These ancient Greek weapons were quite literally toxic. ... The cauldron was filled with burning coals, pine resin, and sulfur—the same accelerants innovated by the Spartans at Plataea.

Pausanias, the Spartan King Who Defeated the Persians at Plataea and Died Entombed by His Own Fellow Citizens by Jorge Álvarez March 7, 2025 March 7, 2025. ... and, with the triremes he still had, ...

Plataea was at the time a pawn in a war of the ancient Greek superpowers, Athens and Sparta, and was besieged by the Theban allies of Sparta, who coveted Plataea’s territory.

Herodotus was the first writer to perform a systematic investigation of historical events, for which the ancient Roman orator Cicero conferred on him the title of “The Father of History ...

And here’s where the parallels with the Siege of Plataea are particularly salient. Plataea was at the time a pawn in a war of ...