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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 </reref>. 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. Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West (London, Abacus, 2006), p. 124</ref>. This ended the first phase of the invasion.
[[File: Persépolis. La Garde.jpg|thumbnail|200px|Persian warriors from a monument in Persepolis]]
The second phase of the Persian campaign began in 490 BC. The Persians sent a naval expedition to Greece and the Greek islands. The expedition carried a large army, many of them were ‘Immortals’ the elite troops of the Persian army. The Persian armada first reached the island of Naxos and it devastated this island<ref> Holland, p. 156</ref>. It later seized several more islands in the Cyclades. The Persians added all of these to their Empire. Then they headed to Eretria and they laid siege to the main city on the island. The Persians sought to make an example of the island because of its support of the Ionian Greeks in their rebellion. After a short siege, the Persians burned the main city on the island and enslaved all the inhabitants and transported them to the Persian Empire <ref>Green, Peter. The Greco-Persian Wars. (Berkely, University of California Press, 1996), p. 156</ref>.
==Conclusion==
The First Persian Invasion could have resulted in the obliteration of Athens. That city could have shared the same fate as Eretria and Naxos. However, it not only managed to survive the onslaught of the Persians but also flourished. The city was energized by its ability to defeat the Persian Empire, the regional superpower. This transformed the city and made it into one of the greatest powers in Greece and indeed in the Mediterranean. The Athenian victory over the Persians helped to strengthen democracy and unleashed forces that lead to one of the greatest periods of cultural achievement in human history. Then the Athenians learned much from their defeat of Darius I army and navy. They encouraged more citizens to become hoplites and they further refined the phalanx and this made the Athenian army very formidable. They also realized that they need to expand their navy. These policies allowed the city-state not only to defeat another Persian invasion but also allowed them to establish an empire in the later half of the fifth century BCE.
==References==
