Battle of Plataea

Quick Facts: Who was Battle of Plataea?

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Battle of Plataea

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The decisive final land battle ending the second Persian invasion of Greece in 479 BC.

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2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in August 479 BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an Achaemenid army led by Mardonius (allied with Boeotia, Thessaly, and Macedon) and the Spartan-led Hellenic alliance including Athens, Corinth, Tegea, Megara and other city-states. At the preceding Battle of Salamis, the allied Greek navy had won an unlikely but decisive victory, preventing the conquest of the Peloponnese region. Xerxes then retreated with much of his army, leaving his general Mardonius to finish off the Greeks the following year. In the summer of 479 BC, the Greeks assembled a huge army and marched out of the Peloponnese.

Career & Major Achievements

The Persians retreated to Boeotia and built a fortified camp near Plataea. The Greeks, however, refused to be drawn into the prime terrain for cavalry around the Persian camp, resulting in a stalemate that lasted eleven days. While attempting a retreat after their supply lines were disrupted, the Greek battle line fragmented. Thinking that the Greeks were in full retreat, Mardonius ordered his forces to pursue them, but the Greeks, particularly the Spartans, Tegeans and Athenians halted and gave battle, routing the lightly armed Persian infantry and killing Mardonius. A large portion of the Persian army was trapped in its camp and killed.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The destruction of this army, and the remnants of the Persian navy allegedly on the same day at the Battle of Mycale, decisively ended the invasion. The Achaemenid Emperor Xerxes I, after his accession in 486 BCE, quickly initiated his preparations for an invasion of Greece, including the task of building two pontoon bridges across the Hellespont. A congress of city states met, probably at Corinth, in 481 BC, and a confederate alliance of Greek city-states was formed, generally referred to as the Allies. In August 480 BC, after hearing of Xerxes' approach, a small Allied army led by Spartan King Leonidas I blocked the pass of Thermopylae. Famously, the massively outnumbered Greek army held Thermopylae for three days before being outflanked by the Persians, who used a little-known mountain path.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Battle of Plataea

True or False: “The Battle of Plataea was fought immediately after the decisive naval victory at Salamis, allowing the Greeks to trap the entire Persian army.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): While it followed the turning point at Salamis, the battle occurred in 479 BC, and the trapping of the army was due to tactical maneuvers rather than immediate encirclement.

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