General (5th century BC)
Pausanias of Lacedaemon was a Spartan general, son of Cleombrotus and nephew of King Leonidas. His name has been connected with the Battle of Plataeae, where he led the Greeks to victory against the Persians in 479 BC.
Pausanias was regent of King Pleistarchus, Leonidas’ adolescent son and Pausanias’ cousin when he was appointed leader of the Greeks against the Persians, led by Mardonius. He led a total of 110.000 Greek warriors from 36 different city-states against the Persian army, consisting of 300.000 warriors. The battle took place in Plataeae in 479 BC, 1 year after the Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Salamis and 10 years after the Battle of Marathon, in which the two latter the Persians had lost. After a fierce battle, the Persians were defeated, having suffered 270.000 casualties according to Herodotus while the Greeks 1360 according to Plutarch. Among the dead was Mardonius, the Persian general whose king, Xerxes, had cut the head of Leonidas in the Battle of Thermopylae and had impaled it as a trophy. When he was advised to do the same to Mardonius as a form of retribution, Pausanias refused, saying that these actions befall only to the hands of barbarians.
The outcome of the Battle of Plataeae meant the end of the Persians’ expeditions in Greece and ended the second Graeco-Persian War in favour of the Greeks. In order to secure their freedom, Pausanias ordered the destruction of all Persian fortifications in the area, so that no barbarians remained in the land of the Greeks.
The victory of the Battle of Plataeae granted enormous fame and glory to Pausanias’ name. He was appointed admiral of the Greek navy and sailed to the Greek seas where he confronted the Persian fleet and liberated the islands of the Aegean Sea with 50 ships. Additionally, he liberated Cyprus and Byzantium from the Persian rule. As a result, the Greeks reclaimed their dominance in the Aegean Sea and the Euxine Sea.
Unfortunately, Pausanias’ course after his accomplishments turned to corruption and betrayal. According to ancient sources, he bargained with Xerxes in order to impose himself as sole ruler of Sparta and conquer Greece. He was accused of treason and misdemeanor and sentenced to death. He escaped to a temple where he found sanctuary whereupon the Spartans sealed the temple and Pausanias died of starvation. The once glorious Spartan general who had granted the victory to the Greeks in the Battle of Plataeae had fallen victim to his own arrogance. Nevertheless, in spite of his downfall, his name remained in history next to those of Miltiades, Leonidas, Demophilus, Themistocles, Aristides and Cimon.