Browse Items (25 total)

This drawing shows Athens at its peak right before Xerxes came through and burned it to the ground, and its position at the top of a hill is both literal and symbolic because Athens was the richest city-state in Greece.
Xerxes targeted Athens to get…

This painting depicts the gruesome Battle of Thermopylae and shows the Persian army running into the Greek Phalanx and dying by the thousands.
Without art like John Steeple Davis's piece, the bloody battles might fade into oblivion because war is…

This painting shows the Greek Phalanx going against the Persian foot soldiers and the phalanx is stronger because of the metal shields and long spears used to keep the Persians at
medium-range.
The Battle of Plataea was the end of the Persian…

Mardonius (front soldier on the right side) took advantage of Themistocles's absence and sacked Athens, leading the Persian army from Thermopylae all the way till his death at Plataea.
Xerxes intrusted the Persian army to Mardonius when he fled back…

The Persian forces were condensed into a beach encampment, with the allied Greek World staring them down. The Athenian forces charged forward and trapped the Persians in their camp, while the Spartans flanked around and attacked from the back.
The…

Persian Immortals were fierce soldiers that had nicer armor and better training than the rest of the army, like ancient Seal Team 6, and they were the group that flanked the Spartan Phalanx at Thermopylae.
These elite soldiers were sent out as a war…

King Leonidas gathered 300 royal guards and several thousand hoplites to hold the Persians at the Hot Gates of Thermopylae.
This heroic stand by an aging King (around 60 years old) against impossible odds gave the rest of Greece hope against the…

The Strait of Salamis is a narrow passage between islands in Greece, and it was a key victory for the Greeks because Xerxes's naval fleet was decimated.
Themistocles of Greece tricked Xerxes's fleet into the narrow Strait and disoriented the…

Persian archers numbered in the thousands and gave the Persian army an advantage in land battles because of their sheer number. Archers are thought to have dealt the final blows to the Spartan 300, including Leonidas. The Persian Archers were so…

Leotychidas was one of the two Kings, serving with Leonidas I and taking up arms against Persia after his fellow King's death. Leotychidas commanded 110 Spartan ships and forced the Persian fleet to beach at Mycale. He was a key factor in the victory…