Wikipedia Tour: Major Battles Throughout History (2 of 20)

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Battle of Marathon

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The Battle of Marathon (Greek: Μάχη τοῡ Μαραθῶνος, Machē tou Marathōnos) during the Greco-Persian Wars took place in 490 BC and was the culmination of the first attempt by the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece. The principal objective of this phase of the Greco-Persian wars was the punishment of Athens and Eretria for support given to the Ionian cities during the Ionian Revolt (499-494 BC), but with the general aim of bringing Greece into the Persian Empire^[1]. Much of what is known of the campaign and specifically this battle comes from the Greek historian Herodotus in his Histories.

In 492 BC, a Persian army under Mardonius was sent to re-pacify Thrace (which had been under Persian rule for around 25 years), and subjugate Macedon. This secured the approaches to Greece for Persia. After diplomatically obtaining the submission of most Greek city states in 491 BC, Persia had left Athens and Sparta isolated as the remaining beligerent parties in Greece. Finally, in 490 BC, the Persian generals Datis and Artaphernes (son of Artaphernes) were sent in a maritime operation to subjugate the Cycladic islands in the central Aegean and punish Eretria and Athens for their assistance in the Ionian Revolt. Eretria was besieged and fell; the Persian army then landed in Attica, near the town of Marathon.

To meet them the Athenians, joined by a small force from Plataea, marched to Marathon, and succeeded in blocking the two exits from the plain of Marathon. Stalemate ensued for five days, until part of the Persian force, including the cavalry, was sent by sea to attack Athens directly^[2]. With the cavalry threat to the hoplite phalanx removed, and needing to act quickly to prevent the conquest of Athens, the Greeks attacked the remaining Persian army at dawn on the sixth day. Despite the numerical advantage of the Persians, the hoplites proved devastatingly effective, routing the Persians wings and achieving a double envelopment of the centre^[3].

The Battle of Marathon was a watershed in the Greco-Persian wars, showing the Greeks that the Persians could be beaten. The seed for the eventual Greek triumph in these wars was sown at Marathon. Since the following two hundred years saw the rise of the Classical Greek civilization, which has been enduringly influential in western society^[4][5], the Battle of Marathon is sometimes seen as pivotal moment in European history. For instance, John Stuart Mill famously suggested that "the Battle of Marathon, even as an event in British history, is more important than the Battle of Hastings"^[6]. The Battle of Marathon is perhaps now more famous as the inspiration for the Marathon race. Although historically inaccurate, the legend of a Greek messenger running to Athens with news of the victory became the inspiration for this athletics event, introduced at the 1896 Athens Olympics, and originally run between Marathon and Athens.^[7]

Contents

• 1 Background
  • 1.1 Date of the battle
• 2 The opposing forces
  • 2.1 The Athenians
  • 2.2 The Persians
    • 2.2.1 Composition and formation of Persian forces
• 3 Strategic & tactical considerations
• 4 Prelude
• 5 The battle
• 6 Aftermath
• 7 Significance
• 8 Legacy
  • 8.1 Legends associated with the battle
  • 8.2 Marathon run
• 9 References
• 10 Sources
  • 10.1 Primary sources
  • 10.2 Secondary sources
• 11 External links

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