Greek and Persian Wars | From Mount Athos to Marathon (Lecture 5)

Lecture 5: Seeking revenge against Athens, the Persian Empire made two attempts to reach the city, which was separated from the Great King’s territories by the wide moat of the Aegean Sea. The first attempt involved a massive Persian fleet traveling parallel to a troop march around the northern end of the Aegean; the ships were caught by a violent gale and wrecked on the coast of the Mount Athos peninsula. The second involved the dispatch of a large fleet directly across the Aegean, which landed at Marathon in 490 B.C. and clashed with the Athenians in one of the most famous battles in history. The confrontation resulted in the resounding defeat of the Great King’s seemingly invincible army and the death of the Persian mystique; the Greeks must have believed that the threat had been averted, but they could not have been more wrong.

Recommended Reading:
Pritchett, Marathon.
Time-Life Books, Persians: Masters of Empire.