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==Background==

The first Persian invasion of Greece began in 492 BC. The cause of the invasion was that the Athenians and their allies the Eretrians had supported the Greek city-states in Ionia (west-coast of Turkey). The Ionian Greeks had revolted against their Persian overlords and they had received the active support of the Athenians. They had sent a fleet of ships to the aid of the Ionians.<ref> Herodotus. 5. 7</ref> The Persians after a difficult fight regained control of Ionia and punished the rebels. The Persian invasion consisted of two distinct phases. The first campaign was conducted by land and it involved a Persian army advancing from modern Turkey into the Balkans. This invasion army was able to subjugate the Kingdom of Macedonia, which had strong links to the Greek City-States. The Persian, under Mardonius, also conquered Thrace. They intended to use Macedonia as a base for an attack on Greece.

The Persian monarch Darius I, was eager not only to punish the Athenians and the Eretrians but also to bring the entire Greek world under his sway.<ref> Herodotus. 5. 6 </ref> Darius already controlled many Greek City-States in his empire. Darius sent ambassadors to all of the Greek City-States demanding that they do homage to Persia and become tributaries. The vast majority of the Greek ‘Polis’ or city-states agreed to accept Darius as their overlord in order to avoid a full-scale Persian invasion. However, Athens and Sparta refused to become tributaries and they killed the Persian emissaries. This was a grave offense in the eyes of the Persians.<ref> Herodotus. 7. 6</ref> Mardonius dispatched a huge armada to invade Greece, but his ships were scattered or destroyed in a storm, off the coast of Mount Athos. <ref>Holland, Tom. <i>Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West</i> (London, Abacus, 2006), p. 124</ref> This ended the first phase of the invasion.