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BATTLE OF MARATHON
SEPTEMBER 490 BC
Click map to enlarge.
The Battle of Marathon was part of the
Greco-Persian Wars, also
called the Persian Wars.
Where WAS THE BATTLE
OF MARATHON FOUGHT?
In the Plain of Marathon
in ancient Greece, approx. 22 miles or 35 kilometers northeast of Athens, on the
north-eastern coast of
Attica. Check the map - upper right corner:
ATTICA 480 BC
Click to enlarge
The Plain of Marathon lies along the crescent-shaped bay of the same
name. The plain is about six miles in length and two miles broad in
the center where the space between the mountains and the sea is
greatest. The Greeks came from Athens and waited on the slopes. The
Persians landed on the shore beneath.
490
BC Battle of Marathon - Initial Situation
WHO FOUGHT AGAINST WHOM IN THE BATTLE
OF MARATHON?
The Athenians vs.
the Persians.
For Athens fought approx. 10,000
Athenians and 1,000 Plataeans.
(View Plataea on a map.)
Athens had no cavalry, no archers, and no military engines. But the
guys did have spears.
For Persia fought approx. 15,000 men. These guys had horses and
archery. The horses weren't of much advantage because the marches
were usually flooded in the fall.
490
BC Battle of Marathon - Greek Double Envelopment
THE BATTLE
OF MARATHON - THE FIGHTING
About the battle formation. Athens' right wing was led by
Callimachus. Athens' left wing was covered by the Plataeans. Athens'
center was led by Themistocles and Aristides.
The Greek idea was to attack first and
to cross the distance from the slopes to the Persians as fast as
possible in order to beat the Persian cavalry and archers to it.
Greek battle trumpet blows, Athenians
sweep down the hills, Persians drive Athens' center back over the
plain and up the valley, Athens' wings come down and sandwich the
Persian center, Persian army flees to their ships, Greeks pursue and
try to set fire to as many galleys as achievable.
In Childe Harold's Pilgrimage,
Canto the Second, XC, Lord Byron describes the scene as
follows:
The flying Mede, his shaftless
broken bow;
The fiery Greek, his red pursuing spear;
Mountains above, Earth's, Ocean's plain below;
Death in the front, Destruction in the rear!
Such was the scene
It was here at the Persian ships where a
lot of Greeks were killed, including the generals Callimachus
and Stesilaus, and Aeschylus' brother Cynaegeirus.
However, Athens managed to capture 7
ships. Persians pushed off the coast and Persian satrap Datis
sailed as fast as he could direction Athens, hoping to find the city
unprotected.
Greek general Miltiades knew what
was happening and ordered a speedy night march back to the city
Athens. The next morning, the Persian ships arrived at the harbor of
Athens and for them waiting were the soldiers the Persians have been
fleeing from the previous night.
Datis thought screw it, and the Persian
fleet sailed back home.
Let
Herodotus describe the scene.
WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME OF THE BATTLE
OF MARATHON?
Athens won. The Persians had to pack
their bags and abandon their first invasion of Greece.
Casualties: Persia lost approx. 6,400
men. Athens lost approx. 192 men.
How many Plataeans lost their lives, we
don't know.
HOW LONG WAS THE
BATTLE OF MARATHON FOUGHT?
The entire show was
over after only one afternoon / early evening.
DID THE SPARTANS EVER ARRIVE?
Yes, they did!
After having properly finished their religious celebrations, 2,000
spearmen from Sparta arrived AFTER the battle had been fought. They
had marched for 3 days from Sparta to Marathon, checked out the dead
bodies on the battlefield, took some pictures, and went back home.
Check out their route on the map. Look
for Lacedaemonia, which is the ancient name for Sparta,
pretty much center of the map (b - B/C). Athens is up there further
to the right in Attica, across the island of Salamis, (b -
D).
Ancient
Greece (south)
It is a 150 miles or 245 kilometers
journey from Sparta to Marathon. Today and with your car, you can
make in 3 hours.
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PEOPLE WHO FOUGHT IN THE
BATTLE OF MARATHON
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Athens
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Persia |
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The Greek land forces
were headed by 10 generals. One of them was General
Miltiades,
also called Miltiades the Younger.
Another general for Athens was Callimachus.
He was a noble and the elected War-Ruler of the year 490 BC, which
meant he was the leader of the 10 generals, the polemarchos,
or the supreme military commander.
When the Greeks were trying to decide
whether or not to strike first, the assembled generals voted 50/50.
It was Callimachus' vote that tipped the scales, thus Athens
attacked first and brought home a victory. Unfortunately for
Callimachus, he fell in this battle. (The Persians didn't attack
first because there was a chance of a bloodless conquest. Athens
being scared shitless was one of the reasons. See "Background of the
battle of Marathon," if you scroll down a bit.)
Yet another Greek general was
Aristides, who later led Athens at the
Battle of Plataea.
Then there was Greek general
Themistocles. After the Battle of Marathon, Themistocles went on
to become the hero of the Battle of Salamis.
Another general was Stesilaus. He
was killed in this Battle.
Any celebrities fighting as well?
Yes, Greek's famous King of Tragedy,
Aeschylus,
fought as well and it looks like he was wounded. Aeschylus' brother
Cynaegeirus fought too but lost first his hands and then his
life.
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The Persians were led by a joint command
of their satraps
Datis and Artaphernes.
(What in the world is a
satrap?)
Datis was a Mede.
Artaphernes was the son of the satrap of
Sardis, who in turn was a nephew of Darius I the king. |
WHAT WAS THE HISTORIC BACKGROUND OF THE BATTLE OF MARATHON?
King
Darius I the Great
and his Persian army were on the roll and ready to incorporate
Athens into the Persian Empire. On their way towards Athens, also in
the year 490 BC, they had already sacked Eretria, a town on
the island of Euboea, which was a former confederate of Athens. Up
to the Battle of Marathon, the Medes and the Persians were reputed
invincible.
Also travelling with the Persians was
Hippias, an exiled tyrant of Athens who ruled the city from 528
BC to 510 BC. Before Hippias, it was Hippias' father Pisistratus
who ran the outfit. Hippias, no doubt with the intention of settling unfinished
business, was the one who came up with the idea of landing
at Marathon.
When the Persians landed at Marathon,
desperate Athens asked Sparta for help. The Spartans replied
Not Now, as they were busy observing important religious ceremonies
at the time. Athens had a good swear and tried to forget that day.
The only military support for Athens
came from Plataea.
(View Plataea on a map)
, Athens's loyal friend. Plataea hosted
their own home game against the Persians a year later. See
Battle of Plataea.
THE LEGEND
OF MARATHON
Legend has it that a
messenger was sent from Marathon to Athens to deliver the news of
the victory. Public transportation was a bitch and the poor guy had to run the entire 25 miles
which is 40 kilometers.
He arrived in Athens, announced the good news, and died of
exhaustion.
For the organizers of the first modern Olympic
Games (held in Athens in 1896), it only made sense to include this insanity
as part of the event. Twenty-four-year-old Spyridon Louis
from Greece fetched the gold medal.
SPYRIDON LOUIS 1896
FIRST MARATHON GOLD MEDAL CHAMPION
WHO THE HECK WAS
PHEIDIPPIDES?
Pheidippides was,
according to Herodotus,
a professional runner who was sent from Athens to Sparta before
the Battle of Marathon took place in order to request reinforcement
from the Spartan army.
The entire thing got mixed up, as tales
do, and Pheidippides was all of a sudden the name of the guy who ran
from Marathon to Athens after the battle and expired.
WHICH HISTORIAN
TELLS US ABOUT THE BATTLE OF MARATHON?
Among others,
Herodotus, who lived
484 BC - 425 BC, tells us much about it and
here is his
report. Herodotus also apparently interviewed Epizelus,
or Epizelos, a veteran of Marathon.
Check it
out.
Thucydides, who lived
460 BC - 400 BC, tells us about the battle. Thucydides was also a
big fan of Greek general Themistocles. -
See here.
Other reporting historians lived a long
time after the event.
Plutarch, who lived 46 - 119 AD, wrote on the battle and so
did
Justin, aka Marcus Junianus Justinus,
who lived in the 3rd century AD -
lookie here.
BATTLE OF MARATHON TRIVIA
The Battle of Marathon
featured the biggest difference in comparative territorial resources
of the opponents involved. As Sparta didn't get their act together,
Athens and Plataea, who represented Attica, fought the delegation
representing the Persian Empire.
On the map below, you will find Attica
in the upper left corner. It is not labeled though. Look for
the tiny stretch of land around the words "Marathon" and "Athens."
Map
of the Persian Empire
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