Were the Persian Wars a victory for Greek civilization and democracy, or were they the beginning of the end for the Greek ideal of freedom?

Taking a
grand view of history, the Greco-Persian Wars was most definitely not the end of the Greek ideal
of freedom. However, if we look at what happened to the Greek city-states in the aftermath,
there was a loss of immediate freedom in many parts of the peninsula. The Persian wars harken
back to Cyrus the Great, who conquered the Ionian provinces of Greecewho, when he took the
Ionian lands, was challenged by the Spartans, though it never progressed beyond
threats.

In the time of Darius I, the Athenians attempted to help the Ionian
Greeks revolt against the Achaemenid Empire. Their attempted revolution was not well planned,
and Athens was singled out by Darius for retribution. The Persian wars included the battle of
Marathon, in the first invasion, and other battles like Thermopylae and Plataea, in the second
invasion. Overall, the Greeks resoundingly defeated the Persian invasionsecuring their territory
and protecting themselves from further Persian incursions.

The Athenians
and...