Map
of the Persian Empire at the time of Xerxes. Red
lines denote the route of Xerxes' army across
the empire. Topography included. An
interactive version of this map is also available.
Close-up
of Greece and "war theater" area with with the Persian invasion
routes. Note hotspots for important stages and battles of Xerxes' campaign.
(Note also the inclusion of the battle
of Marathon from the previous Persian War).
Closeup
of Thermopylae and Artemisium
Area. A series of sea battles was fought around Artemisium at the same
time as the land battle at Thermopylae. The
Isthmus of Corinth—where the Pelleponesian Greeks wanted to
make their stand—is
to the south of this location.
A part of the Greek
fleet advances on the Persian (Phoenicians, Egyptians and Persia's Greek
allies) fleet around Artemisium.
The sails and masts will be stowed and oars lowered into the water for
battle when they are close enough to
the enemy fleet. (EDSITEment reconstruction from resources through
the EDSITEment-reviewed
The Perseus Project.)
(EDSITEment reconstruction from resources through
the EDSITEment-reviewed
The Perseus Project.)
Tempe,
on the river Strymon (Macedonia), where Xerxes' is alleged to have made
a human sacrifice to the gods.
Image courtesy
of Livius.org.
The
ruins of the citadel of ancient Sardis,
where Xerxes' armies gathered and spent the winter of 481 B.C., before
the final march to the Hellespont and the crossing to Europe.
Image courtesy
of Livius.org.
View from Artemisium
on the island of Euboea, where the naval battle between the Persian
and Greek fleets were fought. Image
courtesy of Livius.org.
A
timeline reconstruction animation of Thermopylae as it may have looked
at the time of the battle. View is from Spartan's last stand hillock.
Refresh browser to view again from start.
Based on recent (1970's) photos of Thermopylae from The
Perseus Project.
Beached
ships. Marathon
Beached
ships. Xerxes invasion, the island of Euboia, during the sea
battles at Artemisium. In the Aegean of 480 B.C., failure to beach warships
in a severe storm could lead to disaster. The Persian fleet lost many
ships this way during
a great storm.
An
aerial reconstruction of Thermopylae as it may have looked at the time
of the battle.The Greeks rebuilt the so-called Phocian
wall as part of their defense strategy. The Persian forces would have
come initially from the left along
the seashore in this illustration, where they were held back by the
Greeks. The Persian "Immortals" eventually found
a path (poorly guarded by the Phocians) that took them into the hills
(toward bottom edge of this image), so that they could come up behind
the rest of the Greek force from the bottom right of this image.
EDSITEment
reconstruction of massed Persian Infantry fomation to dramatize overwhelming
force of Xerxes' army.
Source: Achaemenid
Persia. through the EDSITEment-reviewed resource The
Perseus Project
Greek
Hoplites. The warriors are shown in two attack positions, with both an
overhand and underhand thrust.
EDSITEment-created
reconstruction of Persian archers based on a mural piece from The
Achaemenid Persia site found through the EDSITEment-reviewed Perseus
Project. Archers were among the many troops the Greeks at
Thermopylae had to contend with, especially in the Spartan's final stand.
The
Hellespont today, as seen from Abydos, on the Greek side. Image
courtesy of Livius.org.
A
bust of Leonidas,
who led both the Spartan contingent and was overall commander of the Greek
forces at Thermopylae.
Image courtesy
of Livius.org.
The
Athos peninsula today. Xerxes had a canal built across this peninsula
(follow an imaginary line across the isthmus from the RED
dot on the upper left of the image) to shorten
the route of his navy.
Image courtesy
of Livius.org.
This
may have been the secret pass that the Persians used to come up behind
the Greek defenders at Thermopylae. The Greek
traitor Ephialtes told the Persians about the pass.
Image courtesy
of Livius.org.
The
origin of the river Hebrus, in modern-day Bulgaria. Ancient Doriscus
was near the Hebrus.
Image courtesy
of Livius.org.
A
ground-level view of the location of Xerxes' Athos peninsula canal.
Image courtesy
of Livius.org.
Ruins
at Persepolis, the capital of the Achaemenid Persian empire, in modern-day
Iran. Image
courtesy of Livius.org.
Xerxes
(as a prince) on a relief of Darius I the Great. Originally from the ruins
of Persepolis, now in the National Archaeological Museum, Tehran (Iran).
Image courtesy
of Livius.org.
Darius
I the Great. Originally from the ruins of Persepolis, now in the National
Archaeological Museum, Tehran (Iran).
Image courtesy
of Livius.org.
Themistocles,
whose strong leadership and force of personality helped save both Athens
and Greece from Xerxes and the Persians.
Image courtesy
of Livius.org.
An
animation of the Battle of Marathon, from the first Persian War.
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