_Wars
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Persian_invasion_of_Greece
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marathon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Persian_invasion_of_Greece
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Salamis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Plataea
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delian_League
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darius_the_Great
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerxes_I
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Callias
https://www.britannica.com/event/Greco-Persian-Wars
https://www.hellenic-art.com/greco-persian-wars.html

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