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Battle of Plataea

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For the battle of the Lamian War, see Battle of Plataea (323 BC).

Battle of Plataea
Part of the Second Persian invasion of Greece
Black and white sketch of the front lines of two armies about to engage each other with their shields and spears
Persians and Spartans fighting at Plataea. 19th century illustration.
DateAugust 479 BC
Location
Plataea, Greece
Result Greek victory
Territorial
changes		 Persia loses control of Attica and Boeotia
Belligerents
Greek city-states:
 • Sparta
 • Athens
 • Corinth
 • Megara		 Achaemenid Empire
Greek vassals:
 • Boeotia
 • Thessalia
 • Macedon
Commanders and leaders
Strength
  • c. 75,000–85,000 (modern consensus)[1]
  • c. 100,000 (modern consensus)[1]
Casualties and losses
  • Low thousands (modern consensus)[2]
  • Five to ten times the losses of the Greeks (modern consensus)[2]

The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in 479 BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states (including Sparta, Athens, Corinth and Megara), and the Achaemenid Empire of Xerxes I (allied with Greek states including Boeotia, Thessalia, and Macedon).

The previous year, the Persian invasion force, led by the Persian king Xerxes I in person, had scored victories at the battles of Thermopylae and Artemisium and conquered the regions of Thessaly, Phocis, Boeotia, Athens, Euboea and Attica. However, at the ensuing Battle of Salamis, the allied Greek navy had won an unlikely but decisive victory, preventing the conquest of the Peloponnesus 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 Peloponnesus. 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 11 days.[3] 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. 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. After Plataea and Mycale, the Greek allies would take the offensive against the Persians, marking a new phase of the Greco-Persian Wars. Although Plataea is considered a highly decisive victory, it has historically, even contemporarily, not been attributed the same significance like the Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon or the allied Greek defeat at Thermopylae.

Background

[edit]
Main articles: First Persian invasion of Greece and Second Persian invasion of Greece

The Achaemenid Emperor Xerxes I, on his accession 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.[4][5]

A map centered on modern day Greece, Bulgaria and Western Turkey showing the territories of the Achaemenid Empire and the Greek city states
A map showing the Greek world at the time of the battle

The Allies initially adopted a strategy of blocking the land and sea approaches to southern Greece.[6] Thus, 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.[7] Although much of the Greek army retreated, the rearguard, formed of the Spartan and Thespian contingents, was surrounded and annihilated.[8]

A map centered on modern Greece, Bulgaria and western Turkey showing the territories of the Achaemenid empire and the Greek city states allied with it
The Achaemenid Empire and its allied Greek states (Macedonia, Thessaly, Malis, Locris, Phocis and Boeotia) at the time of the Battle of Plataea
A map centered on southern Greece showing the movements of the Greek army with dark blue arrows and the Persian army with red arrows
Movements of the Persian and Greek armies in 480–479 BC

Following Thermopylae, the Persian army proceeded to burn and sack Plataea and Thespiae, the Boeotian cities that had not surrendered, before taking possession of the now-evacuated city of Athens. The Allied army, meanwhile, prepared to defend the Isthmus of Corinth.[9] The ensuing naval Battle of Salamis in 480 BC ended in a decisive victory for the Allies, marking a turning point in the conflict. Following the defeat of his navy at Salamis, Xerxes retreated to Sardis with a minor portion of his army.[10]

Xerxes left Mardonius with the charge of his troops. Mardonius decided to spend the winter in Thessaly.[10] Over the winter, there seems to have been some tension among the Allies. The Athenians in particular, who were not protected by the Isthmus but whose fleet was the key to the security of the Peloponnese, felt undefended and demanded that an Allied army march north the following year.[11] When the Allies failed to commit to this, the Athenian fleet refused to join the Allied navy in the spring. The latter navy, now under the command of the Spartan king Leotychides, stationed itself off Delos, while the remnants of the Persian fleet remained off Samos, both sides unwilling to risk battle.[12] Similarly, Mardonius remained in Thessaly, knowing an attack on the Isthmus was pointless, while the Allies refused to send an army outside the Peloponnese.[11]

A black and white sketch of a man in Greek robes pointing at the sun, three Persians with ornate crowns are to his right and four Greek men are seated behind him
Answer of Aristides to the ambassadors of Mardonius: "As long as the sun holds to its present course, we shall never come to terms with Xerxes".[13]

Mardonius moved to break the stalemate by trying to win over the Athenians and their fleet[14] through the mediation of Alexander I of Macedon, offering peace, self-government and territorial expansion.[12] The Athenians made sure that a Spartan delegation was also on hand to hear the offer, and rejected it:

The degree to which we are put in the shadow by the Medes' strength is hardly something you need to bring to our attention. We are already well aware of it. But even so, such is our love of liberty, that we will never surrender.[12]

Upon this refusal, the Persians marched south again. Athens was again evacuated and left to the enemy, leading to the second phase of the Destruction of Athens. Mardonius now repeated his offer of peace to the Athenian refugees in Salamis. Athens sent emissaries to Sparta demanding assistance[14] and threatened to accept the Persian terms if it was not provided.[15] These events occurred sometime in the month of June.[16] According to Herodotus, the Spartans were at that time celebrating the festival of Hyacinthus, and delayed making a decision for ten days[16] until they were persuaded of the danger to all of Greece if the Athenians surrendered.[a][18] When the Athenian emissaries delivered an ultimatum to the Spartans the next day, they were amazed to hear that a task force was in fact already en route; the Spartan army was marching to meet the Persians.[19]

Prelude

[edit]
Bird's eye view of a landscape with rectangular farms and mountains, the city of Plataea is marked and the Asopos river is shown by a dotted white line at the top left
View of the battlefield from above. The battle took place on the hilly plain between the Asopos river (top) and Plataea (center right).
Photograph of a small town and farms taken from an elevation
The battlefield of Plataea seen from the south, i.e. from the hills of the Cithaeron Range. Modern city of Plataies, near the ruins of old Plataea slightly beyond.

When Mardonius learned of the Spartan force from an Argive messenger, he completed the destruction of Athens, tearing down whatever was left standing. He then retreated towards Boeotia, hoping to lure the Greek army into territory that would be advantageous for the Persian cavalry.[20] Mardonius withdrew from Attica through the Decelea defile, passed by Sphendale, encamped for a night at Tanagra and then marched to Skolos.[21] Mardonius built a fortified encampment around 1.9 square kilometres (0.73 sq mi) in area on the north bank of the Asopos river in Boeotia,[21] thus covering the ground from Erythres past Hysiae and up to the lands of Plataea.[22]

The Athenians sent 8,000 hoplites, led by Aristides, along with 600 Plataean exiles to join the Allied army[23] in Eleusis in Attica. The army traveled on the Oenoe road via Panactum, the plains of Skourta and the eastern Pastra mountain,[24] across the passes of Mount Cithaeron and arrived near Plataea.[25] The historian Andreas Konecny [de] estimates that the crossing of Cithaeron would have taken place sometime between late July and mid August.[16] Under the guidance of their commanding general, Pausanias, the Greeks took up positions opposite the Persian lines but remained on high ground.[26] They deployed their lines from Erythrai to Hysiai, and from their positions on the Cithaeron could observe the Persian lines 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) across the Asopos river. The Greek units were camped in order of their positions in the phalanx, so that the formation could be set up easily at the start of battle.[24] Knowing that he had little hope of successfully attacking the Greek positions, Mardonius sought to either sow dissension among the Allies or lure them down into the plain. Plutarch reports that a conspiracy was discovered among some prominent Athenians, who were planning to betray the Allied cause; although this account is not universally accepted, it may indicate Mardonius' attempts of intrigue within the Greek ranks.[27]

Map of the Plataea battlefield. The portions shaded brown are the ridges and hills, the blue lines show the Asopos river's course, the blue bands show the Greek troops and the red bands show the Persian troops. The Greeks move from the front of the ridge to its end, just in front of the Persian line across the river
The initial movements at the Battle of Plataea. The Greek line moves forward to the Asopos ridge.

Mardonius also initiated hit-and-run cavalry attacks against the Greek lines.[28] The Persians during a reconnaissance patrol noticed a gap in the Greek lines on the western flank, and their cavalry commanded by Masistius began attacking.[29] 300 Athenians (hoplites or infantry) along with their archers replaced the Megarians at the spot where the Persian cavalry was attacking.[30] The Athenians formed a single or double line formation, and from their rear their archers fired their volleys. An Athenian archer managed to hit Masistius' horse when the latter was on the frontline opposite the Athenians. Masistius was flung off his horse and landed near the Athenian line, where the soldiers started stabbing him but were unable to kill him as he was wearing scale corslet armor underneath his clothes. Masistius was finally killed when an Athenian soldier stabbed him in the eye.[31] The Persians tried with much effort to recover his body but were pushed back by the Greek infantry, which had just arrived to reinforce the Athenians. The Persian cavalry retreated soon after.[32]

Masistius' body was paraded on a cart in front of the Greek lines.[32] Their morale boosted by this small victory, the Greeks moved forward, still remaining on higher ground, to a new position more suited for defense and better watered.[33] The Spartans and Tegeans were on a ridge to the right of the line, the Athenians on a hillock on the left and the other contingents on the slightly lower ground between.[27] In response, Mardonius brought his men westward up to the Asopos and arrayed them for battle in a line 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) long.[34] However, neither the Persians nor the Greeks would attack; Herodotus claims this is because both sides had received bad omens from their seers. Konecny argues that this is because both of them were waiting for their opponent to attack first. The armies thus stayed camped in their locations for eight days.[35]

Mardonius then sent his cavalry to attack a Greek supply convoy, which resulted in the Greek supply lines being halted.[36] The Greeks were attacked by the Persian cavalry for the next two days.[37] He launched another cavalry raid on the Greek lines, which succeeded in blocking the Gargaphian spring, which had been the only source of water for the Greek army,[28] as they could not draw from the Asopos due to the threat posed by Persian archers.[38] The Greeks had now been camped at their second position for 12 days by now.[39] Coupled with the lack of food, the restriction of the water supply made the Greek position untenable, so they decided to retreat to a position in front of Plataea, from where they could guard the passes and have access to fresh water. To prevent the Persian cavalry from attacking during the retreat, it was to be performed that night.[40] The position the Greeks withdrew to was named the "island", at a distance of 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) from both the Asopos river and the Gargaphian spring.[41] During the day chosen for the retreat, the Greeks underwent constant attacks by the Persian cavalry.[39]

Black and white sketch of men in plumed Greek helmets fighting against Persians in plain steel helmets
Death of Masistius in early skirmishes

However, the retreat went awry. The Allied contingents in the centre began their movement late at night, and perhaps because they were not aware of the new terrain, ended up advancing 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) past the island to arrive at the Temple of Hera.[39] The Tegeans and Spartans on the right wing were chosen to advance to the Cithaeron passes and accompany the stuck supply convoys to the new Greek position. However, these units had not even begun to retreat by daybreak. This was because a Spartan commander, Amompharetus, refused to retreat because he thought it would be cowardly. While the rest of the Spartans retreated, his lochos was left behind.[42]

Meanwhile the Athenians and Plataians had also been unable to retreat, because their path had been blocked by the scattered centre.[43] The Athenians sent a messenger to Pausanias asking for his new directive.[44] Pausanias asked the Athenians to retreat to the Cithaeron passes and not to the "island", and join up with the Spartans if possible. This message was received before daybreak but the Athenians began moving only after dawn. Konecny posits that Aristides may have wanted to avoid the chaos of nighttime movements. Pausanias then marched 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to the north of modern Erythres, and the Greeks of the scattered center started to converge on his position, though the latter would have taken longer to get into formation. Pausanias' two units, however, were the first ones ready for contact when the Persian cavalry arrived.[45]

The Persian cavalry had begun to mobilize for attacking by this time. However, Amompharetus and his unit were still in their sights, so they did not hurry because they would have thought that all of their opponent's army was there. This allowed Pausanias to execute his retreat safely, and gave Amompharetus enough time to withdraw. When the Persian cavalry arrived at the Greek position, they found it decamped and conveyed this information to Mardonius through a messenger.[46]

Order of battle

[edit]

Greeks

[edit]

According to Herodotus, the Spartans sent 45,000 men – 5,000 Spartiates (full citizen soldiers), 5,000 other Lacodaemonian hoplites (perioeci) and 35,000 helots (seven per Spartiate).[20] Euryanax was Pausanias' deputy commander.[43] The Greek army was also reinforced by contingents of hoplites from the other Allied city-states.[47]

City Number
of hoplites		 City Number
of hoplites		 City Number
of hoplites
Sparta 10,000 Athens 8,000 Corinth 5,000
Megara 3,000 Sicyon 3,000 Tegea 1,500
Phlius 1,000 Troezen 1,000 Anactorion &
Leukas		 800
Epidaurus 800 Arcadian Orchomenans,
Arcadians		 600 Eretria &
Styra		 600
Plataea 600 Aegina 500 Ambracia 500
Chalcis 400 Mycenae &
Tiryns		 400 Hermione 300
Potidaea 300 Cephalonia 200 Lepreum 200
Source: [47] Total 38,700[48]
Black and white sketch of the left profile of a bearded man wearing robes and a helmet
The Spartan general Pausanias commanded the Allied Greek troops.

The Greek forces were, as agreed at the Allied congress, under the overall command of Spartan royalty represented by Pausanias, who was the regent for Leonidas' young son, Pleistarchus, his cousin. Herodotus tells us in several places that the Greeks held councils during the prelude to the battle, implying that decisions were consensual and that Pausanias did not have the authority to issue direct orders to the other contingents.[49][50]

Achaemenids

[edit]
Main Achaemenid troops under Mardonius
Engraving of a bearded Persian man wearing robes and a cap
Persians
Damaged engraving of a bearded man
Medians
Engraving of a man wearing a helmet with a short sword in his cummerbund
Sakas
Engraving of a bearded man with a dagger in his cummerbund
Bactrians
Engraving of a bearded muscular man with bows and arrows hung around his torso
Indians
Main troops of Achaemenid general Mardonius, according to Herodotus: Persians, Medians, Sakas, Bactrians and Indians,[51][52] illustrated in the list of troops by ethnicity, on the tomb of Xerxes I at Naqsh-e Rostam.

Modern consensus estimates the total number of troops for the second Persian invasion at around 250,000.[53] According to this consensus, Herodotus' 300,000 Persians at Plataea would self-evidently be impossible. One approach to estimating the size of the Persian army has been to estimate how many men might feasibly have been accommodated within the Persian camp; this approach gives figures of between 70,000 and 120,000 men.[54] Lazenby, for instance, by comparison with later Roman military camps, calculates the number of troops at 70,000, including 10,000 cavalry.[55]

The historian Peter Connolly arrives at a potential total of 120,000 from the same-sized camp.[56] Indeed, most estimates for the total Persian force are generally in this range.[57][58] The historian Hans Delbrück, basing his calculations on the distance the Persians marched in a day when Athens was attacked, concluded that 75,000 was the upper limit for the size of the Persian army, including the supply personnel and other non-combatants.[59] In his battle account of Plataea, Delbrück estimated that the Persian army, including the allied Greeks, had totaled 40,000.[60] Konecny estimates that Persians would have had around 55 to 70 thousand infantry, and their camps would have had anywhere from 120 to 150 thousand people including the camp followers.[35]

Nations under the Achaemenids at Plataea Number
Persians[61] 40,000
Bactrians, Indians, Sakae[61] 20,000
Greek allies: Boeotians (Thebans), Locrians, Malians, Thessalians, Phocians (1000 men), Macedonians[62] 20,000
Phrygians, Thracians, Mysians, Paeonians, Ethiopians, Egyptians[63] Smaller contingents
Cavalry: Persians, Bactrians, Indians, Sakae[61] 5,000
Total[64] 100,000

Composition and order of battle

[edit]
Illustration of the Persian line at Plataea under Mardonius. From left to right are the Greek allies, Sakas, Indians, Bactrians, Medes and the Persians; the latter being the largest contingent
Disposition of Achaemenid troops beyond the Asopos river at the beginning of the Battle of Plataea. From left to right: Greek allies, Sacae, Indians, Bactrians, Medes and Persians.

The details of the arrangement of the Persian line were given by Herodotus. The Persians were on the left wing, facing the 11,500 Lacedaemonian and Tegean hoplites. Konecny estimates that these Persians on the left wing would have numbered around 20 to 30 thousand. To the right of the Persians were the Medes, facing the 6,200 soldiers of Corinth, Potidaea, Orchomenus and Sicyon. Konecny estimates that these Medes would have numbered around 12 to 18 thousand.[65]

Next to the Medes, the Bactrians were deployed in front of the 3,400 soldiers of Epidaurus, Troezen, Lepreum, Tiryns, Mycenae, and Phlius. Konecny estimates that these Bactrians would have totaled around 6 to 9 thousand. After the Bactrians were the Indians and Sacae, opposite the 3,300 soldiers of Hermione, Eretria, Styra, Chalcis, Anaktoria, Leucadia, Palea, and Aegina. Konecny estimates that these Indians and Sace would have totaled around 6 to 9 thousand. The Medes, Bactrians, Indians and Sacae formed the center of the Persian line, numbering around 24 to 36 thousand. Thus the total Persian infantry would have numbered around 44 to 66 thousand, and the Persian cavalry around 5 to 7 thousand.[65] Against the 11,600 Athenians, Plataeans and Megarians, were deployed the Boeotians, Locrians, Malians, Thessalians, and the Phocians. Konecny estimates that these troops would have numbered around 11 to 13 thousand.[66]

Strategic and tactical considerations

[edit]
Black and white sketch of a camp. A king in the center is talking to a cavalier messenger, all men are wearing plumed helmets
Aristides, commander of the Athenians, informed by Alexander I of Macedon (a nominal ally of the Achaemenids) that delaying the encounter with the Persians would help further diminish their already low supplies. Battle of Plataea, 479 BC.

In some ways the run-up to Plataea resembled that at the Battle of Marathon; there was a prolonged stalemate in which neither side risked attacking the other. The reasons for this stalemate were primarily tactical, and similar to the situation at Marathon; the Greek hoplites did not want to risk being outflanked by the Persian cavalry and the lightly armed Persian infantry could not hope to assault well-defended positions.[27][67]

According to Herodotus, both sides wished for a decisive battle that would tip the war in their favor.[27] However, Lazenby believed that Mardonius' actions during the Plataea campaign were not consistent with an aggressive policy.[67] He interprets the Persian operations during the prelude not as attempts to force the Allies into battle but as attempts to force the Allies into retreat (which indeed became the case).[68] Mardonius may have felt he had little to gain in battle and that he could simply wait for the Greek alliance to fall apart (as it had nearly done over the winter).[67] There can be little doubt from Herodotus' account that Mardonius was prepared to accept battle on his own terms, however. Regardless of the exact motives, the initial strategic situation allowed both sides to procrastinate, since food supplies were ample for both armies.[27] Under these conditions, the tactical considerations outweighed the strategic need for action.

Black and white sketch. From north to south are seen a river bank, a town and mountains
The battlefield of Plataea from the Achaemenid (northern) side

When Mardonius' raids disrupted the Allied supply chain, it forced the Allies to rethink their strategy. Rather than now moving to attack, however, they instead looked to retreat and secure their lines of communication.[50] Despite this defensive move by the Greeks, it was in fact the chaos resulting from this retreat that finally ended the stalemate. Mardonius perceived this as a full-on retreat, in effect thinking that the battle was already over, and sought to pursue the Greeks.[69] Since he did not expect the Greeks to fight, the tactical problems were no longer an issue and he tried to take advantage of the altered strategic situation he thought he had produced. Conversely, the Greeks had, inadvertently, lured Mardonius into attacking them on the higher ground and, despite being outnumbered, were thus at a tactical advantage.[27][70] The historian Roel Konijnendijk argues that the Persian strategy was to pursue a lengthened war and thus force a Greek retreat, since the latter had limited access to supplies and water. He argues that the Greek strategy was to pull the Persians into a pitched battle, because the former had logistical issues with managing their large army for long and might have believed they had the advantage of terrain.[71]

Logistics

[edit]

The historian Andreas Konecny [de] estimates that the Greek supply train destroyed by the Persian cavalry would have had 120 tons of supplies. He estimates that the Greek army at Plataea had a total of 78,000 soldiers and that these supplies would have lasted for two days, if each soldier were to receive one choinix of rations per day, equivalent to 800 grams (1.8 lb). Konecny estimates that each column would have had to travel 75 kilometres (47 mi) one way, and argues that there would have been three supply columns in transit at all times in order to supply the Greek army. He argues that at least 500 people would have accompanied each column, and that thus a minimum of 2,000 auxiliaries had arrived at the Greek camp since four columns had already supplied them, and that at least 1,500 auxiliaries would always have to be travelling on the supply lines.[72]

Konecny argues that the Spartans had thus mobilized almost all of their fighting age helots to assist with the logistical problems posed by such a large Greek army.[73] He argues that only 10,000 helots would have been deployed for combat, with the remaining 25,000 helots working the supply lines. He further claims that if all the 35,000 helots had been on the battlefield, the Greeks wouldn't have been able to form their phalanxes before the first Persian charge.[21] Konecny estimates that during Mardonius' march to Skolos he had traveled around 70 kilometres (43 mi) from Athens in two days, while most of his army would have taken around a week.[74]

Konecny estimates that the allied Greek army would have required 300,000 liters (79,000 U.S. gal) of water daily. However, the mountain slopes they had deployed on did not have access to freshwater, and carrying such quantities daily would have been logistically difficult, and would have made them highly vulnerable to attacks by Persian cavalry.[16]

Battle

[edit]
Black and white sketch of a priest sacrificing an animal while the commanders of an army pray
Pausanias offering sacrifice to the gods before the battle

During the retreat of the Greeks, all of their center wing left the field while their right wing initially did not budge.[75] Once the Persians discovered that the Greeks had abandoned their positions and appeared to be in retreat, Mardonius decided to set off in immediate pursuit with the elite Persian infantry. As he did so, the rest of the Persian army, unbidden, began to move forward.[76] The Spartans and Tegeans had by now reached the Temple of Demeter. The rearguard under Amompharetus began to withdraw from the ridge, under pressure from Persian cavalry, to join them.[77] Konijnendijk notes that the Spartans' flank had been attacked by the Persians, and that Pausanias had asked the Athenians to deploy their archers, who were tactically needed against the Persian archers and missileers, if they could not deploy all of their army.[78] However, the Athenians had been engaged by the Theban phalanx and were unable to assist Pausanias.[79] The Spartans and Tegeans were first assaulted by the Persian cavalry, while the Persian infantry made their way forward. They then planted their shields and began shooting arrows at the Greeks, while the cavalry withdrew.[77]

Black and white sketch of a battle. The Greeks wearing plumed helmets are to the left while the Persians with plain helmets are to the right. Shields are raised and spears can be seen thrusting or flying
Scene of the Battle of Plataea. 19th century illustration.

According to Herodotus, Pausanias refused to advance because they were waiting for good omens. At this point, as Greek soldiers began to fall under the barrage of arrows, the Tegeans started to run at the Persian lines. Pausanias finally received favourable omens and ordered the Spartans to also charge the Persian lines.[80] At this point, the Persians had formed their shield wall and their archers continued to fire while covered behind it. Konijnendijk argues that the Greeks would have formed an open phalanx and not a closed one. He argues that the Spartans then formed a defensive line, thus pulling the Persians in towards them. He argues that the continuing use of ballistic weapons and small clashes along the lines would have reduced numbers on both sides, however, the Greeks did not break ranks and retreat. Meanwhile, the Spartans had outnumbered the Persians guarding Mardonius; these Persians inflicted many casualties on the Spartans till a Spartan soldier hurled a stone at Mardonius and killed him.[81]

Damaged engravings of a battle scene
Scene of the Battle of Plataea on the south frieze of the Temple of Athena Nike, Athens. The scene on the right may show the fight over the body of Masistius.[82] British Museum.

Mardonius' death hit the morale of his guards, and once they broke their lines and retreated, the rest of the Persian army did so too. However, the Athenians still had to fight the Thebans who were blocking them, and the Persian cavalry did not let the Greeks pursue and outflank the rest of the retreating Persian army. Konijnendijk argues that it is puzzling that these cavaliers did not participate in the fight fully at this point, and notes that perhaps they were following standard Persian cavalry tactics. However, the Greeks managed to catch up with the retreating Persians and took their camp after some struggle.[83]

Map of the Plataea battlefield. The portions shaded brown are the ridges and hills, the blue lines show the Asopos river's course. The blue band indicates the Spartans & Tegeans, the purple band the Athenians and the red bands the Persians. The Persians cross the river and fight the Greeks at the center, both flanks and rear, while the Greeks try to retreat
The main phase of the battle at Plataea. The Greek retreat becomes disorganised, and the Persians cross the Asopus to attack.

The numerically superior Persian infantry were of the heavy (by Persian standards) sparabara formation, but this was still much lighter than the Greek phalanx.[84] The fight was fierce and long, but the Greeks (Spartans and Tegeans) continued to push into the Persian lines.[77] The Persians tried to break the Greeks' spears by grabbing hold of them, but the Greeks responded by switching to swords. Artabazos, who had earlier commanded the Persians at the Sieges of Olynthus and Potidea, had disagreed with Mardonius about attacking the Greeks, and had not fully engaged the forces under his command. As the rout commenced, he led these men away from the battlefield to Phocis, hoping to escape eventually to the Hellespont.[85]

On the opposite side of the battlefield the Athenians had triumphed in a tough battle against the Thebans. The other Greeks fighting for the Persians had deliberately fought badly, according to Herodotus.[86] The Thebans retreated from the battle, but in a different direction from the Persians, allowing them to escape without further losses.[87]

Accounts of individuals

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Damaged engraving of a bearded man wearing a broad cap, robes and a sword around his torso
Macedonian soldier of the Achaemenid Army, wearing the kausia or petasos, around the time of the Battle of Plataea (the "Ionians with shield-hats" on the tomb of Xerxes I at Naqsh-e Rustam, c. 480 BC).[88]

Herodotus recounts several anecdotes about the conduct of specific Spartans during the battle.

  • Amompharetus: The leader of a battalion (lochos) of Spartans (specifically Pitanates), he refused to undertake the night-time retreat towards Plataea before the battle, because he thought it was cowardly.[43] At dawn, the rest of the Spartan army finally began to retreat, leaving Amompharetus' division behind.[42] Amompharetus eventually led his men to join the retreating Spartans.[89] However, another tradition remembers Amompharetus as winning great renown at Plataea, and it has thus been suggested that Amompharetus, far from being insubordinate, had instead volunteered to guard the rear.[77]
  • Aristodemus: The lone Spartan survivor of the slaughter of the 300 at the Battle of Thermopylae had, with a fellow Spartiate, been dismissed from the army by Leonidas I because of an eye infection. However, his colleague had insisted on being led into battle, partially blind, by a helot.[90] Preferring to return to Sparta, Aristodemus was branded a coward and suffered a year of reproach before Plataea.[77] Anxious to redeem his name, he charged the Persian lines by himself, killing in a savage fury before being cut down.[91] Although the Spartans agreed that he had redeemed himself, they awarded him no special honour, because he failed to fight in the disciplined manner expected of a Spartan.[77]
  • Callicrates: Considered the "most beautiful man, not among the Spartans only, but in the whole Greek camp", Callicrates was eager to distinguish himself that day as a warrior but was deprived of the chance by a stray arrow that pierced his side while standing in formation. When the battle commenced he insisted on making the charge with the rest, but collapsed within a short distance. His last words, according to Herodotus, were, "I grieve not because I have to die for my country, but because I have not lifted my arm against the enemy."[92]

Aftermath

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Main articles: Battle of Mycale and Second Persian invasion of Greece
An illustration on a circular surface in golden-yellow watercolor. A standing Greek soldier with a unicorn shield is sword fighting with a lunging Persian soldier wearing a drooping cap
Greek hoplite and Persian warrior depicted fighting on an ancient kylix (cup). Fifth century BC

According to Herodotus, the Battle of Mycale occurred on the same afternoon as Plataea. With the twin victories of Plataea and Mycale, the second Persian invasion of Greece was over. Moreover, the threat of future invasion was abated; although the Greeks remained worried that Xerxes would attempt an invasion again, over time it became apparent that the Persian desire to conquer Greece was much diminished.[93]

The remnants of the Persian army, under the command of Artabazos, tried to retreat back to Asia Minor. Travelling through the lands of Thessaly, Macedonia and Thrace by the shortest road, Artabazos eventually made it back to Byzantium, though losing many men to Thracian attacks, weariness and hunger.[94] After the victory at Mycale, the Allied fleet sailed to the Hellespont to break down the pontoon bridges, but found that this had already been done. The Peloponnesians sailed home, but the Athenians remained to attack the Chersonesos, still held by the Persians.[95] The Persians in the region, and their allies, made for Sestos, the strongest town in the region, and the Athenians laid siege to them there. After a protracted siege Sestos fell to the Athenians, marking the beginning of a new phase in the Greco-Persian Wars, the Greek counter-attack. Herodotus ended his Histories after the Siege of Sestos. Over the next 30 years the Greeks, primarily the Athenian-dominated Delian League, would expel (or help expel) the Persians from Macedon, Thrace, the Aegean islands and Ionia. Peace with Persia came in 449 BC with the Peace of Callias, finally ending a half-century of warfare.[96]

Significance

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Front and back pictures of a coin. On the front is a king atop a horse, on the back is a square seal of a plumed helmet
Coin of Alexander I of Macedon in the decade following the Battle of Plataea and the departure of Achaemenid forces (struck in 480/79–470 BC).

Plataea and Mycale have great significance in ancient history as the battles that decisively ended the second Persian invasion of Greece, thereby swinging the balance of the Greco-Persian Wars in favor of the Greeks. They kept Persia from conquering all of Greece, although they paid a high price by losing many of their men. The Battle of Marathon showed that the Persians could be defeated, and the Battle of Salamis saved Greece from immediate conquest, but it was Plataea and Mycale that effectively ended that threat.[96] However, neither of these battles is nearly as well known as Thermopylae, Salamis or Marathon. The reason for this discrepancy is not entirely clear; it might, however, be a result of the circumstances in which the battle was fought. The fame of Thermopylae certainly lies in the doomed heroism of the Greeks in the face of overwhelming numbers;[97] and Marathon and Salamis perhaps because they were both fought against the odds, and in dire strategic situations.[98] Conversely, the Battles of Plataea and Mycale were both fought from a relative position of Greek strength, and against lesser odds; the Greeks, in fact, sought out battle on both occasions.[12][96]

The historian George Cawkwell argues that the major lesson of Plataea was to reinforce the superiority of the hoplite over Persian light infantry. After the Greco-Persian Wars, the Persian empire started recruiting and relying on Greek mercenaries. Cawkwell argues that after the battle the Persians started to deploy their cavalry in front of their infantry, while previously they would deploy their cavalry at the center and the flanks of their infantry. Cawkwell further claims that the Persians had developed their Cardaces infantry corps as their counter to Greek infantry.[99] Cawkwell also argues that Greece, which could have been a new Persian satrapy, was lost due to the defeat at Plataea, and not due to the defeat at Salamis.[100]

Legacy

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Main article: Serpent Column
Illustration of a column, at the top are three snakes facing in different directions, at the bottom are the snakes' intertwined torsoes
Reconstitution of the column. An inscription reads "This is the gift the saviors of far-flung Hellas upraised here, Having delivered their states from loathsome slavery's bonds".
Photograph of a column damaged at the top, displayed in a public square
The Serpent Column dedicated by the victorious Greeks, today located in Istanbul, ancient Constantinople

A bronze column in the shape of intertwined snakes, the Serpent column, was created from melted-down Persian armor, acquired during the plunder of the Persian camp, and was erected at Delphi. It commemorated all the Greek city-states that had participated in the battle, listing them on the column. Most of it still survives in the Hippodrome of Constantinople in present-day Istanbul, where it was carried by Constantine the Great during the founding of his city on the Greek colony of Byzantium.[101]

Analysis

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The historian Roel Konijnendijk argues that technological advantages, if these existed, were not among the reasons for the Greek victory over the Persians at Plataea. He argues that there were multiple other reasons for the outcome of the battle, which led to Greek mercenaries being in high demand.[102] He claims that the Persians' iron cuirass armor would have been of better quality than the Greek bronze cuirass armor. Konijnendijk states that only some soldiers of both armies would have worn armor, whose numbers would not have been greater than 10%. He thus postulates that the Greeks did not have better armor than the Persians.[103] He argues that it was not the Greeks but the Persian soldiers who were "uniformly trained and equipped for close combat".[104] He claims that the Persian shield wall was the Greeks' target during the early clashes, and that the Persian Immortals had kept fighting even after the shield wall broke, but stopped after their commander Mardonius was killed.[105] He also notes how the Spartans were the only experienced and skilled soldiers in the Greek camp, and that all the other Greek soldiers were amateurs.[106]

Konijnendijk notes the dominance of the Persian cavalry over the Greek infantry, and how the former had initiated the battle at Plataea.[107] He argues that these cavaliers could fire arrows and javelins at the Greeks without coming within the range of the latter's spears; and that the Persian infantry inflicted much damage on the Spartans, who did not have long-range weapons to counter and defend themselves. He also observes how the Persians used their archers for area denial by putting the banks of the Asopos river within their arrows' range and thus cutting off the Greeks' source of fresh water. Konijnendijk argues that the Greeks would have lost at Plataea if their army had been all hoplites, and that the light infantry missileers, who were two-thirds of the Greek army, could counter the Persians' long-range weapons more effectively. He argues that these missileers would have sought cover behind the hoplite shields at Plataea. He argues that Pausanias knew the hoplites were weaker in such a scenario and that archers were needed.[38]

Konijnendijk notes that the Greeks had sent hoplites and archers for the first few skirmishes, and that the archers had managed to turn these into a pitched battle by injuring the Persian commander's horse.[108] He argues that the Persians had advantages in mobility, range, flexibility and lethality over the Greeks.[78] He argues that the Persians could have outflanked the Greeks easily, but they did not because they actually did not outnumber the Greeks by a lot. He also argues that Mardonius would not have proposed a duel of champions between the Persian Immortals and Greek hoplites because it would have reduced his numerical advantage. Instead, he argues that Mardonius had proposed the duel because he wanted to reduce the Greeks' numbers and notes that the Greeks may have been the ones who outnumbered the Persians, since the latter feared the size of the former's army.[109]

Konijnendijk argues that both the Greeks and Persians had depleted their supplies before the final battle. Mardonius may have decided on attacking first because the Greek victory at the Battle of Salamis and the following Battle of Mycale would have threatened his line of communications and routes for retreating.[110] He argues that the Persians lost the battle because they did not deploy their cavalry fully in the final battle, and also because their morale had shattered after Mardonius' death. He further argues that the Greeks did not win because of presumed technological superiority, but because of their consistent refusal to break and their sustained strong morale.[83]

The historian George Cawkwell argues that the Greek inactivity during the first 10 days of the battle did not reflect well on their commander Pausanias.[28] He further argues that all the Greek generals had had no hopes of victory before the final battle commenced. He argues that the Persians' continuous cavalry attacks had been successful, and thus Mardonius' decision to go on the offensive with all of his troops is puzzling. He claims that Mardonius' decision to use all of his cavalry for a charge indicates that the Persians would have attacked the Greeks, even if they had not known the latter were going to retreat or move their camps. Cawkwell argues that the reason for the Persian attack had been a shortage of supplies, since their food stock was going to run out in a few days, which was also why Artabazos had advocated for retreating to Thebes.[40]

The historian Andreas Konecny [de] argues that the phalanx formed by all the hoplites would have been 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) long if there were 8 men per column.[16] He also argues that all the Spartan helots had not been deployed on the battlefield, because the 35,000 helots in the seven rows to the back plus the 5,000 Spartiates in the front would have made the phalanx 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) long.[111] Konecny argues that the Greek position near Mount Cithaeron had been very well suited for defence,[16] but they could not have defeated the Persians without fighting a pitched battle. According to Konecny, two of the reasons that the Greeks would have had to fight a pitched battle was because their phalanx armies were not suitable for a war of attrition or maneuver warfare, which the Persian invasion would have transformed into; and because they did not have the required auxiliary logistical support. Konecny argues that if the Greeks hadn't fought a pitched battle, the Greek alliance would have broken apart after entering its third year.[112]

Konecny argues that there would have been large contingents of non-combatants in the Persian camps. He argues that their presence would have led to the size of Mardonius' army being inflated.[113] Konecny also claims that the Greeks did not have any strategic plans during the retreat, and were instead making tactical movements to avoid being defeated.[39] He further argues that the Greek commanders did not protect their supply lines or routes for retreating.[114]

Notes

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  1. ^ The historian George Cawkwell argues that the Spartans had delayed committing their troops not due to religious obligations, but because they were worried about a potential revolt by the helots.[17]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b Shepherd 2012, pp. 34–36.
  2. ^ a b Shepherd 2012, p. 78.
  3. ^ Fehling 1971, p. 161.
  4. ^ Konecny & Sekunda 2022, p. 10.
  5. ^ Lupi 2017, p. 276.
  6. ^ Holland, pp. 255–257.
  7. ^ Lupi 2017, pp. 278–279.
  8. ^ Holland, pp. 292–294.
  9. ^ Cawkwell 2005, p. 112.
  10. ^ a b Lupi 2017, p. 279.
  11. ^ a b Holland, pp. 333–335.
  12. ^ a b c d Holland, pp. 336–338.
  13. ^ The Histories. Penguin UK. 2013. p. 484. ISBN 9780141393773.
  14. ^ a b Konecny 2022, p. 169.
  15. ^ Herodotus IX.7–9.
  16. ^ a b c d e f Konecny 2022, p. 174.
  17. ^ Cawkwell 2005, p. 113, n. 61.
  18. ^ Cawkwell 2005, pp. 112–113.
  19. ^ Herodotus IX.11.
  20. ^ a b Lupi 2017, p. 280.
  21. ^ a b c Konecny 2022, p. 171.
  22. ^ Mozhajsky 2017, p. 34.
  23. ^ Herodotus IX.28–29.
  24. ^ a b Konecny 2022, p. 173.
  25. ^ Mozhajsky 2017, pp. 33–34.
  26. ^ Cawkwell 2005, p. 122.
  27. ^ a b c d e f Holland, pp. 343–349.
  28. ^ a b c Cawkwell 2005, p. 113.
  29. ^ Konecny 2022, p. 176.
  30. ^ Mozhajsky 2017, p. 35.
  31. ^ Konijnendijk 2012, p. 4, n. 14.
  32. ^ a b Konecny 2022, p. 177.
  33. ^ Konecny 2022, pp. 177–178.
  34. ^ Konecny 2022, pp. 178–179.
  35. ^ a b Konecny 2022, p. 181.
  36. ^ Konecny 2022, pp. 181–182.
  37. ^ Konecny 2022, p. 182.
  38. ^ a b Konijnendijk 2012, p. 10.
  39. ^ a b c d Konecny 2022, p. 185.
  40. ^ a b Cawkwell 2005, p. 114.
  41. ^ Konecny 2022, p. 183.
  42. ^ a b Konecny 2022, pp. 185–186.
  43. ^ a b c Konecny 2022, p. 186.
  44. ^ Konecny 2022, pp. 186–187.
  45. ^ Konecny 2022, p. 187.
  46. ^ Konecny 2022, pp. 188–189.
  47. ^ a b Herodotus, IX.28 - IX.29.
  48. ^ Cawkwell 2005, p. 249.
  49. ^ Herodotus, IX.25.1–3.
  50. ^ a b Herodotus IX.51–52.
  51. ^ Shepherd 2012, p. 25.
  52. ^ Tola, Fernando (1986). "India and Greece before Alexander". Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. 67 (1/4): 165. JSTOR 41693244.
  53. ^ Holland, p. 237.
  54. ^ Holland, p. 400.
  55. ^ Lazenby 1993, pp. 227–228.
  56. ^ Connolly 2012, p. 29.
  57. ^ Martin, Jon Edward (2004). "The Battle of Plataea — August, 479 BCE". Military History Online. Archived from the original on 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2006-05-16.
  58. ^ Green 1996, p. 240.
  59. ^ Delbrück 1990, p. 35.
  60. ^ Delbrück 1990, p. 112.
  61. ^ a b c Shepherd 2012, p. 36.
  62. ^ Shepherd 2012, p. 51.
  63. ^ Cawkwell 2005, p. 242.
  64. ^ Shepherd 2012, p. 35.
  65. ^ a b Konecny 2022, p. 179.
  66. ^ Konecny 2022, p. 180.
  67. ^ a b c Lazenby 1993, pp. 217–219.
  68. ^ Lazenby 1993, pp. 221–222.
  69. ^ Herodotus, IX.58
  70. ^ Lazenby 1993, p. 254–257.
  71. ^ Konijnendijk 2012, p. 13, n. 67.
  72. ^ Konecny 2022, p. 170.
  73. ^ Konecny 2022, p. 170, n. 26.
  74. ^ Konecny 2022, p. 172.
  75. ^ Konijnendijk 2012, p. 13, n. 69.
  76. ^ Herodotus IX.59.
  77. ^ a b c d e f Holland, pp. 350–355.
  78. ^ a b Konijnendijk 2012, p. 11.
  79. ^ Konijnendijk 2012, p. 13, n. 70.
  80. ^ Konijnendijk 2012, p. 13.
  81. ^ Konijnendijk 2012, p. 14.
  82. ^ Shepherd 2012, p. 55.
  83. ^ a b Konijnendijk 2012, p. 15.
  84. ^ Herodotus IX.62–63.
  85. ^ Cawkwell 2005, p. 9.
  86. ^ Herodotus IX, 67.
  87. ^ Herodotus IX.68.
  88. ^ Roisman & Worthington 2011, pp. 343–344.
  89. ^ Konecny 2022, p. 188.
  90. ^ Herodotus VII.229.
  91. ^ Herodotus IX.71.
  92. ^ Herodotus IX.72.
  93. ^ Konecny & Sekunda 2022, p. 7.
  94. ^ Herodotus IX.89.
  95. ^ Herodotus IX.114.
  96. ^ a b c Holland, pp. 359–63.
  97. ^ Holland, pp. xvi–xvii.
  98. ^ Hanson, Victor Davis (2007-12-18). Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power. Knopf Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-307-42518-8.
  99. ^ Cawkwell 2005, pp. 251–252.
  100. ^ Cawkwell 2005, pp. 103, 115.
  101. ^ Madden, Thomas F. (2017). "17.05.02, Stephenson, The Serpent Column". The Medieval Review. ISSN 1096-746X.
  102. ^ Konijnendijk 2012, p. 2.
  103. ^ Konijnendijk 2012, p. 4.
  104. ^ Konijnendijk 2012, p. 5.
  105. ^ Konijnendijk 2012, p. 6.
  106. ^ Konijnendijk 2012, p. 8.
  107. ^ Konijnendijk 2012, p. 9.
  108. ^ Konijnendijk 2012, pp. 10–11.
  109. ^ Konijnendijk 2012, p. 12, n. 66.
  110. ^ Konijnendijk 2012, p. 13, n. 68.
  111. ^ Konecny 2022, p. 174, n. 64.
  112. ^ Konecny 2022, p. 175.
  113. ^ Konecny 2022, p. 180, n. 128.
  114. ^ Konecny 2022, p. 174, n. 65.

Bibliography

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Ancient sources

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Modern sources

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Journals and theses

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Books

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