Greek cities in Ionia and nearby regions rebel against Achaemenid imperial control, drawing limited support from Athens and Eretria. The revolt’s suppression sharpened Persian interest in punishing mainland Greek involvement and helped set the stage for later invasions.
The Achaemenid Empire defeats the rebels and reasserts control across the Ionian region. In Greek memory and later tradition, the revolt became a key prelude to the ensuing Greco-Persian conflicts.
A Persian expedition retaliates against mainland Greek support for the Ionian Revolt by attacking Euboea; Eretria is captured and devastated. The fall of Eretria immediately precedes the Persian landing in Attica that culminates at Marathon.
Athenian and Plataean hoplites defeat a Persian force on the plain of Marathon, forcing a withdrawal and demonstrating that Persian armies could be beaten in pitched battle. Marathon became a foundational morale and prestige victory for Athens and its allies.
Facing a renewed Persian threat, major poleis—including Sparta and Athens—coordinate strategy through a league often associated with deliberations at Corinth. This cooperation underpinned the combined land-and-sea defense of 480–479 BCE.
To move the invasion army from Asia into Europe, Xerxes orders pontoon bridges across the Hellespont (Dardanelles). The crossing became one of the best-known logistical episodes of the campaign in ancient sources.
A Greek force led by Spartan king Leonidas holds the Thermopylae pass against Xerxes’ army before being outflanked and defeated. The stand bought time for Greek coordination and became an enduring symbol of defensive sacrifice.
Greek and Persian fleets clash off Artemisium in a series of engagements; after learning of Thermopylae’s fall, the Greek fleet withdraws. The fighting helped blunt Persian naval momentum before the decisive encounter at Salamis.
Following Thermopylae, Persian forces move into Attica; Athens is evacuated and later sacked. The destruction intensified Greek resolve and set conditions for the naval showdown in the nearby Saronic Gulf.
In the straits near Salamis, the allied Greek fleet defeats the larger Persian navy in a battle closely associated with Themistocles’ strategy. The result constrained Persian sea power and contributed to Xerxes’ decision to withdraw with much of his army.
After Salamis, Xerxes returns toward Asia, leaving Mardonius with a substantial force to try to complete the conquest. The shift set up the climactic land campaigning of 479 BCE in central Greece.
A Greek coalition army defeats Mardonius near Plataea in Boeotia; Mardonius is killed and Persian forces suffer a catastrophic rout. Plataea is widely treated as the decisive land battle ending Persia’s immediate invasion threat to Greece.
Greek forces attack Persian troops and ships at Mycale on the Ionian coast, capturing and burning the beached fleet and triggering renewed Ionian revolt. Together with Plataea, Mycale is often presented as sealing the failure of Xerxes’ invasion.
Greco-Persian Wars: Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis (490–479 BCE)
