Winter 480 BC: Preliminaries to Plataea

Results of Salamis: Military

• The Persian fleet withdraws
• The fleet sailed for Asia without delay and made its headquarters at Samos, Xerxes feared another revolt from the Ionians
• Xerxes returns to Asia, Athens is reoccupied 
• Xerxes was escorted to the Hellespont with 60,000 Persian soldiers, who then besieged Olynthus and Potidaea, who both revolted following Salamis, Athens was reoccupied
• Mardonius remains
• Mardonius was put in command of the land forces, and moved north to winter in Thessaly until the campaigning season next year
• Turning point in the war
• It ended the Persian strategy of a combined naval and military invasion, the next battle would be fought on land

Athenian Credit?

• The Athenians had ultimately provided the most ships for the battle, the Athenian historian Thucydides saw this battle as the one that saved the Peloponnese as:

• "it prevented the Persians from sailing against the Peloponnese and destroying the cities one-by-one for no system of mutual defence could be organised in the face of Persian naval superiority... the fate of Hellas depended on her navy"

•  However, the credit that the Athenians were due was not fully given
• The Greeks made dedications to the gods, but awarded the prize of valour in the battle to the Aeginitans. The Athenians came second
• Themistocles according to Herodotus "his name was on everyone's lips and he acquired the reputation of being by far the most able man in the country"
• Themistocles was honoured in Sparta for his successes, but generally the Greeks were unfavourable - Themistocles should have won the individual prize for valour but was the subject of envy and so was never awarded it

Mardonius' new strategy: diplomacy:

• Whilst in Thessaly during the winter, Mardonius adopted a new approach to winning the war - to detach Athens from the Greek league
• Mardonius realised that unified the Greeks were a formidable force, but separated, they would be easy pickings for the Persians
• The Athenian fleet would also substitute for the loss of the Persian fleet
• Alexander, the king of Macedonia, was sent as the arbitrator of a peace offering from the Persians to the Athenians
• Meanwhile gold was sent to Sparta's enemies in the Peloponnese, most notably Argos, to try and undermine Sparta's resistance

Mardonius' Message: Activity

• Mardonius promised to Athens that, if they joined with the Persians, Athens would be promised autonomy and freedom, and would be given any land desired and help rebuilding the temples. He said that if they did not make peace, the city would once again be occupied and devastated
• The Spartans, upon hearing of this message, sent delegations of their own to Athens to urge the Athenians to reconsider any proposals and remain loyal to the Greek cause

What reasons do the Athenians give to Alexander as to why they will reject Mardonius' offer?

• The Athenians made it clear that they weren't to be bribed or intimidated by Persia
• "So long as the sun holds its course we will never make peace with Persia"
• "We will fight...trusting in the aid of the gods and the heroes whom he has disregarded and burnt their houses and adornments"
• "We do not want those who are our friends and protectors to suffer any harm at Athenian hands"
• The Greeks wouldn't abandon their kinship and countrymen

What reasons do the Athenians give to the Spartans as to why they will reject Mardonius' offer?

• "It was most human" (the Spartan fear that the Athenians would medize)
• "We think that it is an ignoble thing to be afraid" - this would have been very passive aggressive and backhanded to the Spartans because, well, they were Spartans
• The Athenians said that they wouldn't wish for their temples to be destroyed and couldn't abandon their kinship with the other Greeks
• "As long as one Athenian is left alive, we will make no agreement with Xerxes

Athens is evacuated...again...

• After rejecting Mardonius' offer, the Athenians evacuated Athens again and retreated to Salamis, knowing the Persians would strike in the spring and recapture the city
• From here the Athenians pleaded with the Spartans and Peloponnesians to lend assistance

Herodotus 9.1-11 16-18:

What reason do the Spartans give for not lending assistance to Athens at this time? What is the significance of this?

• The Spartans do not actually give a reason for not helping the Athenians. The Ephors delayed answering the Athenian call for help for almost a fortnight. During this time the Spartans continued to build their wall across the Isthmus
• Herodotus claims that a possible explanation for why the Spartans did not immediately help when asked was that "the fortifications of the Isthmus were now complete, and they therefore felt that Athenian help was no longer necessary"

What can we learn about the Spartan/Athenian alliance?

• The alliance between the Spartans and the Athenians was insincere
• Chileus (a foreigner who had a large influence in Sparta) said to the Spartans: 
  "As I see it, gentlemen, if the Athenians desert us and make an alliance with Persia, then, however strongly the Isthmus is fortified, the gates are wide open for the Persian invasion of the Peloponnese. So you had better listen to them before they change their minds and adopt a policy which will ruin Greece."
• The fear of turning the Athenians into enemies convinced the Ephors to help and so they sent 5000 Spartans to help the Athenians
• The Athenian, who were unaware of this, came back to the Ephors and said that they would join with Xerxes if the Spartans weren't going to help - the Ephors promptly swore to them that they had in fact sent forces to help
• It seems that the Spartans only decided to help the Athenians to save themselves, as they would have suffered if they had lost the Athenians as allies

Compare how the Phocians react to assisting the Persians vs the Thebans. What do these instances suggest about their overall commitment to the "Persian cause"?

•  The Phocians were more reluctant to join the Persians than the Thebans were. They did join, "though from necessity rather than willingly"
• The Thebans and the Persians were on very good terms, some even spoke the other's language. They held a banquet for the most important Persians.
• The Phocian army only sent men to help the Persian army after this banquet. It is almost as if the Theban's relationship with the Persians convinced them