Episode 18
The Second Persian Invasion
In the Spring of 480 BC, Xerxes led the Persian army in its second campaign of Greece. Not long after leaving the city of Sardis an eclipse of the sun took place to where the Magi were on hand to put the great kings mind at ease. Herodotus retells the story.
“No sooner had the troops begun to move than the sun vanished from his place in the sky and it grew dark as night, though the weather was perfectly clear and cloudless. Xerxes, deeply troubled, asked the Magi to interpret the significance of this strange phenomenon, and was given to understand that God meant to foretell to the Greeks the eclipse of their cities, for it was the sun which gave warning of the future to Greece, just as the moon did to Persia. Having heard this Xerxes continued the march in high spirits”.
Hello I’m Mark Selleck and welcome back to casting through Ancient Greece, episode 18 The Second Persian Invasion.
Introduction:
The Athenians, with assistance from their Plataean allies, had fought off the Persian threat and in their minds; they had saved all of Hellas from Persian subjugation. Sparta, recognised as having the most effective army had sent help but, in fulfilling their religious obligations during the festival of the Carneia, they would arrive too late to take part in the battle. The Athenians now had reached a point in their collective consciousness of becoming a military power in their own right, with the victory at Marathon Bay playing an important role in the Athenian psyche for generations.
To honour their dead the Athenians did something that had not been done for hundreds of years, they buried them on the field of battle. It was customary for a dead hoplite to be returned to his family who would then have him buried in a family plot outside the city. After Marathon though, a mound with a tomb inside was built to house the fallen hoplites on the plains which still stands today. In the late 1800’s the tomb was excavated which showed that animal sacrifices had been made to all the gods responsible for the Athenian victory, which were placed in a trench. Above this sacrificial trench was a larger one where all of the cremated remains of the hoplites were buried. Also found was an urn with the remains of an individual, perhaps that of the fallen Callimachus. Though, not to forget the Plataeans, a smaller mound was constructed nearby which housed the eleven of their fallen hoplites.
With this new found confidence after Marathon the power of the people further increased while that of the nobles was further diluted. Three years after Marathon the archonships would now be selected by lot from a pool of 500 that had been elected by the demes, in much the same manner as how members of the boule were chosen. An anti Persian sentiment also grew within Athens, with anyone holding sympathies or benefiting from them would pay politically for their connections. It wouldn’t be only these men that would suffer but with the increase in the democratic institutions, the people were much more suspicious of powerful men in political life and their motives, and now they were more likely to act against such would be tyrants.
Miltiades’s fall from grace:
One of the first men that the Athenians would become suspicious of after the battle of Marathon was that of Miltiades. With the battle of Marathon won his reputation had soared. Out of the surviving generals he had contributed the most for the victorious outcome over the Persians. With his reputation at such heights, he requested the use of a fleet of seventy ships as well as troops and money. He was preparing to mount an expedition against the Island of Paros, just west of Naxos, which he claimed had aided the Persians in their landing at Marathon. Though it appears or has been reported by sources friendly to Paros that Miltiades had a personal grievance with the Island as his name had been slandered to the Persians there. What ever the true reason, Miltiades reputation and his promise of riches to the Athenians saw them grant his requests without raising any objections.
Miltiades embarked on his expedition, arriving at the Island of Paros with his fleet where he demanded the Parians pay 100 talents or he would blockade the Island until the city fell. One Talent was roughly what a 200 man crew of a trireme was paid between them for one months work. The Parians had no intention ceding to Miltiades demands and they began setting up an effective defence to counter any attempt to take the city and a siege now ensured.
After 26 days of the siege, very little progress had been made and it was at this stage that Miltiades was injured, presumably through some sort of action against the Parians defences. Though the Parians had reported to Herodotus that a form of divine intervention took place when Miltiades fell injuring himself trying to enter a shrine where terror had overcome him. With Miltiades returning to Athens injured and the siege making no head way, the Athenians saw that the promise of riches was not going to be fulfilled. It was now at this point that they decided to make their objections to the expedition known.
Miltiades was brought before the Athenians on the charge of defrauding the public. By this stage his injuries had become gangrenous and was unable to present his own defence. His friends would mount a defence for him where they pointed out his past services to the city and if it were not for him they would all be ruled by Persians now. The Athenians decided to spare Miltiades life and instead past down a fine of 50 talents to be paid.
Not long after the hearing, the hero of Marathon, Miltiades succumbed to his injuries. His fine would be past onto his son Cimon who would also become a leading figure in Athenian public life. It was normal practice for debts to be inherited by family members once the holder of the debt passed away.
This opening round of the Greco-Persian wars would see the further evolution of the Greek city states. They would be responding to the threat presented by the Persian Empire while also contending with the diplomatic complexities that came with the many city states that dotted the Greek main land and islands. Policies and public figures would emerge that would forever shape their futures, especially that of Athens.
Ostracism first use:
In this decade the tool of ostracism would be used for the first time in Athens even though being written into the Athenian constitution during Cleisthenes time. Today we still use the word to describe someone being socially shunned. Though, the name for this mechanism came from the broken pottery shard that voters would scratch the name of their chosen candidate on, known as an Ostraka. The mechanism was designed to help prevent the rise of tyrants by giving the citizens the opportunity to vote and send into exile a public figure that they feared that was sending Athens back down the road to tyranny. Though as time went on it seems to have helped decide between polarising policies, setting the direction Athens would take. Once a year it would be decided on if an ostracism would be held, if so the person receiving the most votes would be sent into exile from Athens for ten years. The first time we know of ostracism being used was in 487 BC and the last recorded use was in 417 BC, during this time its thought 12 men were ostracised with 5 taking place in the 480’s. A new public figure to emerge in the historical record during this period would be embroiled in a number of ostracisms conducted.
Rise of Themistocles:
With the death of Miltiades a vacuum had been created but there was one man who had been operating in the background for years, he would now step forward and would become the most influential public figure in Athenian politics for the next decade. His name was Themistocles. His father had tried to dissuade him from seeking a role in public life when Plutarch relates a story in his work, the life of Themistocles, “… pointing out to him old triremes on the sea-shore, all wrecked and neglected, and intimating that the people treated their leaders in like fashion when these were past service”. Just before the battle of Marathon Themistocles had held the position of Eponymous Archon, the most senior of the archon position as you may remember from an earlier episode. At this point he would have been in his early 30’s and just a few years later he fought at the battle of Marathon. In is early political life Themistocles recognised the importance of Athens controlling the seas and he had taken steps in fortifying a new port for Athens which would see the Piraeus becoming the new official port being able to support a much larger navy.
Themistocles rise in political life saw him support and appeal to the lower classes of Athens, which led him to be seen as a radical amongst the nobility. This would see factions form again based on class, Themistocles had the popular support but the nobility rallied around a man named Aristides who his followers called the just, both Herodotus and the philosopher Plato present him as an honourable man. A great rivalry would develop between the two, with the characters of the two having been described as polar opposites. Plutarch, in his life of Themistocles begins by describing him as. “quick, reckless, unscrupulous, and easily borne with haste into any undertaking. While Aristides’ was founded upon a firm character, which was intent on justice and not inclined toward any falsehood, buffoonery or trick even in a game.” A large part of Themistocles polices revolved around building wealth and security for Athens in the form of naval power. While Aristides with the support of the upper classes, who many would have been part of the Hoplite class opposed such polices relating to the navy. It would have been seen that building a large navy would require the employment of many oars men, who would come from the lower classes. This lower class would become integral to the security of Athens would ultimately receive more political power.
The Rivalry came to ahead between Themistocles and Aristides when a lucrative seam of silver was discovered in the Athenian mines of Lauriun in southern Attica. Aristides presented a proposal for the windfall to be split between all the citizens of Athens. Themistocles on the other hand had suggested the money should be put towards building a new fleet. Themistocles’ arguments for his case carried the day, though the tensions between the two camps increased over the coming months. The ostracism of 482 BC would come down to a direct showdown between Aristides and Themistocles. Plutarch tells a story involving the ostracism where an illiterate man approached Aristides during the casting of the votes. Not recognising him, he asked if Aristides could write down his vote for him. Aristides asked who he wished to vote for, to where the man replied Aristides, Aristides asked out of interest why he voted the way he did, where he replied he was sick of hearing Aristides being called the “Just” all the time. Aristides living up to his name cast the vote as the illiterate man wished. Once all the votes had been calculated Aristides had received an overwhelming majority, meaning he would be exiled and Themistocles’ policy had been ratified. Themistocles would go on to dominate Athenian politics for the next decade.
Death of Darius, Rise of Xerxes:
As politics was continuing in Athens after the first Persian invasion, so to were developments in the Persian court. The failure at Marathon was far from a disaster for the Persians, but would have been a point of frustration for Darius and according to Herodotus he was furious at the set back. He had all intensions on returning to Greece with a larger force but that campaign would have to wait as other matters within the empire required attention first. In the west a far richer region and one already part of the empire had revolted, Egypt had gone into revolt and needed to be brought back under control before a renewed campaign against Greece could be thought of. The details of the revolt are not known but it would not be Darius to stamp it out, but his successor. Again the details are not known for sure but it is thought that Darius had died of illness in 486 BC. Darius had 3 sons and the one that had been selected to succeed him was Xerxes, although not the eldest of all his sons. He was the eldest child resulting from Darius, marriage to Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus the great. With these connections Xerxes would be able to point to a stronger legitimacy to the throne, he was the son of Darius but also had a direct bloodline to the founder of the empire, Cyrus the Great. It’s interesting to note that from Xerxes onward all the kings of Persia would have to trace a direct bloodline to Cyrus to be able to come to the throne, it appears Darius was the only one with a loose or dubious connection to Cyrus. So, with a revolt underway in the empire, Xerxes was able to begin his reign with an opportunity to demonstrate his power militarily as he would lead the campaign that would crush it. Now another revolt would breakout, this time at Babylon, a city of great importance to the empire. This revolt broke out after Xerxes accession to the throne and appears to have been triggered due to the succession taking place. Though, with most revolts, discontent would have been present for some time, all that was needed was the right time and opportunity to make a move. Throughout history, when a transition of power occurs in a kingdom or empire it is often seen as a time of weakness and as a great opportunity to challenge the new order. Xerxes though, with the experience of having just dealt with the Egyptian revolt and having been prepared for his role to rule the empire, would prove to be far from a weak leader. The Revolt of Babylon was thought to have broken out in 494 BC and it is even thought that a second revolt may have followed, as 479 BC has been seen as another date where the region needed some attention. In any event Xerxes was able to stabilise the region, eliminating the internal threats to his rule for now. Herodotus also tells us a story about Xerxes visit to Babylon, presumably during the revolt, which would prove to explain some misfortune later on, remembering Herodotus was writing with the benefit of hindsight. He tells us that Xerxes removed an 18-foot-high gold statue of Zeus from a temple, which apparently his father Darius had designs on but did not dare remove it. In the process of Xerxes having the statue removed a priest was killed attempting to prevent the sacrilege. Again, we are not sure how accurate this story is but it would prove to be a convenient reason for explaining future events in Xerxes life.
One aspect we have seen that seems to remain a common practice of the Persian kings since Cyrus, was the tolerance for peoples within the empire to practice their own religions and traditions. Though, during Xerxes reign this notion has been questioned, mainly due to an inscription known as the daiva inscription at Persepolis where Xerxes reinforces the worship of Ahuramazda, like those before him, but he also talks of punishment being inflicted on those who worshipped false gods. But when it come to tangible evidence throughout the empire, there doesn’t appear to be anything to show that a policy change had occurred when it came to religious observance in the regions. It seems the inscription was Xerxes official word, like his predecessors, in asserting his right to rule and invoking the official Iranian god. A more pragmatic approach throughout the empire seems to have continued to be observed. So, thus ended the reign of Darius I who ruled the empire for 36 years and it was now Xerxes who sat on the Persian throne. It was now his responsibility to see to it that Athens and Greece were not forgotten and that revenge still needed to be obtained against Athens for their past injustices against the empire.
Xerxes plan to Invade Greece:
Herodotus tells us that it was Mardonius, a General who had served under Darius in the campaign north of Greece, as well as an entourage of others that had to put Xerxes focus back onto Greece, as if he had lost sight of his father’s vision. Though, one would think that Xerxes didn’t need others to remind him as the policy of expanding the empire had been at the forefront of every Persian ruler so far, while Darius had already laid much of the ground work for the expansion westward.
Once Egypt and Babylon had been dealt with, the preparations for the invasion of Greece would take another 4 years before it was ready to be launched. During this time troops from all parts of the empire had to be assembled, with many cultural and langue groups making up the army. Supply dumps for the army had to be setup along the path chosen for the advance that would take place from Sardis heading north over the Hellespont, through Trace, Macedonia and then into Greece. Engineering projects would need to be undertaken along the route and completed before the army and navy arrived, with two of the major projects at the Hellespont and the Isthmus where Mt Athos is located. A large part of the ground work in securing a relatively safe path north of Greece had been undertaken during Darius’ campaigns during the first invasion. Now though, Persian heralds would have been sent ahead attempting to secure yet more tokens of submission in the face of the Persian forces, with many city states in the north of Greece engaging in the practice coined by the Greeks of Medizing. This time around, two Greek city states that Heralds were not sent to on purpose were that of Athens and Sparta. The last time the Persians had sought earth and water from them, before the Marathon campaign, the Persian heralds were thrown into a pit in Athens like common criminals and pushed down a well in Sparta where they were told to collect their own earth and water down there.
Medizing :
In the past episodes we have mentioned acts of medizing in the form of submitting to the Persians demand for earth and water. Medizing is pretty much aligning ones city or cooperating with the Persians, therefore opposed to Greek interests. Remembering that the Greeks were not a united political entity with each city being its own state but they shared a linguistic and cultural identity. So, if the Greek city states were submitting to the Persians why was it called Medizing. This is a good question and it is not known for sure but I have come across an explanation that seems fairly rational to going some why to explain the term. If you recall the Persians in establishing their empire over threw the median empire of which they were a part of. With the Persian Empire in place the Medes still had a large population within the empire. During the operations in Ionia after the conquest of Lydia Median Generals were in command of what is thought to be armies made up of predominately Median troops. These armies are thought to have left a lasting impression of the Ionian Greeks which would have filtered back to the City states in Greece. It seems unlikely that the Greeks would have confused the Medes and Persians as there are many references in ancient works that differentiates between the two. Having said this though, Herodotus uses the terms, Medes, Persians and barbarians on many occasions interchangeably when referring to the Persians.
Many of the Greek city states in the north of Greece would Medize with the threat of the Persian army looming down upon them. Many would not live down their decision to assist the Persians for generations to come. The city of Thebes would be one of the largest city states to Medize and animosity can be detected in ancient works when interactions with Thebes is brought up many years after the Greco-Persian wars, but the later political landscape would also shape opinion on Thebes. Though, once understanding the enormity of the army approaching unopposed, assisting the Persians seemed like the best chance for one’s city and citizens to survive the invasions. No one wanted an army “that drank rivers dry” in their region for too long.
The Persian Force:
The army and navy that Xerxes would send against Greece was on the scale of nothing seen before, if there have been doubt about the first invasion in 490 being one of conquest, there could be no doubt this time around. The army was drawn from all parts of the empire and to call it Persian was just simply acknowledging the empire all these cultural groups served. Of course, there were Persian and Median troops but making up the bulk of the army were troops from the modern regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan in the east. Egypt, Arabia and Libya in the south. Babylonians, Assyrians, Phoenicians and Greeks in the west. In the north, people from the Caucasus, the Scythians and groups from north of Greece, plus many, many more. Herodotus spends some time going through the many groups, as well as describing the dress they wore. The way Herodotus lists all of Xerxes forces is in the same vain as what we see in Homers “catalogue of ships” in the Iliad. The sense given in Herodotus is that all the resources of the Persians Empire were being called upon for the conquest of Greece. The numbers of troops that he outlines that were involved in the campaign are mind boggling and seem to be exaggerated by a great deal. Herodotus gives a total fighting strength of 2.1 million troops, broken down into 1.7 million infantry, 80,000 cavalry, 20,000 chariots and camels and 300,000 Thracians and Greeks allied to the Persians. He then doubles this number to account for all the support roles and camp followers that would have been attached to the army. Many historians have pointed out that these figures seem impossibly high and a couple explanations have been put forward to show how these figures may have come about. Firstly, the Persian command system was worked out on units of 10’s, 100’s, 1000’s and 10,000’s, with a command title for each size. It is thought that Herodotus had access to official reports of the figures but had mixed up the commander’s title for both the units of 1000 and 10,000. This would then reduce the figures for the fighting force from 2.1 million to what seems like a more plausible 210,000 troops.
Another explanation to why this figure seems so high is because that is what Xerxes wanted the Greeks to believe they were up against. Herodotus dose tells a story of some Greeks who were sent out as spies to gain information on the Persian army, these men were captured but instead of being executed they were invited into the Persian camps to where they were given a full tour and provided information on the rest of the forces gathering, before then allowing them to return to Greece with what they had learnt. It seems that these spies may have been given a detailed roster of the Persian forces as Herodotus seems to be working from some official numbers.
We are also given figures of the navy that the Persians were to send along with the army, with Herodotus claiming just over 1200 triremes and 3000 transport and support ships set sail. The figure given here is not seen as over inflated as what is given for the land forces, though in modern times some have disputing it thinking that the Persians would have only been able to muster half that number. Also suggested, is Herodotus may be including the ships that would be used in creating the bridge of ships over the Hellespont that we will get to soon. On this point though, many other ancient writers have also given numbers of the Persian fleet, with most recording figures of between 1000 to 1300 triremes, adding a little more weight behind Herodotus’ figures and perhaps why the fleet hasn’t attracted the same scrutiny as the land forces.
Though, before the forces could march and sail the way ahead had to be prepared for them, Years before the campaign was begun Xerxes had a number of engineering projects under way. The two of the largest taking place at the Hellespont and on the peninsular where mt Athos is located.
Xerxes engineering feats:
Athos Canal:
If you recall when we did the episode about the preparations of Darius initial force sent to the north of Greece, the fleet was lost in a storm as it rounded Mt Athos. This time around the fleet would follow the coastline in parallel to the march of the army and instead of sailing round the notorious Mt Athos peninsular, Xerxes ordered a canal to be cut through the top of the peninsular allowing the navy to avoid another potential disaster. The Phoenicians were at the head of the project as they were recognised as not only excellent sailors but were known for their engineering abilities. We were told they were given the centre section of the canal and cut the sides at angles so as it wouldn’t collapse into the water. There doesn’t appear to be much cooperation with the different teams constructing the canal as we hear the others had not used angles and had to contend with banks falling into the canal. The project would take 3 years and also required the people in the surrounding areas to be pressed into service for its construction. When it was complete it was 2km long, thirty meters wide and three meters deeps which would be enough for two triremes to pass each other. Herodotus gives us the most detailed account of the canal but Thucydides also makes a passing reference to it showing that it still existed in his time 80 years later. Though in ancient times and into more modern times its thought that the canal never really existed as the project seemed far too complicated. But in the 1990’s nearly 2500 years later Herodotus was vindicated when a surveying team after analysing the area confirmed the canal had existed as Herodotus described.
Hellespont Bridge:
Before the canal was reached the Persian army had to get from Asia and into Europe, so to do this a bridge would be constructed connecting the two continents over the Hellespont. The project would be completed twice as after the work was finished the first time a huge storm tore down the original bridges. Xerxes was furious and took out his rage on the men in charge of the Bridges construction as well as the Hellespont itself. Orders were sent to behead all those involved, with new engineers brought in to re build. The Hellespont was reportedly given 300 lashes, with a pair of fetters tossed into the strait representing its shackling while being told that, Xerxes the king will cross you, with or without your permission. The second attempt saw two separate bridges spaning the Hellespont, one for the army to cross and the other for the slower support and baggage trains. The bridges were built as pontoon bridges, with the bridges resting on a foundation of boats lined up at right angles to the shore, parallel to each other and anchors holding them in place. Each of the bridge’s would have over 300 boats arranged in this manner to where large cables were stretched across and pulled taught. The Phoenicians and Egyptians were tasked with the creation of these extremely long cables, with the Phoenicians constructing theirs of flax and the Egyptians using papyrus, with multiple lengths being used in each bridge. Once the cables were in place planks of wood were laid onto all the way along, where then brushwood and soil were put down over them. A screen was also constructed on either side of the walkway so that the animals that would make the crossing didn’t see the rushing water and cause a panic. Herodotus tells us that the bridges once completed stretch some 1300 meters in length.
Xerxes assembles his force:
After four years of planning and with all of the Engineering projects complete, the path was now set for Xerxes army and fleet to begin the second invasion of Greece. The city of Sardis acted as a staging area for large parts of the Persian army who in mid-April of 480BC would move off north towards the Hellespont, where they would meet with the rest of the army at Abydos on the coast. On the march the Persian army witnessed the eclipse of the sun and the Magi had put Xerxes mind at ease, interpreting the event as foretelling the successful outcome of the campaign. The columns of men heading north were so great that it was a week’s march from the rear to the lead formations. Before arriving at the Hellespont Xerxes took a detour and visited the ancient city of Troy. This appears to have been a symbolic gesture, framing his campaign as revenge for the wests invasions of the east. And where better to show this point then at the most famous site where the Greeks had come ashore and made war of the east.
As the forces were assembling at the bridges, they were met with the sight of 2 bridges made of hundreds of ships that stretched nearly a wide across the strait, connecting Asia to Europe. Once Xerxes had arrived much pomp and ceremony took place, with royal reviews and a regatta. Normal ship traffic was still taking place through the straights; the bridges had been constructed with gaps allowing the straights to still be used. Once the crossing commenced, pre-built sections would be moved in place to fill in these gaps. Among the ship traffic where trading vessels bring gain from the black sea to Greece. These traders were allowed to continue their voyage with reasoning being provided in Herodotus’ account where Xerxes counsellors were waiting for orders to seize the ships.
“Where are they bound for? Xerxes asked. To Persia’s enemies, my lord, came the answer, with a cargo of grain. Well said the king, are we not bound ourselves for the same destination? And dose not our equipment include grain amongst other things? I do not see that the men in those ships are doing us any harm in carrying our grain for us.”
In May with all the contingents of the army assembled, the crossing of the bridges now took place. As the first formations set foot on the European shore the campaign now got underway. The Persian fleet around the same time was now departing the coat of Anatolia where it would meet up with the army as they entered Thrace. From here they would follow the coast line shadowing the march of the land forces only separating for a couple of weeks when the fleet sailed through the Athos canal and around the rest of the peninsulas.
The March once crossing the bridges would take 3 months, during that time the army was supported by the large supply dumps that had been set up during the campaign preparations along with the Tyrants and city states that had Medized preparing livestock and flour in anticipation for the Persian army’s arrival in their regions. During this time the Persian army also grew in size with local levies falling in with the Persians fulfilling their obligations of submission to the Great King. The army had marched through Thrace, Macedonia and had now entered Thessaly, it was late August and the largest Invading army the world had yet seen was crossing into Greek territory.
So, we will leave the Persian army crossing into the northern Greek territories. Though, the Greeks had not been quiet during the period that the Persians were assembling their forces and setting in motion the largest invading force yet known. Next episode we will turn to what the Greeks were doing to prepare to meet and defend their lands against Xerxes vast army and fleet. Could this collection of fiercely independent city states come together to ward off a common enemy? The fate of Hellas depended on it.
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I hope you can join me next time for episode 19, the Greeks prepare