The War

The Battle of Marathon

 

Herodotus writes the description of the 'Battle of Marathon'.
Athens was a famous city and the Persians wanted to attack Athens. So they took help of tyrant Hippias who originally a Greek, but was banished. He took support of King Darius of Persia. Filled with anger Hippias was waiting for such a chance. The battle started around 490 BC. Along with the army, they started moving towards Greece, looting and razing islands along their way. The army consisted of about 20,000 to 60,000 men.
Athens requested help from Sparta but was not entertained because the Spartans were not allowed to leave the city because of some religious reasons. So the only coalition was with the Plataeans, who as an ally of Athens since a long time.
The Greek commander in charge for the Battle of Marathon was Miltiades. His army consisted of about 11,000 people. The battle was delayed by five days, which was an advantage to the Greek's as they had more time on their hands to arrange for provisions. Miltiades ordered his army to attack the Persians at first sight. This prevented the Persians from taking position and attacking the Greeks in a systematic manner. The Greek hoplites were far superior to Persian for a hand-to-hand fight. The Greeks maintained their formation and when the Persians counterattacked they retreated in order. They closed in on the Persians. They were able to defeat their enemies and join forces behind the Persian center, surrounding it. The Persians were frightened and Greeks and broke down on them with great force. Huge amount of army and cavalry was killed. About 6400 Persians were died compared to 192 Athenians and 11 Plataeans.
It is said that a injure messenger traveled to Athens to inform the Athenians that they were victorious in the war. As soon as he delivered the message he collapsed and died on spot. This event is an inspiration for today's marathon.
After the battle ended the Persian commanders were given a signal of a raised shield. They wanted to catch the Athenian army unguarded and then traveled to Phaleron. The Athenians stationed two groups of their army at Phaleron and went back to Athens. The Athenian army in Phaleron welcomed the Persians. The Persians had to retreat back to their Asian base.

Importance of The Battle of Marathon:

The after effects of the Battle of Marathon were immense for both the Athenians and the Persians. The Athenins had proved their strength in front of Persia who was a strong enemy.
The Greeks started believing in their fighting power and after the Battle of Marathon many Greek states gave up their support to Persia and decided to stand by Athens and Sparta.
The Battle of Marathon was a big blow to the Persians who were such a powerful rulers. While the Ionian revolt and their weakness at the sea were one of the reasons, which were a threat to their power, Battle of Marathon was an indication to weakening hold on Western part of their holdings


copy from : http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Wars/

done by liyana