In 490 BC some 50,000 Persians landed on the beach at Marathon, and 10,000 Greeks drove them back. The Persians returned ten years later, and "drank the rivers dry" with the largest army ever seen. Against all odds, the Greeks united, ruined the ambitions of the Persian king along with his army, and then drove onto his soil, smashing the threat permanently. These were the single most important battles in all of Western history. The course will consider why the king attacked, on what terms the Greeks united, how they destroyed the king's ambitions and what lessons this conflict holds for today. We will pay homage to the awesome heroes of the Greeks—the "greatest generation" of their day—who defended their freedom with their lives and made possible all that we are today. (Students should read books 5–8 of the Penguin edition of Herodotus: The Histories.)