Mycale, on the shores of Anatolia, near the island of Samos was the site of one of the last battles of the 'Second Persian War'. Herodotos says the battle occurred on the same day as the battle of Plataea. The battle is described as a naval battle as it ended with the destruction of the last of the Persian fleet in the Aegean, but all fighting took place on land.

The Greek fleet, commanded by the Spartan King, Leotychidas pursued the Persian fleet in anattempt to engage it. The Persians, no longer confident of winning a naval engagement against the Greeks, dismissed their Phoenician naval contingent and moved the remainder of the fleet to Mycale. Here they joined up with approximately 60,000 troops under the command of Tigranes, the tallest and best looking man in the Persian army. Xerxes had stationed these troops at Mycale to guard Ionia.

The Persians beached their ships and pulled them clear of the high tide mark. To protect them, they built a fortication of stone and timber, with a outer ring of of sharpened stakes.

The Greeks expecting a naval battle, instead found a strong infantry force drawn up along the beach. Leotychidas took his ship close into shore and got a crier to shout an appeal to the Ionians. Whether the Persians were aware of their earlier defeat at Plataea or not, their reaction was to disarm the Samians and ordered the Milesians to guard the passes above their position.

The Athenian division under the command of Xanthippus, the father of Pericles, landed on the beach and advanced on the Persians as soon as they had formed up.
The Spartans however, landed at another site, I assume this was due to insufficient room to unload the entire Greek fleet at one area. They then had to march some distance to reach the Persians who had deployed in front of the fortication.

The Persians do not seem to have attempted to oppose the the landing but rather deployed behind a shield wall, their large shields were interlocked and secured by partly burying them in the sand. From there they could bombard the Greeks with archery fire.

The archery fire possibly is one reason for the Athenians not waiting for the Spartan arrival.

Persians repelled assault after assault on their shield wall, inflicting heavy casualities on the Greeks. When eventually the Athenians did manage to burst through the shield wall the Persians were still able to hold the assault.

Unlike Plataea where the Persians were able to retreat back to their pallisade with the support of their cavalry, the Persian at Mycale did not have the same cover and the Athenians pursued them closely and forced an entry.

The battle may still have continued for sometime with no side certain of victory had it not been for the desertion of the Ionian Greeks who joined in the attack on the Persians. With the arrival of the Spartan division the Persian army turned and fled. Except only for the Persians themselves who continued to fight in scatterred groups the rest fled to the hills.

The two naval commanders Artayntes and Ithamitres managed to escape, however the army commanders Mardontes and Trigranes were killed in the fighting.

The lost of the battle and the burning of the Persian ships had serious consequences for the Persians.

The destruction of the Persian fleet meant the Greeks had secured protection against further invasion from Asia and were free to dominate the Aegean under the subsequent Delian League.

After the battle Xanthippus then moved against Sestos, the Athenians besieged the city which fell in the spring of 478 BC. Sestos was a key Hellespontine city and a strategic gateway into Greek territory. However hostilities in this region did not cease immediately. For many years Persian troops remained in Thrace and conflict did not end until the Peace of Callias in 449-48 BC.

The most serious consequence of the destruction of the forces at Mycale for Xerxes was that it enabled the Ionian islands to revolt from Persian rule. Their loss meant a major loss of revenue for Xerxes.