The Greatest Battles of Ancient Greece: a guide

At a glance
	Battle	Date	Forces (both sides)	Casualties (both sides)
1	Marathon	490 BC.	~35,000	~6,600
2	Thermopylae	480 BC.	~127,000	~24,000
3	Salamis	480 BC.	-	-
4	Gaugamela	331 BC.	~167,000	~54,000

At a glance

Battle

Date

Forces (both sides)

Casualties (both sides)

Marathon

490 BC.

~35,000

~6,600

Thermopylae

480 BC.

~127,000

~24,000

Salamis

480 BC.

Gaugamela

331 BC.

~167,000

~54,000

Ancient Greece fought some of the most famous battles in all of history, and won them against the odds. These are its four greatest, told in full and set on the real ground where they were fought, from the plain of Marathon to the sands of Mesopotamia. Together they trace one astonishing arc: a scatter of quarrelsome city-states first held off the largest empire on earth, then went out and conquered it.

Marathon, 490 BC. Athens, badly outnumbered, charged the first Persian invasion into the sea on the plain of Marathon, and gave the world the legend of the runner who carried the news. Read the story of Marathon ›

Painting of a runner collapsed before Athenian elders — The Soldier of Marathon, the runner collapsing in Athens after announcing the victory, painted by Luc-Olivier Merson for the Prix de Rome in 1869. Public domain

Thermopylae, 480 BC. The most famous last stand in history. King Leonidas I of Sparta and the 300, with several thousand other Greeks, held the narrow pass of the Hot Gates against the vast army of Xerxes I for three days before a mountain path undid them. Read the story of Thermopylae ›

Salamis, 480 BC. Weeks after Thermopylae, the Greek fleet lured Persia's larger navy into the narrow straits off Salamis and shattered it, the sea battle that truly broke the invasion. Read the story of Salamis ›

Space photograph of the Athens coast, Piraeus and the island of Salamis — Piraeus and the island of Salamis photographed from the International Space Station in August 2026. The fleets met in the narrow straits between Salamis, at lower left, and the mainland. Public domain

Gaugamela, 331 BC. A century and a half later the tables turned completely: Alexander the Great, leading a Macedonian and Greek army, broke the Persian Empire in a single decisive day. Read the story of Gaugamela ›

Want the wider ancient world? These battles sit inside the greatest battles of antiquity, which adds Rome, and the full sweep of the greatest battles of all time. You can also meet the men who led them in the greatest military commanders in history.

Why the Greek battles still matter

The wars of ancient Greece pitted small city-states against the largest empire of their day, and the outcome shaped the whole idea of the West. The discipline of the hoplite phalanx and the daring of their commanders let a divided Greece turn back Persia, winning at Marathon, Salamis and Plataea and standing to the last at Thermopylae.

Engraved bust of Miltiades beside a battle map of Marathon — Miltiades, the Athenian general at Marathon, in an 1827 engraving by Johann Jakob Horner, beside a US Military Academy map of the hoplite double envelopment that crushed the Persian army. Public domain

Read the full story of each clash below, or set them beside the wider ancient world in the greatest battles of antiquity.

Frequently asked questions

What were the most important battles of ancient Greece?

The four most decisive are Marathon (490 BC) and Thermopylae and Salamis (both 480 BC), which turned back the Persian invasions, and Gaugamela (331 BC), where Alexander the Great destroyed the Persian Empire in return.

Who won the Greco-Persian Wars?

The Greeks. Athens won at Marathon in 490 BC, and although Persia broke through at Thermopylae in 480 BC, the Greek naval victory at Salamis that same year and the land victory at Plataea the next broke the invasion for good.

What was the Battle of Thermopylae?

The famous last stand of 480 BC, where King Leonidas I of Sparta and the 300 Spartans, with several thousand other Greeks, held the narrow pass of the Hot Gates against the vast army of Xerxes I for three days before being outflanked.

How did the Greeks defeat the Persians?

By using terrain and discipline against numbers: the narrow plain at Marathon, the narrow pass at Thermopylae, and the narrow straits at Salamis all cancelled Persia's advantage in size, while the heavily armored hoplite phalanx outfought lighter Persian infantry.

What was a hoplite?

A citizen soldier of ancient Greece who fought in the phalanx, armed with a long spear and a large round shield, who bought his own armour and stood in the line beside his neighbours.

Did the film 300 get Thermopylae right?

It captures the defiance and the betrayal by Ephialtes, but takes many liberties. In reality several thousand Greek allies fought alongside the 300 Spartans, and the stand lasted three days.

Why the Greek battles still matter

Frequently asked questions

Live the battles