Since the Greeks were a scattered people, they did not fall under one ruler. Each polis, city-state, in Greece had its own ruler, own government, and own way of life. The ruler of each polis was responsible for their own area and was rarely aided in battle by other polis. This gave the Persians a tactical advantage, they dominated each polis one by one until they reached the west side of the Aegean seacoast. There, the Greeks formed a small alliance to hold back the Persians, but it was not enough. The Persians kept pushing the Greeks until they reached the point of naval battle. The Greeks were able to hold them off and push them back using this method of attack. During the times of the Macedonian king Alexander, the Persians