High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! 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, with some 70 city-states joining the `Allied` effort. However, most of the Greek cities remained neutral or submitted to Xerxes.