Account for the victory of the Greeks in the Persian invasions of 490B.C - 480B.C

Between the years of 490B.C to 480B.C, a series of events occurred, mainly wars, which saw dramatic changes in Athens, and soon became the supreme military state of Greece. They achieved this status by outnumbering the power and resources of the Persian Empire, in a number of successful victories, and driving the Persians out of Ionia and other Greek states which had become medised over the wars. There were a number of factors which contributed to the victory of the Greeks in the Persian invasions, which included their various strategies of geographical knowledge, superior leadership, unity, fighting techniques and even luck.

The Greek use of geographical knowledge was a valuable factor, which greatly contributed to their victory. In the battles of the Persian invasions, the Greeks to their advantage, with the exception of the Battle of Plataea, chose all battle areas. Confined passes and valleys, and narrow straits were their chosen positions of attack.

Map showing major incidents of the second Persian ...

Schematic diagram illustrating events during the B...

English: Sketch map, and diagram of the later move...

They used this to their advantage, by strategically choosing areas in which the Persian army's enormous numbers wouldn't be effective, where the land or space was narrow, where the Persians could be 'bottlenecked'. The Battle of Marathon is a successful battle in which this technique was used. The Greeks had chosen this area as a suitable area for battle, as it was on heights commanding both roads to Athens, covering both coast road and the hills to the rear. After the Greek victory at Marathon, the Greeks were able cut down the Persians after fleeing, by securing the land making it hard to escape by using their knowledge of the land. The Persians were confined between the sea and the hills, with the only chances to escape by fleeing to the north, where they were cut down in the area between the sea and the...