<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> <Ul> <Li> Thermopylae </Li> <Li> Artemisium </Li> <Li> Salamis </Li> <Li> Potidea </Li> <Li> Olynthus </Li> <Li> Plataea </Li> <Li> Mycale </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> Thermopylae </Li> <Li> Artemisium </Li> <Li> Salamis </Li> <Li> Potidea </Li> <Li> Olynthus </Li> <Li> Plataea </Li> <Li> Mycale </Li> </Ul> <P> The second Persian invasion of Greece (480--479 BC) occurred during the Greco - Persian Wars, as King Xerxes I of Persia sought to conquer all of Greece . The invasion was a direct, if delayed, response to the defeat of the first Persian invasion of Greece (492--490 BC) at the Battle of Marathon, which ended Darius I's attempts to subjugate Greece . After Darius's death, his son Xerxes spent several years planning for the second invasion, mustering an enormous army and navy . The Athenians and Spartans led the Greek resistance . About a tenth of the Greek city - states joined the' Allied' effort; most remained neutral or submitted to Xerxes . </P> <P> The invasion began in spring 480 BC, when the Persian army crossed the Hellespont and marched through Thrace and Macedon to Thessaly . The Persian advance was blocked at the pass of Thermopylae by a small Allied force under King Leonidas I of Sparta; simultaneously, the Persian fleet was blocked by an Allied fleet at the straits of Artemisium . At the famous Battle of Thermopylae, the Allied army held back the Persian army for seven days, before they were outflanked by a mountain path and the Allied rearguard was trapped and annihilated . The Allied fleet had also withstood two days of Persian attacks at the Battle of Artemisium, but when news reached them of the disaster at Thermopylae, they withdrew to Salamis . </P>

Which emperor started the second persian invasion of greece