Download The inter-war period – packages of information

The inter-war period – packages of information
1. Persian preparations for war:

King Darius died in 486 BC, and was replaced by his son Xerxes, who also intended to
conquer Greece. According to Herodotus, Xerxes had two main motivations: the desire
to “obtain vengeance from the Athenians for the wrongs committed against the
Persians and against my father”; and the desire to attain glory by adding territory and
resources to the Persian Empire. (It should be remembered that we have no Persian
version of Xerxes’ motivations, but Herodotus’ version does seem likely.)

Before Xerxes could launch his invasion he had to deal with rebellions in both Egypt and
Babylon. This held up his plans for several years.

Once free of internal difficulties, Xerxes and his generals decided on a change of
strategy for the invasion. They decided to return to Darius’ original plan following the
Thracian campaign: a combined land and sea operation. The army would march to
Greece via Thrace and Macedonia, while the navy would remain offshore, keeping the
Persian supply lines open. In addition, Xerxes himself would command the invasion.

Before the campaign could begin, the Persians had to construct bridges across the
Strymon River (in Thrace) and the Hellespont (the strait separating Asia from Europe),
construct a 4 km canal through the Mt Athos Promontory (to avoid a repeat of what
happened to Mardonius’ fleet in 492), establish supply depots at places along the route,
and recruit a massive army and navy from across the Persian Empire. All this took four
years.
2. Developments in Athens: 489 – 480 BC:

The Greek states continued to bicker with each other and ignore the possibility of
another invasion by Persia. Only Athens took the threat seriously – and then only at the
insistence of Themistocles, the dominant politician in the inter-war period.

Prior to Marathon, Themistocles had moved Athens’ port from Phalerum to Piraeus,
where there were three excellent harbours, and had commenced fortifying the town.
After the war he completed the fortifications.

In 483 Themistocles was elected archon, and used the position to hasten Athens’
preparations for war. He believed that if Persia returned to Greece it would do so with a
much bigger force. The only way that force could be stopped would be to cut its supply
lines, which would require a strong navy. He persuaded the Assembly to build 200
warships (triremes), financing this with money from a silver mine in Attica. He also
outmanoeuvred his enemies in Athens by having them exiled (ostracised).
3. The Hellenic League:

In 481, when it became clear the Persians were planning another invasion, 31 Greek
states joined together to form the Hellenic League. The northernmost states did not
join, nor did some of the islands, fearing Persian retaliation if they did.

The members of the League agreed to put aside their disputes and concentrate on the
defence of Greece – something that was easier said than done, as they had no sense of
Greek national identity yet.

Because of its military prowess, Sparta was given leadership. King Leonidas would lead
the combined Greek army, and Eurybiades the navy. For the sake of unity, Themistocles


agreed to serve under Eurybiades, even though Athens would be supplying half the
League’s warships.
Spies were sent to Persia to check on Xerxes’ preparations. These were captured, but
allowed to return home to report what they had seen, in the hope that this would
terrify the Greeks into submission.
Finally, the Athenians and Spartans consulted the Oracle of Delphi, who predicted
disaster for both. The Athenians insisted on a second consultation, but this was
ambiguous – asserting that Athens’ wooden walls would not fall and that victory would
come at Salamis. Some interpreted the ‘wooden walls’ to mean the palisade that
surrounded the Acropolis, but Themistocles interpreted the words as meaning Athens
should put its faith in its ships (the hulls of which, he argued, were the wooden walls).
His version was accepted.
4. Final preparations:

Xerxes’ army set off in 480 BC, with somewhere between 200,000 and 500,000 soldiers,
80,000 cavalry and between 600 and 800 ships.

To face them, the Greeks could muster about 40,000 hoplites, 70,000 lightly armed
infantry and 400 ships.

In an attempt to negate the Persian’s numerical superiority, the Hellenic League
adopted Themistocles’ strategy of blocking the Persians at narrow mountain passes and
waterways. It was decided to defend the mountain pass of Thermopylae and the nearby
Straits of Artemisium.