The Persian Wars

War was an important aspect of Athenian life and social development. Two of Athens’ main enemies—Darius and Xerxes, kings of the Persian Empire—also appear in the Bible. The Persian Empire, seeking to expand during the late sixth century bc, conquered much of Ionia, the eastern provinces of ancient Greece.

In 490 bc, the Persian army (under King Darius) met the Athenians in northeastern Attica at the plains of Marathon. The Persians were defeated; that ended King Darius’ attempts to take control of Athens (Hammond, A History of Greece, 204–218). However, Darius’ son, Xerxes, sought to finish his father’s wars by invading Attica from the north. Athens was abandoned by its citizens and ransacked by the Persians, but the Athenians merely jockeyed for strategic positioning (Hammond, A History of Greece, 237–244). In the naval battle of Salamis in September of 480 bc, the Athenians trapped and hindered Persian ships by the narrow straits near Salamis. The Athenian navy then issued a decisive blow to the Persian armada. Although the Persians would not be defeated until the Battle of Plataea a year later, much of the Persian army and Xerxes himself withdrew from Greece following the Battle of Salamis (Bury and Meiggs, A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great; Hammond, History of Greece, 178–253.)