Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Mycale

Battle of Mycale was a battle fought in 479 BC at Mycale, in what is now Turkey. It was part of the Greco-Persian Wars, which ran from 499 BC to 449 BC. The recorded result: Greek victory; Ionia begins second revolt against Persian rule; Effective end of the second Persian invasion of Greece. Recorded strength: 10,000 – 30,000 combatants (modern estimates) against 10,000 – 15,000 combatants (modern estimates).

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Map of the battle of Mycale. Fleeing Persians were able to follow the river to the mountain range.
Map of the battle of Mycale. Fleeing Persians were able to follow the river to the mountain range.. Marco Prins and Jona Lendering (dead link)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought479 BC
WhereMycale, Turkey37.691N, 27.157E
OutcomeGreek victory; Ionia begins second revolt against Persian rule; Effective end of the second Persian invasion of Greece
BelligerentsGreek city-states; Sparta; Athens; Corinth; Sicyon; TroezenagainstAchaemenid Empire
Casualties and lossesConsiderableand4,000 soldiers killed; Burning of the Persian camp and of the ships
Part ofGreco-Persian WarsSecond Persian invasion of Greece

Where it sits in the Greco-Persian Wars

Siege of Naxos, 499 BCSiege of Eretria, 490 BCSiege of Naxos, 490 BCSiege of Lindos, 490 BCBattle of Marathon, 490 BCBattle of Artemisium, 480 BCSiege of Olynthus, 480 BCSiege of Potidaea, 480 BCBattle of Thermopylae, 480 BCBattle of Salamis, 480 BCBattle of Mycale, 479 BCSiege of Sestos, 479 BCSiege of Potidaea, 479 BCBattle of Plataea, 479 BCSiege of Byzantium, 478 BC499 BC478 BCBattle of Mycale, 479 BC
16 placed engagements of the Greco-Persian Wars in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date479 BC (year precision)
PlaceMycale, Turkey
37.691N, 27.157E
KindBattle, ancient
Territorial changePersia loses the Aegean islands
Strength10,000 – 30,000 combatants (modern estimates)10,000 – 15,000 combatants (modern estimates)
Casualties and lossesConsiderable4,000 soldiers killed; Burning of the Persian camp and of the ships
Commanders
  • Leotychides
  • Xanthippus (father of Pericles)
  • Artaÿntes
  • Masistes
Battle of MycaleBattle of MycaleBattle of KavofoniasBattle of LadeBattle of AniaSiege of MiletusBattle of LadeBattle of KavofoniasBattle of LadeBattle of AniaSiege of MiletusBattle of LadeİzmirManisaHiosKosMuğla100 km37.691N, 27.157E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Mycale
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 50 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Mycale today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-08-19. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 87 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 1,234 m, 1,234 m of relief, mountainous country and today it is 60% tree cover, 39% water.

tree cover: 60%water: 39%tree cover 60%water 39%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 508 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 1,111 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Battle of Mycale is one of 102 engagements of the 5th century BC in the atlas and one of 687 in present-day Turkey.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q503982, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Mycale, revision 1370270282, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.