15,697
edits
Changes
no edit summary
[[File: Themistocles_bust.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Bust of Themistocles]]__NOTOC__
The epic series of battles between the Greeks and the Persians in the fifth century BC known as the Persian Wars, or Greco-Persian Wars (499-479 BC), in many ways solidified the Greeks’ place in world history and established many attributes of Hellenic civilization that were carried on for centuries until the collapse of the Roman Empire. The events were written about by a number of Greek and Roman historians and geographers including Herodotus, Plutarch, and Pausanias, whose often well-embellished narratives still come to life because of vivid descriptions of the many Greek heroes.