Persian Wars.docx - Tessema 1 Dawit Tessema Professor...

Tessema 1
Dawit Tessema
Professor Michael Kozier
His 101
April 26, 2018
Persian Wars
The following research will feature different wars in Greece that occurred between 490
BCE and 479 BCE. It will use the histories of the Greek researcher Herodotus of Halicarnassus
as the main source of events. The Battle of Marathon was a clash that occurred in 490 BCE
between a Persian invasion force and the Athenians’ army. “The Battle was led by the Persian’s
king then, Darius I the Great” (Doenges, 2). He crossed the Aegean Sea where the Greeks were
troubling his people and successfully subdued the islands. The Persian navy proceeded to attack
Eretria, which took place in 490 BC, one of the cities that had supported Greek rebels in the Asia
Minor. Herodotus states that they fought for six days, “after which the city was betrayed and its
citizens were taken as prisoners” (Herodotus, 34). The Athenians are said to have possessed
better armor and spears compared to the Persians. After their first victory, the Athenians attacked
the Persians from the rear. According to Herodotus (Herodotus, 1834), the Persians lost 6400
men compared to their adversaries who only lost 192 men.
During the Greco-Persian Wars in 480-479 BCE, king Xerxes of Persia intended to
triumph over all of Greece in the second Persian invasion of Greece. The king’s intention was to
avenge his father, king Darius. “However, he could not carry out his wishes immediately since he
had to suppress the revolt in Egypt first” (De Souza, 2). Two years later, the Persians fought
against the Athenians and Spartans. Only a tenth of the Greek cities joined the Spartan-Athenian
resistance. The others remained neutral or submitted to Persia. The battle began at Hellespont

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where king Xerxes and his navy had to cross the straits between Europe and Asia. However,
currents and winds swept his fleet downstream angering the king. The absurdity of his inflated