Hi, thanks for tuning in to ancient Greece, Declassified.

Episode 7, the Persian Wars.

In the previous couple of episodes, we looked at two developments that perhaps more than anything else defined the legacy of Greek civilization.

These are the invention of democracy and the invention of theater, both happening around 508 BC.

But less than 30 years later, these young fledgling institutions,

which we think of today as so pivotal to Western civilization,

came under attack and were almost obliterated before they could take root. The Persian Empire gathered the largest expeditionary force ever assembled and crossed over into Europe to conquer Greece, and in particular to destroy Athens.

The Athenian population, which evacuated the city in the nick of time, to some nearby islands, could see across the water their homes, their temples, and their city, burning

to the ground.

To any observer at the time, Athens seemed to be done, finished, erased from history.

But just a few years later, Athens would rise from the ashes as one of the most powerful

states in all of Greece. How could that be?

Let's rewind a few decades. In 508 BC, the Athenians established democracy, and it takes

them a good decade or so to figure out how to get this new system running smoothly. The learning

curve was steep, and they made some serious blunders early on.

For one, being in desperate need of a strong ally to resist Spartan aggression,

the Athenians sent an embassy to make an alliance with, wait for it, the Persian Empire.

Meanwhile, though, the Spartans, for various reasons, back down. And once the Spartan

threat is gone, the Athenians say, you know what, maybe that wasn't such a good idea to pledge

our allegiance to Persia. Let's pretend that never happened. The problem is you can't really do

that with the Persians. Contracts with them are binding. A few years

later, the eastern Greek cities of Ionia, which had already been conquered by Persia, try to

...