Battles of the ancient world

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.