Battles & Wars › Greece, Rome & Han › Greco-Persian Wars
Battle of Plataea
August 479 BC· Battle· Europe
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
The largest Greek army yet assembled, led by Sparta's Pausanias, destroyed the Persian land army in Boeotia, central Greece.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
After Salamis, Xerxes went home and left his general Mardonius with a picked army. In 479 BC some 38,700 Greek hoplites, by Herodotus' count, plus many light troops, faced him near Plataea. After days of skirmishing over water and supply, the Greeks pulled back at night in disorder. Mardonius attacked, but the Spartans and Tegeans held; Mardonius was killed and his army broke. Tradition says the Greek fleet won at Mycale, in Ionia, the same day.
Why it matters
It ended Persia's attempts to conquer Greece and marked Sparta's high point as leader of the Greeks, before Athens took the lead at sea.
How we know
Herodotus' detailed account and the Serpent Column, the bronze victory offering from Delphi listing 31 Greek states, now standing in Istanbul's old Hippodrome.
Still debated
Army sizes (Herodotus' 300,000 Persians is far too high) and the true sequence of the confused Greek retreat are debated.
Connections (2)
▸Battle of Salamis sent Xerxes home, leaving Mardonius to fight at Battle of PlataeaWell documented
The connection
After the naval defeat at Salamis, Xerxes could no longer rely on the sea to supply his huge army and feared for his bridges over the Hellespont. He returned to Asia with much of the army, leaving his general Mardonius with a picked force in Greece. A year later, that force was destroyed at Plataea.
When and how
Salamis, September 480 BC; Xerxes withdrew that autumn, and Mardonius wintered in Thessaly before Plataea in August 479 BC.
How we know
Herodotus records Xerxes' retreat and Mardonius' command; later ancient sources agree on the sequence.
Debates and open questions
Whether Xerxes' retreat was panic or a sensible move to secure his empire, and how large Mardonius' army was, are debated.
▸Battle of Plataea ended the invasion phase of Greco-Persian WarsWell documented
The connection
Plataea destroyed the last Persian army in Greece, and the Greek victory at Mycale in Ionia followed. Persia never again invaded mainland Greece. The war shifted to a Greek offensive, led by Athens, to free the Aegean islands and Ionian cities.
When and how
Plataea, Boeotia, and Mycale, western Turkey, August 479 BC; Pausanias of Sparta on land and the Spartan king Leotychidas at Mycale.
How we know
Herodotus ends his history with these events, and the Serpent Column lists the victorious Greek states.
Debates and open questions
Herodotus' claim that Plataea and Mycale were fought on the same day is often doubted as too neat.