Marathon

Marathon

GRECO–PERSIAN WARS

In 499 BCE, the Greek cities of Ionia, on Asia Minor’s west coast, revolted against Persia. Only Athens and Eretria in central Greece answered their appeal for aid, and the Ionian revolt was put down after five years. But Darius I, king of Persia, did not forget the affront by the Greeks, and in 490 BCE he dispatched an enormous fleet to exact revenge. Eretria fell after a week-long siege, and then the Persian armada descended on Marathon, a short march away from Athens. The Athenians had been forewarned so they sent messengers—runners such as Pheidippides—hundreds of miles to the other Greek cities, to plead for reinforcements. The Spartans agreed to help, but observance of their festival of Carneia delayed them for 10 days.Without immediate allies, the Athenian generals Callimachus and Miltiades led 10,000 hoplites on the 26-mile (40-km) march from Athens, reaching Marathon just in time to prevent the Persians making their attack. After several days—during which the Persians reembarked their cavalry onto ships for a direct attack on Athens, and the Athenian army was reinforced by a contingent from the Greek city of Plataea—the two armies clashed. The hoplite phalanx’s success in almost enveloping their opponents might have been fruitless had not the battle-weary Athenians marched straight back  to their city and prevented a Persian landing. With the final arrival of the Spartans, the Persian commanders Datis and Artaphernes withdrew their fleet, granting Greece a 10-year respite before the next Persian invasion.

On arriving at Marathon, the Greeks camped beside a grove  of trees, blocking the Persians’ route to Athens. However, they  did not advance farther, afraid to face the more mobile Persians  on the open plain and hoping for the arrival of reinforcements from Sparta. When part of the Persian fleet, including most of  its cavalry, left for Athens, the Greek general Miltiades persuaded a divided council of Greek generals to unite and attack.Thinning the center of his line, the Greek commander Callimachus reinforced his wings and closed rapidly, giving  the Persian archers little time to unleash their deadly volleys. Although the Greek center buckled, this drew their opponents forward, and when the Persian wings were in turn pushed back  by the force of the reinforced phalanx facing them, the hoplites swung inward, threatening to envelope Darius’s troops. The Persians broke and fled toward their ships; thousands died as the pursuing hoplites cut them down while they floundered in the marshes. The Greeks captured seven Persian ships, but the rest made their escape. For the loss of just 192 hoplites, the Athenians and Plataeans had won an important victory. However, Athens  still lay exposed to the escaping fleet and the Persian cavalry  that was still heading toward the city. In the event, the city  was successfully defended.

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Dk publications: Battles that changed history