The document provides information on key figures and battles in the Greco-Persian Wars. It discusses Darius I who organized the Persian Empire and planned to conquer Greece but died in 486 BC. It then discusses Xerxes who personally led the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC against King Leonidas of Sparta and his 300 soldiers at the Battle of Thermopylae. The Battle of Thermopylae was fought over three days between the Greek city-states led by Leonidas and the vast Persian Empire of Xerxes, resulting in a Persian victory.

1. GRECO-PERSIAN WAR

2. DARIUS I• was the third king of Achaemenid
Empire
• Also called Darius the Great
• Darius ascended the throne by
overthrowing Gaumata
• Darius organized the empire by
dividing it into provinces and
placing satraps to govern it. He
organized a new uniform monetary
system, along with making Aramaic
• Darius then began to plan to
completely conquer Greece, but
died in 486 BC

3. XERXES
• ruling over heroes
• called Xerxes the great
• ruled from 486 until 465 (assassinated)
• Xerxes was induced by the message of Themistocles to attack the Greek fleet under
unfavorable conditions,
• rather than sending a part of his ships to the Peloponnesus and awaiting the
dissolution of the Greek armies.
• Son of Darius
• responsibility for the conquest from Darius passed on to Xerxes in 480 Bc
• Xerxes personally led the second Persian invasion of Greece with one of the largest
ancient armies ever assembled

4. LEONIDAS• Leonidas was the son of the Spartan king Anaxandrides
• In short, not as much as suggested. It is true there were only 300 Spartan soldiers at the Battle of Thermopylae but they
were not alone, as the Spartans had formed an alliance with other Greek states. It is thought that the number of Greeks
was closer to 7,000. The size of the Persian army is disputed.
• A monument to Leonidas was erected at Thermopylae in 1955. It features a bronze statue of Leonidas.
• Leonidas I "son of the lion"
• Although Leonidas lost the battle, his death at Thermopylae was seen as a heroic sacrifice because he sent most of his
army away when he realized that the Persians had outmaneuvered him. Three hundred of his fellow Spartans stayed
with him to fight and die.
• As king, Leonidas was a military leader as well as a political one.
• Hoplites were armed with a round shield, spear and iron short sword.

5. BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE
• was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the
course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. 480 BC
• The Persian invasion was a delayed response to the defeat of the first Persian invasion of Greece, which had been ended by the
Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. Xerxes had amassed a huge army and navy, and set out to conquer all of
Greece.
• When the body of Leonidas was recovered by the Persians, Xerxes, in a rage against Leonidas, ordered that the head be cut off
and the body crucified.
• There are several monuments around the battlefield of Thermopylae

7. PAUSANIAS
• was a Greek traveler and geographer
• Pausanias was born in 110 AD
• Pausanias' Description of Greece is in ten books, each
dedicated to some portion of Greece.
• He famously leaves out key portions of Greece such as
Crete.
• he was the son of Cleombrotus and nephew of
Leonidas I
• Pausanias was leader at the Greek victory over
Mardonius and the Persians at the Battle of Plataea in
479 BC

8. THEMISTOCLES
• There are several monuments around the battlefield of
Thermopylae.
• Themistocles was a populist, having the support of
lower class Athenians, and generally being at odds with
the Athenian nobility.
• Themistocles died in 459 BC, probably of natural
causes.
• -was a command/leader of Sparta
• Themistocles probably turned 30 in 494 BC, which
qualified him to become an archon, the highest of the
magistracies in Athens
• Themistocles tried to claim command of the naval forces
• Themistocles had to show them that the Athenians were
willing to do everything necessary for the success of the
alliance. In short, the entire Athenian fleet must be
dispatched to Artemisium.