The naval defeat of the Persians at Salamis

The Greek navy had been forced back to the Island of Salamis not so much because of the overpowering force of the Persian fleet, but because they needed a base of operations and as the army of Xerxes advanced, the options for overnight harbors and resupply began to diminish.On the Greek side, many thought that trying to save Attica was hopeless and were all set to head off to the Corinthian peninsula where they hoped the might of the Spartan hopylites combined with the navy could stave off a successful conquest of the rest of Greece. Themistocles, the Athenian commander thought that the time for battle was now. The small bay within which they were enclosed would take away the Phoenician advantage in speed and though the Greeks were outnumbered, he felt they could destroy a large part of the Persian fleet. With the Athenians and possibly the Corinthians on the left, the Aegenitans and other allies in the center and the Spartans on the right, the fleet came out and attacked. On shore the two armies were massed waiting to rescue their own men who might fall into the water and to kill any enemy so unfortunate to be washed up on their shore.

King Leonidas and his Spartans

There was a movie based on it that was accurate, but not accurate enough. The war that happened with the 300 Spartans started because a Delphic oracle warned him that either Sparta would be destroyed or the king would be killed. He chose the second option, and so it would be. Leonidas was the half-brother of King Cleomenes I of Sparta. After Cleomenes' suicide, Leonidas was made king because Cleomenes had died without a son or other closer male relative.Sparta was absolutely a militaristic society. She personified DUTY-HONOR-COUNTRY. Mothers would tell their sons "bring your shield home or be on it." King Leonidas, a Spartan, had agreed to help stop the invading Persians, and took 300 hand picked troops plus 1000 helots (citizen soldiers) and marched to Thermopylae on the North coast of Greece. Leonidas would have taken far more soldiers except for a religious holiday that apparently was more important. On the way to Thermopylae he picked-up about 7000 more troops as had been preplanned.
Thermopylae was the best of three possible defensive areas in which Xerxe's invading army had to advance. This mountain gap along the coast was about 60 feet wide, and was the best location for a blocking action. The word was "stand and die," but this was only meaningful to the 300 Spartans. After three days of fighting and having killed countless numbers of Xerxe's elite troops, they were finally overrun and the 300 Spartans were killed to the man, including King Leonidas. The other 7000 either departed or surrendered.

The Persian Victory in 490

The Battle of Marathon spawned legends immediately: witnesses swore that the ghost of Theseus (mythical king of Athens) loomed over the field, giving confidence to his countrymen; the messenger Phidippides is said to have run into the god Pan on his way to ask for help from the Spartans and received the god's help instead (and too, the old story about how he died after running the equivalent of 26 miles to deliver news of the victory at Marathon is not supported by any ancient source and some say that the clash of arms can still be heard today on the Plain of Marathon at night.Pausanias tells us that the Persians were so sure of victory that they had brought with them a block of marble to be carved into a victory monument. Instead, the great Athenian sculptor Pheidias carved it into a statue of the god Nemesis, avenger of wicked actions, plainly indicating that the Persians got exactly what they deserved.