The Battle That Destroyed Persia’s Invasion | Plataea 479 BC

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]In the summer of 479 BC, the fate of Greece hung in the balance.

[00:00:06]The Persian Empire, >> [music] >> the most powerful empire on Earth, had invaded the Greek world with an enormous army.

[00:00:14]Cities had already burned. Athens had been destroyed. Entire regions of Greece had fallen under Persian control.

[00:00:23]But now, on the plains near the small city of Plataea, the Greeks were preparing to make their final stand. On one side stood a coalition of Greek city-states, Spartans, Athenians, >> [music] >> Corinthians, Megarians, and many others.

[00:00:39]On the other side stood the army of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, led by the powerful general Mardonius, >> [music] >> representing the will of King Xerxes I.

[00:00:48]The First.

[00:00:50]What followed [music] would become the final and decisive land battle of the Persian invasion of Greece. And by the end of the battle, the dream of conquering Greece would collapse forever.

[00:01:02]The road to Plataea [music] had begun a year earlier.

[00:01:07]In 480 BC, the Persian King Xerxes launched one of the largest invasions the ancient world had ever seen.

[00:01:15]His forces crossed into Europe using enormous pontoon bridges over the Hellespont, marching west with tens of thousands of soldiers from across his vast empire. Persians, Medes, Egyptians, Indians, Bactrians, and many other peoples marched together under the Persian banner.

[00:01:35]Their goal was simple, subjugate Greece.

[00:01:39]Early in the invasion, >> [music] >> the Greeks attempted to stop the Persian advance at the narrow mountain pass of Thermopylae.

[00:01:46]There, the Spartan King Leonidas and his famous force of warriors held the pass for 3 days against overwhelming numbers.

[00:01:56]But eventually, the Persians discovered a hidden path around the Greek defenses.

[00:02:01]Leonidas and his soldiers fought to the death.

[00:02:04]>> [snorts] >> Thermopylae fell.

[00:02:07]After that victory, the Persian army marched south, burning cities that refused to submit.

[00:02:14]The city of Athens was abandoned by its population and then destroyed by Persian forces.

[00:02:20]It seemed as though the Greek world was collapsing.

[00:02:23]But the Greeks still had one last chance. Later that same year, >> [music] >> the Greek navy achieved a stunning victory at the Battle of Salamis.

[00:02:32]In a narrow sea channel near Athens, the smaller Greek fleet trapped and defeated the much larger Persian navy.

[00:02:41]The defeat was so serious that King Xerxes feared his army might become stranded in Greece without naval support.

[00:02:49]So, he made a decision.

[00:02:52]Xerxes returned to Asia with much of his army, but he left behind a powerful force under his trusted general Mardonius, with orders to finish the conquest of Greece.

[00:03:04]Mardonius believed victory was still possible.

[00:03:09]During the winter that followed, Mardonius camped in Thessaly while he prepared his next move.

[00:03:15]Instead of attacking immediately, he attempted diplomacy. He offered the Athenians peace. If Athens agreed to join Persia, he promised them protection and power within the empire.

[00:03:28]But the Athenians refused.

[00:03:30]They sent urgent messages to Sparta demanding help.

[00:03:35]"If Sparta refused," they warned, "Athens might be forced to negotiate with Persia to survive."

[00:03:42]The threat shocked the Spartans.

[00:03:44]If Athens joined Persia, Greece would almost certainly fall.

[00:03:48]So, the Spartans finally mobilized their army. Thousands of Spartan warriors and their allies began marching north.

[00:03:57]Across the Peloponnese, Greek soldiers gathered for what would become the largest united Greek army ever assembled.

[00:04:05]Meanwhile, Mardonius moved south once more.

[00:04:09]He marched into Attica again and destroyed what remained of Athens.

[00:04:15]Then he withdrew into the region of Boeotia, where he established a fortified camp near the city of Plataea.

[00:04:21]The Persian army waiting there was enormous.

[00:04:25]Modern historians estimate that Mardonius commanded somewhere between 70,000 and 120,000 troops, including infantry, cavalry, >> [music] >> and soldiers from across the empire.

[00:04:38]The Greek army was large by Greek standards, but still far smaller.

[00:04:44]Yet, it had one advantage, discipline.

[00:04:48]The Spartans, Athenians, and their allies were heavily armed hoplites, infantry soldiers trained to fight in the tight shield formations known as the phalanx.

[00:04:59]In close combat, few soldiers in the ancient world could match them.

[00:05:04]When the Greek army finally arrived near Plataea, >> [music] >> the two forces faced each other across the Asopus River.

[00:05:12]The Greeks took positions on the higher ground.

[00:05:15]The Persians remained near their fortified camp.

[00:05:19]Neither side was eager to attack first.

[00:05:22]For days, the armies watched each other across the plain.

[00:05:26]Occasional cavalry raids and skirmishes broke out, but the main battle never began.

[00:05:32]The stalemate continued for more than a week.

[00:05:36]Then something happened that changed everything.

[00:05:39]A Persian cavalry commander named Masistius launched another attack against the Greek lines. [music] During the fighting, an Athenian archer struck his horse.

[00:05:50]Masistius fell to the ground.

[00:05:53]Greek soldiers rushed forward and surrounded him.

[00:05:56]His armor protected him from several blows, but [music] then a Greek soldier stabbed him in the eye.

[00:06:04]The Persian commander was dead.

[00:06:07]And his death would soon push both armies closer to the battle that would decide the future of Greece.

[00:06:14]Masistius' death sent shock waves through the Persian army.

[00:06:18]He had been one of Mardonius' most respected commanders, and his fall was a serious blow to Persian morale.

[00:06:27]According to ancient accounts, the Persians mourned him openly, cutting their hair and the manes of their horses in grief.

[00:06:36]For [music] the Greeks, however, the moment had the opposite effect. They paraded Masistius' body in front of their lines as proof that even the mighty Persian cavalry could be defeated.

[00:06:50]Encouraged by this small victory, the Greek army advanced slightly forward to a better defensive position near the Asopus River, where fresh water and stronger terrain improved their situation.

[00:07:04]But neither army rushed to attack.

[00:07:06]Both sides waited.

[00:07:09]Day after day, the two massive forces stared at each other across the plain of Plataea. The Persians hoped the Greeks would descend into the open ground, where Persian cavalry could [music] dominate the battlefield.

[00:07:23]The Greeks refused.

[00:07:25]They stayed on higher terrain, where their heavy infantry formations would be strongest.

[00:07:30]For 11 [music] days, the stalemate continued.

[00:07:34]Then Mardonius changed his strategy.

[00:07:38]Instead of attacking directly, the Persian commander targeted the Greek supply lines.

[00:07:43]Persian cavalry began raiding the roads and paths leading to the Greek camp, attacking convoys carrying food and supplies.

[00:07:52]Soon the situation in the Greek camp became difficult.

[00:07:57]Worse still, Persian cavalry managed to capture and block the Gargaphian Spring, >> [music] >> the main water source for the Greek army. Without water and with supplies running low, the Greek commanders realized they could not remain in their current position.

[00:08:14]They decided [music] to withdraw during the night to a more secure location closer to the city of Plataea.

[00:08:22]If the retreat succeeded, the Greeks could regroup and continue the campaign.

[00:08:28]But the plan did not go as expected. As night fell before the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC, >> [music] >> the Greek army began to reposition.

[00:08:38]But the movement quickly turned chaotic.

[00:08:41]Some units moved too slowly, >> [music] >> others became separated, and several commanders misunderstood the orders.

[00:08:49]One Spartan officer, Amompharetus, even refused to retreat at first, believing withdrawal from the enemy was dishonorable. By morning, the Greek forces were scattered >> [music] >> rather than organized in a single line.

[00:09:04]To the Persians, it looked [music] like the Greeks were fleeing.

[00:09:08]Seeing an opportunity, the Persian commander Mardonius ordered an immediate attack.

[00:09:14]>> [music] >> Persian cavalry moved first, striking the scattered Greek positions, followed by the main infantry force.

[00:09:22]The Spartans and their allies, [music] led by the Spartan general Pausanias, formed a defensive line near the Temple of Demeter.

[00:09:32]Yet Pausanias delayed the attack while waiting for favorable omens from religious sacrifices.

[00:09:39]Meanwhile, Persian archers rained arrows onto the Greek lines.

[00:09:44]At last, the omens were declared favorable. [music] The Spartan hoplites advanced in tight formation, shields locked and spears extended. [music] The clash that followed was fierce.

[00:09:59]Persian soldiers fought bravely, but were lightly armored compared to the heavily equipped Greek hoplites.

[00:10:06]As the Greeks pushed forward, >> [music] >> brutal close combat erupted.

[00:10:10]During the fighting, a decisive moment occurred.

[00:10:14]The Persian commander Mardonius was killed, according to one account, struck by a stone thrown by a Spartan named Aeimnestus.

[00:10:24]When news of his death spread, Persian morale collapsed.

[00:10:29]Their lines broke, and the army began to retreat toward its fortified camp.

[00:10:35]Greek forces pursued them relentlessly.

[00:10:38]When the Persians attempted to regroup behind the camp's defenses, the Greeks stormed it. Once the walls were breached, the fighting turned into a massacre.

[00:10:49]>> [music] >> Only a few thousand Persians survived.

[00:10:54]On the same [music] day, Greek fleets defeated another Persian force at Mycale.

[00:11:00]Together, these victories [music] ended the Persian invasion of Greece and secured the independence of the Greek city-states.