In 460 BCE the Athenians were underway to carry out a mission—a raid on Cyprus to collect some more of the treasures of that island—when they was ordered by Perikles, after a voting process in Athens, to divert his fleet to Egypt.[1] The objective was to give naval support to the Libyan ruler Inaros II, who was leading a revolt against the Persian presence in that area. Charitimides led the… Read more
In the spring of 479 BCE, although defeated at Salamis, the Persians were still in control in most of the Ionian cities. Their citizens revolted against this and asked Athens for support. In response, 40 triremes of the remaining Athenian fleet, under command of Xanthippus, sailed from to Delos where they joined the allied fleet of 110 triremes which was under the command of King Leutychides II of Sparta, who… Read more
In the last days of September of the year 480 BCE, King Xerxes proceeded to Athens, after having had his victory at Thermopylae. Also his naval forces moved southward for the final stroke. Among the Persian naval contingent were 120 triremes from Thrace, 100 ships from Ionia, 60 ships from Aeolia including Lesbos and Samos, and an unspecified number of ships from the Greek islands, including the Cyclades, and lastly,… Read more
When the news of the Greek victory at Marathon (490 BCE) came to the Persian king Darius the Great, he first sent heralds to Hellas to demand earth and water—the usual token of submission—which he received from many cities of Greece. [1] He instructed Ionia and the islands to build ships and to enroll their best men for service against Hellas. King Darius died, and the royal power descended to… Read more
Previously, Part 1 of this post discussed hoplite warfare and how the battle of Mantinea demonstrated the advantage of professionalism. Part 2 considers how the battles of Leuctra and Gaugamela continued the development of Greek and Macedonian warfare. Concentration of Force—Leuctra 371 BCE Location of Leuctra (Google maps) The end of the Peloponnesian War did not bring the promised “…beginning of freedom for all of Greece.”[1] Instead, Sparta provoked a… Read more