Latest / The History of Greece: Philosophy, Empire, and Endless Reinvention — Fexingo History / Plataea's Last Stand: The Final Blow to Persia
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about the Persian Wars — Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis — but there's one battle that often gets overshadowed, even though it was arguably the most decisive of them all. I'm talking about Plataea, the largest land battle of the entire conflict. Luna: Plataea? I know the name, but honestly I couldn't tell you what happened there. Lucas: Exactly. It's the forgotten finale. After the Greeks smashed the Persian fleet at Salamis in 480, Xerxes hightailed it back to Asia, but he left behind a huge land army under his best general, Mardonius. That army wintered in Thessaly, and the next year it came south to finish the job. Luna: So the war wasn't over after Salamis. Lucas: Not at all. In fact, Mardonius reoccupied Athens — the city was already in ruins — and the Athenians were forced to evacuate to Salamis again. Meanwhile, the Spartans were hesitating, hiding behind the wall they were building across the Isthmus of Corinth. The Athenians had to practically beg them to come out and fight. Lucas: Eventually, a massive Greek force assembled — maybe 80,000 men, the largest hoplite army ever seen. They marched to Boeotia, near Plataea, and faced Mardonius' army, which was probably twice as large, including elite Persian infantry, Median and Sacian troops, and cavalry from the eastern provinces. Luna: And who was leading the Greeks? Lucas: The Spartan regent Pausanias, who was actually the nephew of Leonidas, the hero of Thermopylae. He was young, maybe in his late twenties, but he had the authority. The Athenians were led by Aristides — the same guy who got ostracized for being too just, remember from earlier episodes. Luna: Ah yes, Aristides the Just. Quite the comeback. Lucas: Right. So the two armies faced each other across the Asopus river for about ten days. The Persians kept harassing the Greek supply lines with their cavalry, and they managed to poison the spring that was the Greeks' only water source. The Greek command decided to withdraw in the night to a new position, but the maneuver got botched, and by morning the Spartans and Athenians were isolated on separate hills. Lucas: Mardonius saw his chance and launched a full assault. The Spartans and Tegeans bore the brunt of it. For a while, the Persian archery was so intense that the Spartans couldn't even raise their shields. But then, something shifted — maybe it was the ground, the thick dust, the close-quarters fighting that neutralized the Persian arrows. Pausanias gave the order, and the hoplites charged. Luna: That must have been terrifying — a phalanx pushing into a hail of arrows. Lucas: It was brutal, but the Persian infantry, with their wicker shields and short spears, simply couldn't stand up to the bronze and wood of the Greek phalanx. Mardonius himself was killed — Herodotus tells us he was struck by a stone thrown by a Spartan named Arimnestus, and that's a disputed detail, but the result was clear. Once he fell, the Persian line broke, and the survivors fled to their fortified camp. Lucas: The Greeks pursued them, and then they had to breach the camp's walls. That was another hard fight, but eventually they broke in. The slaughter was immense. Herodotus says only 43,000 Persians escaped out of the original army. And then the Greeks found the camp's treasures — including Mardonius' own tent, which was so luxurious it reportedly took a whole team to carry away. They also captured his silver-footed throne and his gold-plated sword. Luna: Wow. So that's how it ended — total victory. Lucas: For the Greeks, yes. But there's a darker side. The city of Thebes had sided with Persia — they were the most prominent Greek collaborator. After Plataea, the victorious Greeks marched to Thebes and demanded the surrender of the pro-Persian leaders. When the Thebans refused, they laid siege to the city and eventually got them. The leaders were executed — probably by crucifixion — and the city was forced to give up its control over the surrounding towns. Luna: So Thebes paid a heavy price for medizing. Lucas: Indeed. And simultaneously, on the same day, a Greek fleet destroyed the remnants of the Persian navy at Mycale, off the coast of Asia Minor. That was the final nail in the coffin — Xerxes' invasion was over. The Greeks had won the Persian Wars, but Plataea is the battle that sealed it, even though it's often forgotten in favor of Marathon and Thermopylae. Lucas: There's also a fascinating detail about the battle itself: the Greeks were so religious that they delayed joining battle because the Spartans claimed the omens from their sacrifices were unfavorable. For days, they held back, and Pausanias even had to perform elaborate rituals to appease the gods. It was only when a Tegean seer announced that the omens had turned favorable that they committed to the fight. Imagine — a battle of this magnitude, almost decided by the shape of a sheep's liver. Luna: That's incredible. So they really believed the gods were directing their actions. Lucas: Absolutely. And that's something we've touched on in other episodes, like with the Delphic Oracle, but it's striking how much these rituals shaped military strategy. For the Greeks, piety wasn't separate from politics — it was the foundation of it. Lucas: You know, it's moments like this that remind me why we make this show the way we do. We're not trying to sell you anything or push a product. We just want to share these stories, and that's only possible because some listeners choose to support us. If you've been getting something out of these conversations, and you'd like to keep them going, there's a simple way: buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's it. No pressure, just a way to say thanks if you feel like it. Luna: Yeah, it really does make a difference. Lucas: So, back to Plataea. After the battle, the Greeks dedicated a bronze column in the shape of three intertwined serpents, with the names of the city-states that fought written on it. That column was later moved to Constantinople by Constantine, and you can still see it today in Istanbul, in the Hippodrome. It's a tangible link to that moment when Greece, against the odds, drove the Persian Empire out of Europe. Luna: And what happened to Pausanias afterwards? Lucas: That's a tragic story. He became so puffed up with success that he started acting like a Persian — adopting eastern dress, surrounding himself with Persian servants, even reportedly contemplating betraying Greece. The Spartans eventually recalled him, and he was executed — starved to death in a temple after taking refuge there. So the hero of Plataea ended his life disgraced, which shows how thin the line between glory and hubris was in the ancient world. Lucas: And Aristides, on the Athenian side, used the prestige to push for the creation of the Delian League, which we covered in episode 190. That alliance eventually became the Athenian Empire. So Plataea didn't just end the Persian threat — it set the stage for the next fifty years of Greek history. Luna: It really was a turning point, then. Lucas: Exactly. And yet, when we talk about the Persian Wars, we always focus on Marathon and Thermopylae. But Plataea was the battle that actually ended the war. It's a reminder that the most important moments aren't always the ones we remember best. Lucas: Herodotus, our main source, gives us a vivid account of the day, but he also includes a legend that a mysterious warrior appeared to help the Greeks — some said it was the hero Achilles, others the god Pan. It's probably just a story, but it shows how the Greeks themselves understood their victory as something almost supernatural. Luna: That's a great image to end on. Lucas: So there you have it — Plataea, the battle that saved Greece. Next time we'll explore what happened to the Delian League after it became an empire. But for now, I hope you'll look at that serpent column in Istanbul with new eyes. Luna: Definitely. Thanks for telling this story, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks for listening, Luna. And thanks to all of you for supporting the show. See you next time.