Teaser: Fracture in the League? (Patreon)
The defeat of the Persian fleet at Salamis didn't end the Greek struggle for survival - it revealed deep fractures within their alliance that nearly surrendered their hard-won victory. Though only 31 Greek city-states had united against Persian invasion, their coalition teetered on collapse shortly after their naval triumph. When King Xerxes withdrew with most of his forces, leaving General Mardonius in Thessaly to continue the campaign the following spring, the immediate threat seemed to re...