Afterhis defeat at Plataea in 479 BC, Xerxes, king of Persia, was retreatingfromGreece when hisship, overloaded with Persian warriors, was caught in aheavystorm.
The Ionian cities eventually lost their freedom, first to the Lydians and then to the Persians, whose attempt to conquer Greece ended with their defeat by the Greek allies at the battle of Plataea in 479 B.