Marco Bettalli. THE PERSIAN WARS

In 480-479 b.C. the Greeks defeated the greatest empire of the time. The Persian Wars are the first well-documented military conflict between East and West, the first of many that would follow throughout history. After 2,500 years, we are more or less in the same position; a look back at those years of war may therefore be useful.

In 480–479 BC, the Greeks defeated the greatest empire of the time. The Persian Wars were the first well-documented military clash between East and West, the first of many that were to follow throughout history. They made an enormous impression on contemporaries, but also gave rise to a flood of rhetoric about the superiority of the ‘free’ West over the ‘enslaved’ East of the Great King of Persia. Two thousand five hundred years on, we are more or less in the same position; a re-examination of those years of war may therefore prove useful.