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Darius vowed revenge for his defeat at Marathon. This was the third campaign of the Persian Wars. Darius planned a massive campaign, but died before the invasion could be launched. It was his son Xerxes who deployed a huge army and naval force to conquer all of Greece and extinguish freedom shortly after its appearance. It would be one more territory added to his vast empire. And he planned to teach the Greeks a paibful lesson for daring to challenge his father and the Empire. Darius has sent mighty armies in Greece twice. This time Xerees would send such a might force tht the Greeks could not possibly resist. Athens was the principal target, but this time the Spartans were involved. The Spartans were stung by the embarassment of not participating in the Battle of Mrathon. This time thy were not about to miss out on the fight. A small Spartan force under Leonidas delayed a massive Persian Army at Thermopylae. The Athenian commander Themistocles abandoned the city. The Persian fleet was destroyed at the decisive battle of Salmis (480 BC). The naval victory was especially important. Greece was exceedingly mountaneous. War with the Greeks was only practical for the Persians by transporting and supplying its large army by sea. Without the fleet, the Persian Army was cut off from supplies. Xerxes returned to Persia. The Persian Army was left under the command of Mardonius. The next year the Greeks comanded by the Spartan general Pausanias and the Athenian general Aristides destroyed that army at Plataea (479 BC). The Athenian fleet also defeated another Persian naval force at Mycale. Conflict between the Persians and Greeks continued for years, but never on the same scale. The Greeks had maintained their freedom and with followed one of the greatest cultural floweing in history.
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