CHAPTER VII Athens in Relation to Culture THE greatness of Athens begins at the time of the two Persian wars (490 B.C. and 480-79 B.C.). Before that time, Ionia and Magna Graecia (the Greek cities of south Italy and Sicily) produced the great men. The victory of Athens against the Persian king Darius at Marathon (490), and of the combined Greek fleets against his son and successor Xerxes (480) under Athenian leadership, gave Athens great prestige.
