Plataea, ancient city of Greece, in S Boeotia (now Voiotía), on the slope of Mt. Cithaeron (Kithairón). Plataea had voluntarily passed from Theban to Athenian protection before the Persian Wars and stood by Athens at Marathon (490 B.C.). In 479 B.C., Plataea was the scene of the decisive defeat of the Persians by the Greeks under Pausanias (with Aristides commanding the fleet). At the beginning of the Peloponnesian War, Thebes attacked (431) the city. It was besieged for two years (429-427), and then captured and sacked. It was subsequently rebuilt, razed (c.373) by the Thebans, and reconstructed by Alexander the Great.

Ancient city, Boeotia, east-central Greece, south of Thebes. Plataea was settled by Boeotians who expelled the earlier Bronze Age inhabitants. The Plataeans fought along with the Athenians against the Persians at the Battle of Marathon (490 BC). Plataea was the scene of the Greek victory over the invading Persians in the Battle of Plataea (479 BC). It was destroyed by the Spartans in 427 BC but was rebuilt under the Macedonian kings Philip II and Alexander the Great as a symbol of Greek courage in resisting Persia.

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