Cities (in blue) that fought against the Persians and formed members of the Delian League. This begins Athens' leadership in an alliance that eventually formed the Delian League, which continued the wars against the Persians, mostly in Egypt and Cyprus. From this point, Athens and the Greek allies were on the offensive. After the battle of Plataea, the Persians were defeated and were forced to retreat once again. Initially, the Persian force was successful at Thermopylae's battle against the Greek allies, although possibly at a great loss. The second invasion of Greece by the Persian army and fleet was much larger, forcing Athens to create alliances, particularly with Sparta. This created a setback for the Persians as they could not invade Greece for another 10 years. However, at the Battle of Marathon, about 10,000 Athenians and Plataeans were able to defeat the Persians, perhaps the Greeks' first significant victory against the Persians. The initial beginning of this war in 492-490 went well for the Persians, as they destroyed the Greek city of Eretria and captured territory in the Cyclades and Thrace.
The invasion then sparked what ultimately developed to be the Greco-Persian wars of the 5th century BCE, where Athens played a leading role among the Greek city-states involved. In particular, the Ionian rebels' burning of Sardis greatly upset the Persians, given that city's great wealth and importance to the Persians. This led Darius, the Achaemenid Persian king, to invade the Peloponnese peninsula to take revenge against Athens. These revolts were put down however, Persia was agitated by Athens' support for the rebels. Athens was involved in the rebellion in Ionia, along the coast of Asia Minor, that saw the Greek cities revolt against their Persian overlords. The bases of city wealth helped Athens use that wealth in subsequent events to shape all of the Greek worlds. Greek hoplite and Persian warrior fighting
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