The Second Greco Persian War was fought between the Greek city-states and the Persian Empire culminating with the decisive Battle of Salamis and the Battle of Plataea. In the first decades of the fifth century BC the Achaemenid Empire, the dominant power in the ancient world twice attempted to incorporate Greece into their empire. The conflicts that ensued between the Greeks and Persians are collectively known as the Greco-Persian Wars. The Greek resistance to the Persian invaders is one of the most pivotal moments in history as the birthplace of Western civilisation struggled for survival and to prevent being absorbed into the eastern empire.

Following the death of Darius the Great in 486 BC, his son Xerxes I took control of the Persian preparations for the invasion of Greece. Six years later in 480 BC Xerxes led his vast army into Europe to finally bring the Greeks to heel once and for all. Marching through the Balkans and then into Greece the Persian force was met by a small Greek force led by the Spartans at the pass of Thermopylae. The battle was fought between the famous 300 of Sparta (alongside a good number of Thebans and Thespians) and the mighty Persian army. At the same time the Greek fleet engaged the Persian navy in the Straits of Artemisium just off the coast. Despite a heroic defence of the pass the Spartans were defeated and the Persians continued their onward march. Reaching Athens the Persians entered the city without a fight and plundered the sacred temples of the Acropolis. Deciding to avoid a land battle the Greeks instead lured the Persian naval fleet into the narrow Straits of Salamis where the Greeks won a decisive victory over the Persian fleet. With the Greeks now dominant on the sea, Xerxes feared his army would be trapped in Europe and so led the majority of his army back to Asia across the Hellespont. He left behind a smaller force under General Mardonius. After failed diplomatic efforts, Mardonius's forces once again entered Athens and sacked the city. This forced the Spartans to abandon their defensive strategy and to confront the Persians at the Battle of Plataea. In this final major land battle of the war the Greeks scored a decisive victory over the Persians. Across the Aegean the Greek fleet closed in on the remnants of the Persian fleet moored at the island of Samis on the Ionian coast. Keen to avoid another naval battle the Persians beached their ships under Mount Mycale. It was here that the Greeks took the war to the Persians and defeated the Persian forces and burned the Persian fleet.
These final battles put an end to Persian ambitions to conquer Greece. The following decades of the 5th century would become known as the Greek classical period and would see a profusion of art and political and philosophical thought that would have a profound effect on civilisation to the present day.

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