Latest / The History of Greece: Philosophy, Empire, and Endless Reinvention — Fexingo History / Plataea: The Battle That Decided Greece's Fate
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis—the big name battles of the Persian Wars. But there's one that's often treated as an afterthought, even though it was probably the most decisive land battle of the whole conflict: Plataea. Luna: Plataea—that's the one that happened in 479 BCE, right? Same year as Mycale? Lucas: Exactly. While the Greek fleet was smashing the Persians at Mycale on the same day—according to tradition anyway—the largest hoplite army ever assembled was facing off against the Persian land forces near the city of Plataea, in Boeotia. And the thing is, the Greek alliance nearly fell apart before a single spear was thrown. Luna: What went wrong? Lucas: Well, command was a mess. The Spartans had overall leadership, but their regent Pausanias—who was leading because the king, Pleistarchus, was still a child—was young and inexperienced. The Athenians had their own commander, Xanthippus, who was Pericles' father. And there were contingents from dozens of city-states, all with their own grudges. Herodotus tells us the army spent days maneuvering and counter-maneuvering in the foothills of Mount Cithaeron, trying to find good ground for a hoplite battle while Persian cavalry harassed them. Luna: So it wasn't a straightforward clash like Marathon. Lucas: Not at all. The Persian commander, Mardonius, was no fool. He knew the Greeks would struggle to keep their coalition united. He tried to split them by offering Athens favorable terms—autonomy, rebuilding of their temples, even dominion over Greece—if they'd switch sides. The Spartans got wind of this and panicked, sending envoys to Athens begging them not to defect. The Athenians, to their credit, publicly refused Mardonius. But the suspicion lingered. Luna: And meanwhile the Persian cavalry was cutting off their supply lines? Lucas: Exactly. The Greeks had positioned themselves near the Asopus River, but Persian cavalry under the commander Masistius raided their water sources and supply convoys. In fact, the Greeks won an early morale boost when an Athenian archer killed Masistius—his horse was shot, he fell, and they hacked him down. But that was a lucky break. After that, the Persians got even more aggressive. Luna: And that's when the oracles started causing problems? Lucas: You know about that? The Greeks had consulted Delphi before the campaign, and the Pythia gave them a puzzling prophecy: 'Fight at the temple of Demeter, with the winds for allies.' Well, there was a temple of Demeter near Plataea, but nobody could agree on what 'winds for allies' meant. Some thought it meant they should attack when the north wind blew. Others thought it was a metaphor. All this indecision made Pausanias look weak. Luna: So how did the battle actually start? Lucas: After days of skirmishing, the Greeks decided to withdraw to a better position closer to Plataea, under cover of night. But the retreat was chaotic. One Spartan unit, the commander Amompharetus, flatly refused to retreat—he thought it would be dishonorable. Pausanias had to leave him behind with his men. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because when dawn came and the Persians saw the Greeks had moved, Mardonius thought they were in full retreat. He ordered a general advance, expecting an easy rout. Luna: But the Spartans were ready to fight? Lucas: Eventually, yes. Pausanias managed to rally the Spartans and Tegeans on the right wing. The Athenians faced the Greek allies of Persia—mainly Thebans—on the left. But the Persians, led by Mardonius himself, targeted the Spartans with a hail of arrows from behind their wicker shields. The Spartans held, waiting for the right moment, then advanced in their classic phalanx formation. It was brutal hand-to-hand fighting. Mardonius, riding a white horse, was killed by a Spartan named Arimnestus. Once he fell, the Persian center collapsed. Luna: And the Athenians? They had to handle the Thebans, right? Lucas: Right. The Thebans fought hard—they were medizing, siding with Persia—but they were eventually broken. Meanwhile, the Persian general Artabazus, who had counseled against battle, saw the writing on the wall and withdrew with his 40,000 men before the rout was complete. He managed to escape to Asia. Overall, the Greeks claimed to have killed 257,000 Persians—obviously wildly exaggerated—but the real victory was that the Persian invasion of mainland Greece was over. The surviving Persian forces retreated to the Hellespont. Luna: But what about the aftermath? I've heard there was a controversial burial mound. Lucas: Yes! That's a fascinating detail. The Greeks buried their dead in several mounds—one for the Spartans, one for the Athenians, one for the Tegeans, and others. But the city of Plataea itself became a sacred site. The Greeks swore the Oath of Plataea to maintain a confederacy and to never rebuild the temples the Persians had destroyed—they were to be left in ruins as a memorial. Though some historians doubt that oath was actually sworn at that time. Luna: And the Persian gold? I've read stories about that. Lucas: Oh, the Persian camp was full of treasure—gold, silver, tents, women, livestock. Herodotus describes how the Greeks eagerly plundered it. But there's a strange story: the Spartan regent Pausanias, after the victory, reportedly ordered a Persian banquet and a Spartan meal to be set side by side, then had his men compare them to show how foolish the Persians had been to invade for such luxury. But eventually, Pausanias himself became corrupted by that same luxury and was later accused of treason. Luna: So Plataea really was the turning point. Lucas: It absolutely was. Without Plataea, the Persians could have regrouped and tried again the next year. The Greek alliance might have fractured. Instead, the victory allowed the Greeks to go on the offensive, liberating Ionia and eventually leading to the Delian League. Plataea was the battle that secured Greek independence—and with it, the cultural and political developments that followed. Luna: And it's often overshadowed by the more dramatic stories of Thermopylae and Salamis. Lucas: Exactly. But for anyone who really wants to understand the Persian Wars, Plataea is where the land war was decided. Speaking of understanding the big picture—if you've been following our episodes on the Persian Wars, you might be getting a sense of just how many details and perspectives there are. We put a lot of work into these episodes, and if you find them valuable, maybe consider supporting the show. It's what keeps us going ad-free. Luna: Yeah, it's a labour of love—and listener support really makes a difference. Lucas: So if today's episode was worth a coffee to you, that's the link: buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. And now, back to Plataea. One more fascinating detail: after the battle, the Greeks held a contest to award the prize of valor, aristeia. They gave it to the Spartans, but the Spartans themselves said the Athenians deserved it, and the Athenians deferred back to the Spartans. It shows how fragile the alliance was—even in victory, they were arguing over credit. Luna: That sounds very Greek. Lucas: Very Greek indeed. And that spirit of competition, even among allies, would eventually tear them apart in the Peloponnesian War. But that's a story for another episode.