The weather has often proved to be a major influence in wars during history as was the case in the victory of Greece over Persia in the 11-year series of Persian wars between 490 - 479 BC.

Persia had tried for many years to invade and conquer mainland Greece. When King Darius came to power in 500 BC, he set about strengthening the Persian Empire by taking control of city-states of Greece. This was done one by one by installing Persian rulers in each city. The barbaric rule eventually led to a revolt, called the Ionian Revolt. Athens supported the revolt, which was taken by the Persian leader as an excuse to make an attack on mainland Greece. However, Darius, with overwhelming military strength had not reckoned on the weather and most of the Persian fleet was destroyed in a storm, and the first attack failed.

Ten years later when King Xerxes came to power in Persia, another attack was mounted on Greece. Despite Persia's great fleet, their forces advanced too slowly because they were constantly suffering losses from the weather - mainly rain and adverse winds, which gave Greece more time to get ready for the approaching attack.

The attack that Persia made was a battle that lasted for three days in August 480 BC. The Persians had planned to make a surprise attack on the Greeks, but the real surprise was the night before when a tremendous storm destroyed practically the whole Persian squadron.

Throughout this long drawn out war, the weather proved a constant problem for the Persians as in general, the winds proved to be of advantage to the Greeks by slowing down the Persian Vessels.

So the weather proved to be a major factor in helping Greece eventually win the war. Not because they were the strongest side, but their foe did not have the weather on their side. Perhaps if the weather had not acted in the way it did, the Greeks may have lost the battle to the enormous and powerful fleets of the Persian Empire.

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- Persian War
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