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It's a bright, sunny day in 494 BC on the shores of Ionia, a region of ancient Greece on the west coast of modern Turkey. The military general Dionysius stands with his back to the ocean, the waves lapping at the heels of his leather sandals. Before him, arrayed in bronze plated armor and plumed helmets, is a force of approximately 50,000 Greek soldiers. @ the blast of a horn, Dionysius turns and squints toward the horizon. Around 600 Persian warships are ranged across the ocean, their black sails billowing thousands of oars, churning the water until it froths white. Dionysius turns back to address his frightened troops with a rallying cry. O men of Ionia, our affairs stand on a razor's edge, whether we are to be free men or whether we are to be slaves. Stirred by their commander's words, the Greeks charge down the beach towards their own ships moored in shallow waters. Moments later, the Greek fleet sets sail, advancing to meet the Persians head on. Dionysius stands at the prow of his ship, watching the enemy armada draw closer. Then the sky darkens as a shower of Persian arrows blot out the midday sun. The Greeks raise their shields as the arrows rain down upon them. Once the onslaught is over, the Greeks return fire, hurling javelins through the air and maneuvering their ships through the Persian lines. By now, ships of the two fleets are just feet apart. Dionysius can see the vanguard of the Persian ships is merely the beginning. Hundreds more stretch beyond, filling the ocean with black sails. The Greeks are hopelessly outnumbered, worse than Dionysius thought. But it's too late to turn back now. There's a chorus of sickening crunches as the two fleets collide. The curved spike prows of the Persian ships act like battering rams, puncturing the Greek ships and flooding them with seawater. Greek sailors begin leaping from their vessels, hurling themselves into the water, which is now thick with blood and corpses. Dionysius realizes he has little choice. He grits his teeth and abandons his sinking ship. Many decades ago, the Greek city states of Ionia were conquered by the mighty Persian empire. But only five years ago, the Ionians rose up in revolt against their Persian overlords. During their uprising, the Ionians received support from independent Greek city states who feared the growing strength of the Persian empire and resented its encroachment into Greek lands. But the Persians eventually crush the revolt during the Battle of Lade. As this sea battle will come to be known, the Ionian forces are vanquished and the Persian king of kings, Darius the Great Re, establishes his control over the region. But Darius will not be satisfied with just Ionia. Instead, he will set out to conquer the whole of Greece. Soon, Darius will send an army into the Greek mainland, forcing another Greek force to assemble and defend their independence at the Battle of Marathon on September 12, 490 BC.