Darius now determined to avenge himself on the Athenians and Eretrians for the part that they had taken in the rising. In 492 he sent out an expedition against them under his son-in-law Mardenius, but the Persian fleet was wrecked off the promontory of Mount Athos. Darius had at the same time despatched heralds to the islands and states of Greece to demand earth and water in token of submission. Most of the islands and many of the smaller states yielded, but Athens and Sparta indignantly re fused the demand, and even went the length of putting the heralds to death. Enraged at this insult Darius equipped a second fleet and placed it under the command of Datis and Arta phernes. But this met with no better fate than the first. The Persians landed on the island of Eulxea, and after destroying Eretria, crossed the Euripus into Attica; but here they were met (490 a.c.) on the plain of Marathon by 10,000 Athenians and 1,000 Platzans, under Miltiades, and, although 10 times as numerous, were totally defeated and pursued to their ships. This battle put an end to the second Persian expedition, but Darius at once began to make preparations for a third expedition, and this time on a far greater scale than before. In the midst of these preparations he died, but his son Xerxes, collected an army of 1,700,000 men and a fleet of 1,200 large ships besides a number of smaller ones, crossed the Hellespont in 481 by means of two bridges of boats, and led his army through Thrace, Macedonia and Thessaly, while his fleet followed the line of coast. Thessaly had sur rendered without a stroke, and Xerxes at once pursued his march in the direction of Phocis. But before he could enter this territory he had to make his way through the narrow and diffi cult pass of Thermopylae, and this had previ ously been occupied by 300 Spartans under Leonidas, along with several thousand allies. Here Xerxes in vain attempted to force a passage against a mere handful of Greeks; thousands of his troops were slain; and it was only after Ephialtes had betrayed to the Per sians a foot-path which led over the heights of tita to the rear of the defenders of the pass, that the Persian king effected his purpose. Leonidas allowed all the allies to depart while he himself and his 300 Spartans, along with 700 Thespians who voluntarily remained with them, held out until they were completely annihilated (480 B.0 ).
The way through Phocts and Bceotia was now open to the Persians, who advanced into Attica, and laid the city of Athens in ruins, putting to death the small garrison. The women and children belonging to Athens had by this time, on the advice of Themistocles, been re moved to Salamis, lEgina, and Trcezen, while all the men capable of bearing arms served in the fleet. It was to Themistocles that the de _ liverance of Greece was now chiefly due. The united fleet of the Greeks had already con tended with success against that of the Persians off the promontory of Artemisium, in Eubcea, and had then sailed into the Saronic Gulf, whither it was followed by the enemy. In this confined arm of the sea, where there was no room for the manceuvring of the numerous ships of the enemy, a decisive battle between the two fleets took place with the result that Themistocles had anticipated, the total defeat of the Persians. This battle is known as the battle of Salamis, from the name of an island in the Saronic Gulf, and was fought in the same year as Thermopylae (480 B.c.) Xerxes
himself had been an eye-witness of the battle and at once began a speedy retreat with his land army through Thessaly, Macedonia and Thrace, a retreat which Themistocles had hastened by causing the false report to reach Xerxes, that it was the intention of the Greeks to destroy the bridges of boats over the Hellespont. Xerxes left behind him only 300,000 men in Thessaly. In the spring of the following year (479) these advanced into Attica and com pelled the citizens once more to seek refuge in Salamis; but in the battle of Platma the Greeks, under the command of Pausanias, obtained so complete a victory that only 40,1300 of the Per sians reached the Hellespont. On the same day the remnant of the Persian fleet was attacked and defeated by the Greeks off Mount Mycale, near Samos on the Ionian coast of Asia.
By the brilliant part which the Athenians under Themistocles had played against the Per sians, the influence of Athens had greatly in creased throughout Greece; and this was further strengthened by the fact that the war against Persia, which still continued, was chiefly conducted by sea, where Athens was much more powerful than Sparta. From this date then begins the period of the leadership or hegemony of Athens in Greece, which continued to the close of the Peloponnesian war, 404 s.c. Athens now exerted her influence to form a confed eracy including the Greek islands and maritime towns as well as Athens herself, the object of which was to provide for the continuance of the war by the payment into a common treasury at Delos of a fixed sum of money, and by furnishing ships for the same purpose. In this confederacy Athens of course had the lead, and gradually was able to render tributary many of the islands and smaller maritime states. In 469 B.c, the victories won by the Athenians over the Persians was crowned by the double victory of Cimon, the son of Miltiades, over the fleet and army of the Persians on the river Eurymedon, in the south of Asia Minor; and this victory was followed by the Peace of Cimon, which secured the freedom and independence of all Greek towns and islands. Shortly after fol lowed the brilliant administration of Pericles, during which Athens reached the height of her political grandeur, while at the same time she flourished in trade, in arts, in science and in literature.
The position of Athens, however, soon raised up a number of enemies. Sparta regarded her prosperity with jealousy; and the arrogance of Athens had produced a pretty general feeling of indignation and hatred. Two hostile con federacies were formed in Greece. At the head of one of these confederacies was the city of Athens, which was joined by all the Ionian states of Greece, and more or less supported by the democratic party in every state. At the head of the other confederacy stood Sparta, which was similarly joined by all the Donan states, and supported by the aristocratic party everywhere. At last in 4.31 war was declared by Sparta on the complaint of Corinth that Athens had furnished assistance to the island of Corcyra in its war against the mother city; and on that of Megara, that the Megarean ships and merchandise were excluded from all the ports and markets of Attica.