10 Most Decisive Ancient Generals

1. Pausanias


Battle of Plataea (Loss ratio 1:1616); according to Herodutus Pausanias was the nephew of Leonidas I and the regent of Sparta. The Battle of Plataea occurred one year after Battle of Thermopylae, where the small army of the brave King Leonidas I was overwhelmed by the sheer weight of Persian forces. In 479 BC, a combined Greek army of the Athens, Sparta, Megara and Corinth approached the fortified Persian camp near the city of Plataea, Boeotia. After 11 days of stalemate, the Greeks were able to halt the pursuing Persian forces, routing and killing most of their light infantry. Many Persians were trapped and slaughtered in their camp. After Plataea, Greeks would take the Greco-Persian war directly to the Persian territory, culminating to the final Battle of Gaugamela.