Battles of the ancient world

Legend has it that the Greek messenger Pheidippides ran to Athens with news of the victory, but collapsed upon arrival. This is the inspiration for the modern race

The Greeks were betrayed by Ephialtes, who told the Persians about a path that led behind the Spartans.

The Theban victory shattered Sparta's immense influence over the Greek peninsula which Sparta had gained since its victory in the Peloponnesian War.

The battle was part of Themistocles' plan to halt the advance of the Persians. The other part of his plan was to block the Persian navy at Artemisium, and a battle occurred there simultaneously.

After the Battle of Granicus, this was the second major battle between Alexander the Great and the Persian Empire, and the first to feature Darius III. The battle was fought along the Pinarus River near present day Iskenderun in Turkey's Hatay province.

Xerxes was so confident in victory that he watched the battle from a throne on the slopes of Mount Aegaleus.

The Athenian general Themistocles devised a plan to lure the large, slow Persian ships into the narrow straits where the Greek ships were able to outmaneuver and destroy much of the Persian fleet.

Julius Caesar defeated the Celtic peoples of Gaul, establishing Roman rule of the lands beyond the Alps. The battle began when Caesar besieged Vercingetorix in the town of _______ shortly after the Roman defeat at Gergovia.

The result was a complete victory for Sparta; only a fraction of the Athenian fleet survived, including the general Conon, and the ship Paralus, which brought the news of defeat to Athens.

Before the battle, Darius was able to surprise Alexander and cut him off from the main force of Macedonians. However, the battle ended with Darius fleeing the field and the capture of his tent and family.

Persian King Darius I's invasion of mainland Greece ended with a decisive victory for Miltiades and the Athenians at this battle (490 BC). The defeated Persian commanders were Datis and Artaphernes.

The battle was the subject of a 1528 painting by Albrecht Altdorfer, the leader of the Danube School.

Although a total disaster for the Romans, it resulted in their adopting of the Fabian strategy, in which battles are avoided in favor of a war of attrition. This eventually wore down Hannibal's army, and the Carthaginians had to leave Italy.

Prior to the battle, the Numidian king Masinissa switched sides, and brought his considerable cavalry force to join the Romans.

Battle between the Romans under the command of Consul Publius Decius Mus and the Greek king Pyrrhus of Epirus. Pyrrhus won; a Pyrrhic victory is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat.