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But the pass had been lost and the greater part of Greece fell into the hands of the Persians. They marched upon Athens, threw the garrison from the rocks of the Acropolis and burned the city. The people fled to the Island of Salamis. All seemed lost. But on the 20th of September of the year 480 Themistocles forced the Persian fleet to give battle within the narrow straits which separated the Island of Salamis from the mainland and within a few hours he destroyed three quarters of the Persian ships.
溫泉關的失守使波斯大軍得以長驅直入，希臘的大部分地區相繼陷落。波斯人氣勢洶洶朝雅典挺進，要報8年前的一箭之仇。他們攻占了雅典衛城，將其夷為平地。雅典人扶老攜幼逃往薩拉米島。這場戰爭看起來似乎是沒有希望了。公元前480年9月20日，泰米斯托克利率領雅典海軍，將波斯艦隊騙入希臘大陸 與薩拉米島之間的狹窄海面。波斯艦隊被迫與雅典海軍決戰。幾個小時后，雅典人摧毀了3／4的波斯艦船，取得決定性勝利。這樣一來，波斯人在德摩比勒地區的大捷就變得毫無意義。失去了海上支援，波斯國王澤克西斯被迫撤退。
In this way the victory of Thermopylae came to naught.
他打算來年再與希臘人進行最后決戰，一舉殲滅他們。
Xerxes was forced to retire. The next year, so he decreed, would bring a final decision. He took his troops to Thessaly and there he waited for spring.
波斯軍隊撤至北部的色薩利地區休整，等待第二年春天的來臨。
But this time the Spartans understood the seriousness of the hour. They left the safe shelter of the wall which they had built across the isthmus of Corinth and under the leadership of Pausanias they marched against Mardonius the Persian general. The united Greeks(some one hundred thousand men from a dozen different cities) attacked the three hundred thousand men of the enemy near Plataea. Once more the heavy Greek infantry broke through the Persian barrage of arrows. The Persians were defeated, as they had been at Marathon, and this time they left for good. By a strange coincidence, the same day that the Greek armies won their victory near Plataea, the Athenian ships destroyed the enemy's fleet near Cape Mycale in Asia Minor.
不過這一回，斯巴達人終于意識到事關全體希臘半島的存亡，必須傾盡全力一搏。為保護城邦的安全，斯巴達人本已修建了一條橫跨柯林斯地峽的城墻，在波仙尼亞斯的率領下，他們離開了城墻安全庇護，主動迎戰瑪爾多紐斯指揮的波斯軍隊。大戰在普拉提亞附近展開，來自12個城邦的約10萬希臘軍隊，向30萬波斯軍隊發起了總攻擊。跟馬拉松平原發生的戰斗一樣，希臘重裝步兵再度突破了波斯軍隊的箭陣，徹底擊潰了波斯人。巧合的是，在希臘步兵贏得普拉提亞戰役的同一天，雅典海軍在小亞細亞附近的米卡爾角也摧毀了敵人的艦隊。
Thus did the first encounter between Asia and Europe end. Athens had covered herself with glory and Sparta had fought bravely and well. If these two cities had been able to come to an agreement, if they had been willing to forget their little jealousies, they might have become the leaders of a strong and united Hellas.
歐洲與亞洲的第一次較量就這樣落下了帷幕。雅典贏得了莫大榮譽，斯巴達也因英勇而馳名。如果這兩個城市能夠冰釋前嫌、攜手合作，如果他們愿意忘掉彼此之間的小小嫉妒，他們是能夠組成一個強大而統一的希臘的領袖。
But alas, they allowed the hour of victory and enthusiasm to slip by, and the same opportunity never returned.
事情的發展往往不如人愿；隨著勝利的狂歡和攜手的熱情悄悄流逝，這樣的機會也就一去不返了。
