The Battle of Plataea was a land battle between Greeks and Persians near the small town of Plataea in Boeotia in 479 BCE. Following up their naval victory at the Battle of Salamis in September 480 BCE against the same enemy, the Greeks again defeated an invading army sent by the Persian ruler Xerxes I (r. 486-465 BCE), this time thanks to their hoplite warriors. The victory ensured the continued independence of their city-states and permitted an astonishingly rich period of artistic and cultural endeavour to begin which would lay the cultural foundations of all future Western civilizations.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 650 BCE - c. 350 BCEHoplites are the major protagonists in Greek land warfare.
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11 Sep 490 BCEA combined force of Greek hoplites defeat the Persians at Marathon.
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Aug 480 BCEThe indecisive battle of Artemision between the Greek and Persian fleets of Xerxes I. The Greeks withdraw to Salamis.
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Aug 480 BCEBattle of Thermopylae. 300 Spartans under King Leonidas and other Greek allies hold back the Persians led by Xerxes I for three days but are defeated.
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Sep 480 BCEBattle of Salamis where the Greek naval fleet led by Themistocles defeats the invading armada of Xerxes I of Persia.
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479 BCECycladic city states contribute to the victorious Greek forces against the Persians at the battle of Plataea.
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479 BCEXerxes' Persian forces are defeated by Greek forces at Plataea effectively ending Persia's imperial ambitions in Greece.
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479 BCEAlexander I the Philhellene allegedly reveals Mardonius' battle plans to the Greeks in the eve of the Battle of Plataea.
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c. 430 BCE - 415 BCEThe Histories of Herodotus is published. The work is divided into nine chapters, each dedicated to one of the Muses.
