Markos

Greek city-states repel the Persians.What do you believe was the most critical mistake in the war by the Persians and the Greeks?And what would have happen in case the Persians won the war?

Markos

Mistake i meant the Greco-Persian war sorry

sparten

The only real tactical misatke were two, at Salamis and Marthon, agreeing to fight anyware near Salamis in the first place, and sending the cavalry away at Marathon. Strategically, lets not forget even after Platrea they were still in control of most of Greece, and they decided to withraw, rather then being compelled. And they continued playing a part in Greek affairs until old Alex showed up, even sending troops in the Pelopennisaian war.

As for effects, well as for Greek civilization, not much would have been lost, considering most of the Greek philiosphy came before the whole Persian business, and its authors are little known, (Socrates, and Aristotle copied them shamelessly), and contary to popular perception the Persians were far from uncivilized, as any one who has read Herodotus (as opposed to merely quote him ) can attest to. This is presuming that the Persians even wanted to rule Greece at all, their war aims were to extract tribute (suceeded) from the rebelious Greeks and in 490 BC punish Athens for the Ionian Revolt. In 480 BC it was to punish Athens again for Marathon (and they did capture Athens and burn the Acropoli).

Now if say Persia did annex Hellas, then there may not have been Alexander and no Hellenic age. And there would have been Rome vs Persia three hundred years earlier.

__________________
"Any relations in a social order will endure if there is infused into them some of that spirit of human sympathy, which qualifies life for immortality." ~ George William Russell

Trajan

I think the Persians major mistake, that of Xerxes, was to let the Athenians to dictact the ground of battle. Each time it was he who came to the location of the greek armies. Instead of splitting his force, to hold off the smaller greeks, and moving down to threaten their cities...he simply tried fighting their armies. Xerxes did not wisely utilize his numerical superiority for most of the campaign, at least in a manner that assured a less loss of life.

__________________
[Wasting Space]

Maximus

__________________
Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage.

sparten

Reading too much Herodotus. Ordinarily a very good thing, but the Greeks almost certainly exaggerated Persian deaths, and its possble they were attacking the rear guard of the army, which would explain the cavalrys absence.

http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodotus/logos6_19.html#1

Maximus

Nope. Not Herodotus. Just a general interest in Historical Warfare techniques & strategies. A time when war used to be an art.

About Marathon, these facts were stated in a documentary on Discovery Channel.

It is largely belived that Persians were attacked by the Greeks from the flanks and the front.

Even Wikipedia says the same.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marathon

sparten

Wikipedia's entry is taken directly from Herodotus. The above link I gave you is a tad more reliable. And he does not suggest that the Greeks did not win, just that the were attacking a retreating army.

Maximus

sparten

Per Persian Sources the Persian war aim was not to conquer Grecee, (in 490 BC) but to capture the Islands, so as to creat a buffer between the mainland and the Ionia, a task in which the succeeded. Subduing and capturing Athens was a secondry aim, "almost an after thought per one historian". Fun fact, after marathon, the Greeks tried (and failed) to retake the Islands, and the victor of Marathon, Miltiades was killed.

Maximus

And the Persians also managed to capture Athens later, and sacked it too. Cavalry assisted by archers must have played a major role in defeating the Greeks, since an infantry force would have found it difficult to sustain against the disciplined Greeks army.