Greek Victory in Second Persian Wars
Assess the reasons for the victory of the Greeks in the Second Persian War (480–479 BC).
The Greeks were victorious in the Second Persian War because of a number of factors. These include the superior leadership from commanders such as Themistocles and Leonidas, the effective Greek strategy and the cooperation of all the Greek city states to unite against a common threat. Ancient historians such as Aeschylus in his play ‘The Persians’ and Herodotus attribute the Greek victory to the so called ‘hubris’ or extreme confidence and arrogance showed by Xerxes. All these reasons played a crucial role in the Greek victory over the Persians in the Second Persian War.
The leadership showed by men such as Themistocles and Leonidas had a significant impact in the victory for the Greeks. Thucydides describes Themistocles as a man who showed an ‘unmistakable natural genius’. This natural genius was shown in the years preceding the Second Persian, after the defeat of the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. Themistocles realized the consistent threat of the Persians and that they would return a large and more formidable force. Therefore he proposed that the newly discovered silver at the Athenian silver mine at Laurium be spent on an elite new naval fleet rather than be distributed amongst the people. The Athenian people were skeptical about a second Persian invasion, so Themistocles further proposed the idea that the fleet could be used against Aegina, who Athens had been in long-running war with them. As a result Themistocles naval policy was easily carried. Herodotus states that one hundred triremes were constructed, ships that proved to be vital in naval battles such as Artemesium and Salamis in 480 BC, where Salamis was a major turning point victory for the Greeks. Herodotus praises Themistocles actions and states that ‘Themistocles was regarded everywhere as by far the wisest man of all the Greeks’. Themistocles wisdom was again shown by promoting a stable
The Greeks were victorious in the Second Persian War because of a number of factors. These include the superior leadership from commanders such as Themistocles and Leonidas, the effective Greek strategy and the cooperation of all the Greek city states to unite against a common threat. Ancient historians such as Aeschylus in his play ‘The Persians’ and Herodotus attribute the Greek victory to the so called ‘hubris’ or extreme confidence and arrogance showed by Xerxes. All these reasons played a crucial role in the Greek victory over the Persians in the Second Persian War.
The leadership showed by men such as Themistocles and Leonidas had a significant impact in the victory for the Greeks. Thucydides describes Themistocles as a man who showed an ‘unmistakable natural genius’. This natural genius was shown in the years preceding the Second Persian, after the defeat of the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. Themistocles realized the consistent threat of the Persians and that they would return a large and more formidable force. Therefore he proposed that the newly discovered silver at the Athenian silver mine at Laurium be spent on an elite new naval fleet rather than be distributed amongst the people. The Athenian people were skeptical about a second Persian invasion, so Themistocles further proposed the idea that the fleet could be used against Aegina, who Athens had been in long-running war with them. As a result Themistocles naval policy was easily carried. Herodotus states that one hundred triremes were constructed, ships that proved to be vital in naval battles such as Artemesium and Salamis in 480 BC, where Salamis was a major turning point victory for the Greeks. Herodotus praises Themistocles actions and states that ‘Themistocles was regarded everywhere as by far the wisest man of all the Greeks’. Themistocles wisdom was again shown by promoting a stable