Battle of Marathon
Part of the Greco-Persian Wars
The plain of Marathon today
Date September, 490 BC Location Marathon, Greece Result Athenian victory. Events in September It is the start of the academic year in many countries in the Northern Hemisphere. Events By place Greece Darius I sends an expedition under Artaphernes and Datis the Mede across Marathon ( Demotic Greek: Μαραθώνας Marathónas; Attic / Katharevousa:, Marathṓn) is an ancient Greek city-state The History of Athens is one of the longest of any city in Europe and in the world Territorial changes Persians fail to conquer Attica.
Belligerents
Athens, Plataea	Achaemenid Empire
Commanders
Miltiades the Younger, Callimachus †, Arimnestus	Datis †?, Artaphernes
Strength
7,000 to 9,000 Athenians, 1,000 Plataeans	20,000 to 60,000 a
Casualties and losses
192 Athenians, 11 Plataeans (Herodotus)	6,400, 7 ships captured (Herodotus)
a These are modern consensus estimates. The History of Athens is one of the longest of any city in Europe and in the world For the Geometer moth Genus, see Plataea (moth. Plataea or Plataeae was an ancient city located in Greece The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of Miltiades the Younger ( Greek: Μιλτιάδης ὁ Νεὠτερος c Callimachus (Καλλίμαχος was Polemarch in Athens in 490 BC and was one of the commanders at the Battle of Marathon. Killed in action ( KIA or K I A) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces by other Aeimnestus ( Gr) was a Spartan Soldier famous because he killed the leader of a Persian army Mardonius, at the Battle of Plataea For other uses of the word Dati, see the disambiguation page Datis or Datus was a Median admiral who served the Persian Empire Killed in action ( KIA or K I A) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces by other Artaphernes, more correctly Artaphrenes, was the brother of Darius Hystaspis, and satrap of Sardis. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash Ancient sources give numbers ranging from 20,000 to 60,000, though these numbers may not be accurate due to a modern perception that ancient historians may have exaggerated Persian numbers.

The Battle of Marathon, Greek Μάχη τοῡ Μαραθῶνος (Machê tou Marathônos), took place in 490 BC and was the culmination of King Darius I of Persia's first full scale attempt to conquer the remainder of Greece and incorporate it into the Persian Empire, which would secure the weakest portion of his western border. Marathon ( Demotic Greek: Μαραθώνας Marathónas; Attic / Katharevousa:, Marathṓn) is an ancient Greek city-state Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Events By place Greece Darius I sends an expedition under Artaphernes and Datis the Mede across Darius I the Great (c 549 BC&ndash486 BC 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayavahuš: "Possessing goodness" Having ascended to power amidst controversy and bloodshed Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Most of what is known of this battle comes from the Greek historian Herodotus. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash In Persian sources, there is no mention of such a battle.

According to re-written Greek and Latin manuscripts that are estimated to be about a thousand years old and are attributed to ancient Greek historians, Darius first sent Mardonius, in 492 BC, via a land route to Europe to strengthen Persia's hold of Thrace and Macedon, which had been weakened by the Ionian Revolt. This page is about the historical figure for the Millipede Genus, see Mardonius (genus Mardonius (d Events By place Greece The first expedition of King Darius I of Persia against Greece commences Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe Macedon or Macedonia ( Greek grc Μακεδονία grc-Latn Makedonía) was the name of a kingdom centered in the northern-most The Ionian Revolts were triggered by the actions of Aristagoras, the Tyrant of the Ionian city of Miletus at the end of the 6th century Although successful, most of this force perished in a storm off Mount Athos, and the remainder was forced to return to Asia, losing men along the way. Mount Athos (Όρος Άθως is a mountain on the Peninsula of the same name in Macedonia, of northern Greece, called in Greek Άγιον ^[1] In 490 BC, Datis and Artaphernes were sent in a maritime operation to subjugate the Cyclades islands in the central Aegean and punish Eretria and Athens for their assistance in the Ionian revolt. Events By place Greece Darius I sends an expedition under Artaphernes and Datis the Mede across For other uses of the word Dati, see the disambiguation page Datis or Datus was a Median admiral who served the Persian Empire Artaphernes, more correctly Artaphrenes, was the brother of Darius Hystaspis, and satrap of Sardis. The CYCLADES Packet switching network was an extremely influential French network system in the early 1970s similar to the ARPANET. Etymology In ancient times there were various explanations for the name Aegean. This is an article about the Greek city of Eretria on Euboea It should not be confused with Eretria in western Magnesia, Greece or the modern African nation Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Eretria was besieged and fell; then the fleet landed in Marathon bay. There they were defeated by a small force of Athenian and Plataean hoplites, despite their numerical advantage. For the Geometer moth Genus, see Plataea (moth. Plataea or Plataeae was an ancient city located in Greece The word hoplite ( Greek: hoplitēs; pl hoplitai) derives from hoplon ( plural hopla) meaning an item of armour or equipment thus 'hoplite' The long run of the messenger who conveyed news of the victory to Athens became the inspiration for the marathon race, which was first staged at the 1896 Olympic Games. The marathon is a long-distance foot race with an official distance of 42 The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, were an International

Background

In 511 BC, with the aid of Cleomenes I, King of Sparta, the Athenian people expelled Hippias, the tyrant ruler of Athens. Events and trends 519 BC — Zhou Jing Wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. Cleomenes (kliːˈɑməniːz Greek Κλεομένης (d c 489 BC was an Agiad King of Sparta in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC Hippias can also refer to the tyrant of Athens son of Peisistratus In modern usage a tyrant is a single ruler holding absolute power over a State or within an Organization. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's ^[2] With Hippias' father Peisistratus, the family had ruled for 36^[2] out of the previous 50 years and intended to continue Hippias' rule. Peisistratus (sometimes transliterated Peisistratos Psistratus, Peistratus, Pesistratusor or Pisistratus, Greek: Hippias fled to Sardis to the court of the nearest Persian satrap, Artaphernes, and promised control of Athens to the Persians if they were to restore him. Sardis, also Sardes ( Lydian: Sfard, Greek: Σάρδεις, Persian: Sparda) modern Sart in See also the related deity Satrapes. Satrap (Persian ساتراپ was the name given to the governors of the Provinces of ancient Artaphernes, more correctly Artaphrenes, was the brother of Darius Hystaspis, and satrap of Sardis. When the Athenians demanded he be expelled, the satrap suggested that they ought to restore him to power. This gave assistance, in the form of 20 boats, to the Ionian cities embroiled in the Ionian Revolt (499 BC–494 BC). The Ionian Revolts were triggered by the actions of Aristagoras, the Tyrant of the Ionian city of Miletus at the end of the 6th century Events By place Greece After a failed attack on the rebellious island of Naxos in 502 BC (on behalf of Events By place Persian empire Having successfully captured several of the revolting Greek city-states the ^[3] Hippias had probably fled to the court of king Darius during the revolt.

The city of Eretria had also given assistance to the Ionians. Though the assistance sent by the two cities was not very effective, it alarmed Darius and he wished to punish the two cities. In 492 BC, he dispatched an army under the command of his son-in-law, Mardonius, to Greece. Events By place Greece The first expedition of King Darius I of Persia against Greece commences This page is about the historical figure for the Millipede Genus, see Mardonius (genus Mardonius (d Mardonius conquered Thrace and thus compelled Alexander I of Macedon to relinquish his kingdom again to Persia. Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe Alexander I (Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μακεδών was ruler of Macedon from 498 BC to 454 BC However, while in route south to the Greek city-states, the Persian fleet was wrecked in a storm in Cape Athos, losing 300 ships and 20,000 men. Mount Athos (Όρος Άθως is a mountain on the Peninsula of the same name in Macedonia, of northern Greece, called in Greek Άγιον Mardonius was forced to retreat to Asia. Attacks by Thracian tribes inflicted losses on the retreating army. ^[4]

Darius learned, perhaps through Hippias, the Alcmaeonidae, a powerful Athenian family, were opposed to Miltiades, who at the time was the most prominent politician of Athens. The Alcmaeonidae or Alcmaeonids (Ἀλκμαιωνίδαι were a powerful noble family of ancient Athens, a branch of the Neleides who claimed descent Miltiades the Younger ( Greek: Μιλτιάδης ὁ Νεὠτερος c While they were not ready to help reinstate Hippias (they had helped overthrow him^[5]), they probably believed a Persian victory was inevitable and wanted to secure a better position in the new political regime that was to follow the Persian conquest of Athens. ^[6] Darius wished to take advantage of this situation to conquer Athens, which would isolate Sparta and, by handing him the remainder of the Greeks in the Aegean, would consolidate his control over Ionia. In order for the Athenians to revolt, two things would need to happen: the populace would need to be encouraged to revolt, and the Athenian army would have to leave Athens so that they could not crush the revolt.

Darius decided to send a purely maritime expedition led by Artaphernes, son of the satrap to whom Hippias had fled and Datis, a Median admiral—Mardonius had been injured in the prior campaign and had fallen out of favor—with the intention to punish Naxos (whose resistance to Persian attack in 499 BC led to the Ionian revolt) and force Eretria and Athens to submit to Darius or be destroyed. Artaphernes, more correctly Artaphrenes, was the brother of Darius Hystaspis, and satrap of Sardis. For other uses of the word Dati, see the disambiguation page Datis or Datus was a Median admiral who served the Persian Empire The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. Naxos (in Greek, Νάξος) is a Greek island the largest island ( in the Cyclades island group in the Aegean. Events By place Greece After a failed attack on the rebellious island of Naxos in 502 BC (on behalf of ^[7]

Size of opposing forces

Modern drawing of a phalanx. The phalanx (Ancient Greek φάλαγξ Modern Greek φάλαγγα phālanga (plural phalanxes or phalanges (Ancient and Modern Greek φάλαγγες The hoplites, with the exception of the Spartans, were not actually as uniformly equipped as depicted because each soldier would buy his own arms and decorate them at his discretion. The word hoplite ( Greek: hoplitēs; pl hoplitai) derives from hoplon ( plural hopla) meaning an item of armour or equipment thus 'hoplite' A soldier is a general English term that refers to a member of a land component of National Armed forces. A weapon is a Tool used either in Hunting, or attack or defence in Combat for the purpose of subduing enemy personnel or to destroy enemy weapons

According to Herodotus, the fleet sent by Darius consisted of 600 triremes,^[8] whereas, according to Cornelius Nepos, there were only 500. Trireme ( τριήρης sing τριήρεις pl triremis sing ^[9] The historical sources do not reveal how many transport ships accompanied them, if any. According to Herodotus, 3,000 transport ships accompanied 1,207 ships during Xerxes' invasion in 480 BC. Events By place Greece May — King Xerxes I of Persia marches from Sardis and onto Thrace ^[10] Stecchini estimates the whole fleet comprised 600 ships altogether: 300 triremes and 300 transports;^[11] while Peter Green^[12] says there were 200 triremes and 400 transports. Livio Catullo Stecchini ( 6 October 1913 &ndash September 1979 was a historian of science a scholar of ancient weights and measures (the science of Metrology Ten years earlier, 200 triremes failed to subdue Naxos,^[13] so a 200 or 300 trireme fleet is perhaps inadequate for all three objectives.

Herodotus does not estimate the size of either army. Of the Persian army, he says they were a large infantry that was well packed. ^[14] Among ancient sources, the poet Simonides, another near-contemporary, says the campaign force numbered 200,000; while a later writer, the Roman Cornelius Nepos estimates 200,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry, of which only 100,000 fought in the battle, while the rest were loaded into the fleet that was rounding Cape Sounion;^[9] Plutarch^[15] and Pausanias^[16] both independently give 300,000, as does the Suda dictionary;^[17] Plato^[18] and Lysias assert 500,000;^[19] and Justinus 600,000. Cornelius Nepos (Κορνήλιος Νέπως in Ancient Greek literature (c Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c Pausanias ( Greek:) was a Greek traveller and Geographer of the 2nd century CE, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus The Suda or Souda ( also, Suidas) is a massive 10th century Byzantine Greek historical encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Lysias (Greek Λυσίας (born ca 445 BC died ca 380 BC was an Attic orator. Justin (Latin Marcus Junianius (or Junianus) Justinus) was a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire. ^[20]

Modern historians have also made various estimates. As Kampouris has noted,^[21] if the 600 ships were warships and not transport ships, with 30 epibates soldiers in each ship—the ships' foot soldiers that formed and defended from boarding parties during the sea battles—(typical for Persian ships after the Battle of Lade; this was how many they had during Xerxes' invasion), the number 18,000 is attained for the troops. The Battle of Lade was a naval encounter that took place in 494 BC between the Ionians and the Persians. But since the fleet did have transport ships, it must have at least carried the Persian cavalry. Whereas Herodotus claims the cavalry was carried in the triremes, the Persian fleet had dedicated ships for this undertaking, and according to Ephorus, 800 transports accompanied Xerxes' invasion fleet 10 years later. Ephorus or Ephoros ( Ancient Greek:, c 400 - 330 BC) of Cyme in Aeolia, in Asia Estimates for the cavalry are usually in the 1,000–3,000 range,^[22] though as noted earlier Cornelius Nepos gives 10,000.

A reconstruction of beached Persian ships at Marathon prior to the battle.

Other modern historians have proposed other numbers for the infantry. Bengtson^[23] estimates there were no more than 20,000 Persians; Paul K. Davis^[24] estimates there were 20,000 Persians; Martijn Moerbeek^[25] estimates there were 25,000 Persians; How & Wells estimate 40,000 Persians landed in Marathon; Bussolt^[26] and Glotz^[27] talk of 50,000 battle troops; Stecchini estimates there to have been 60,000 Persian soldiers in Marathon;^[11] Kleanthis Sandayiosis talks of 60,000 to 100,000 Persian soldiers;^[28] while Peter Green^[12] talks of 80,000 including the rowers; and Christian Meier^[29] talks of 90,000 battle troops. Gustave Glotz (1862-1935 was a French historian of Ancient Greece. Scholars estimating relatively small numbers for Persian troops argue that the army could not be very big in order to fit in the ships. The counterargument of scholars who claim large numbers is that if the Persian army was small, then the Eretrians combined with the Athenians and Plateans could match it, and possibly have sought battle outside Eretria. Naxos alone could field "8,000 shields" in 500 BC^[30] and with this force successfully defended against the 200-ship Persian invasion 10 years earlier.

Modern historians favor that the whole Greek army numbered c. 10,000 hoplites,^[31] with the Athenian hoplites numbered at c. 9,000 and the little Platean contigent at c. 1,000 men. ^[32] Others have given around 7,000–8,000,^[33] for the whole Greek army. Pausanias asserts it did not surpass 9,000,^[34] while Justinus^[20] and Cornelius Nepos^[35] both give 10,000 as the number of the Greeks. Herodotus tells us that at the battle of Plataea eleven years later the Athenians sent 8,000 hoplites while others were at the same time engaged as epibates in the fleet that later fought at the battle of Mycale. The Battle of Plataea was the final major Battle of the Greco-Persian Wars in southern Greece. The Battle of Mycale, Ancient Greek, grc-Latn Mache tes Mycales, was one of the two major battles that ended the Persian invasion of Greece during the Pausanias noticed in the trophy of the battle the names of former slaves who were freed in exchange for military services. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another ^[36] Also, it is possible that metics, non-Athenian Greeks residing in Athens, were drafted since they had military obligations to Athens in times of great emergency (for example in 460 BC). In Ancient Greece, the term metic meant resident alien a person who did not have citizen rights in their Greek City-state ( Polis) of residence Events By place Persian Empire Egypt revolts against Persian rule However, for Marathon, this is not mentioned by any surviving source, and their number in Athens was not as significant in 490 BC as it became later in the century when Athens became head of the Delian League. The Delian League was an association of approximately 150 5th-century BC Greek City-states under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue

Athens at that time could have fielded at least four times the force it did had it also chosen to send light troops consisting of the lower classes, for ten years later at the Battle of Salamis it had a 180 trireme fleet^[37] that was manned by 32,000 rowers, and had lost some 90 ships earlier in the Battle of Artemisium. The Battle of Salamis ( Ancient Greek:) was a decisive naval battle between the Greek City-states and Persia in September 480 BC in the The naval Battle of Artemisium took place according to tradition on the same day as the Battle of Thermopylae on August 11 480 BC, though its exact date ^[38] Why this did not happen has been subject to speculation. Kampouris,^[21] among others, notes that the political leanings of the lower classes were unreliable. After the Ionic revolt had shown the general unreliability of tyrants to the Persian empire, Artaphernes, in 494 BC, had changed the regime of the Ionian city-states from tyranny to democracy, thus setting an example that was later copied, among others, by the Second Athenian Alliance and Alexander the Great. Events By place Persian empire Having successfully captured several of the revolting Greek city-states the Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' There the power rested on the poor with the Persian army in place to rein in any move that threatened Persia's position. Some of the poor who remembered Peisistratus well, since he had given them jobs, probably hoped for a victory of the Persians and a change in regime to give them more power, which is one of the reasons Hippias ordered the landing in Marathon where the vast majority of local inhabitants were from these social classes. Peisistratus (sometimes transliterated Peisistratos Psistratus, Peistratus, Pesistratusor or Pisistratus, Greek: On the other hand, the Persian army hoped for an internal revolution in Athens so as to have an easy victory as in Eretria.

Before the battle

For five days, the armies peacefully confronted each other, hoping for developments, with the Athenian army slowly narrowing the distance between the two camps, with pikes cut from trees covering their sides against cavalry movements. ^[39] Since time worked in favor of the Athenians, it probably was the Persian army that decided to move. On the sixth day, when Miltiades was the prytanevon general, a rather bureaucratic rank consistent with the duty officer of modern armies—either September 12 or possibly August 12, 490 BC reckoned in the proleptic Julian calendar—Artaphernes decided to move and attack Athens. Miltiades the Younger ( Greek: Μιλτιάδης ὁ Νεὠτερος c Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Events 1099 - First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon - Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid Events By place Greece Darius I sends an expedition under Artaphernes and Datis the Mede across The proleptic Julian calendar is produced by extending the Julian calendar to dates preceding AD 4 when its quadrennial leap year stabilized The Athenians came to know from two Ionian defectors that the Persian cavalry was gone. Where and why, along with the Persian battle plan, has been a matter of debate. Several historians have supposed that this was either because the cavalry had boarded the ships, that it was inside the camp since it could not stay in the field during the night,^[22] or because it was moving along with the whole army among the northern route to reach the walls of Athens. ^[21] It should be noted that Herodotus does not mention that the army was boarding the ships. Some light is given by the "χωρίς ἰππεῖς" (=without cavalry) entry of the Suda dictionary. It states: "The cavalry left. When Datis surrendered and was ready for retreat, the Ionians climbed the trees and gave the Athenians the signal that the cavalry had left. And when Miltiades realized that, he attacked and thus won. Miltiades the Younger ( Greek: Μιλτιάδης ὁ Νεὠτερος c From there comes the above-mentioned quote, which is used when someone breaks ranks before battle".

According to Herodotus, by that point the generals had decided to give up their rotating leadership as prytanevon generals in favor of Miltiades. Miltiades the Younger ( Greek: Μιλτιάδης ὁ Νεὠτερος c He chose the day his tribe was leading, for the attack, perhaps because he wanted to bear the full responsibility for the battle. He decided to move against the Persians very early in that morning. He ordered two tribes that were forming the center of the Greek formation, the Leontis tribe led by Themistocles and the Antiochis tribe that was led by Aristides,^[40] to be arranged in the depth of 4 ranks while the rest of the tribes in the sides were in 8 men ranks. Themistocles ( Greek:; c 524&ndash459 BC was an Athenian soldier and statesman Aristides or Aristeides ( Greek, 530–468 BC was an Athenian soldier and statesman The distance between the two armies had narrowed to a distance not less than 8 stadia or about 1,500 meters, which they covered running shouting their war cry, "Ελελευ! Ελελευ!" (Eleleu, Eleleu), much to the surprise on the Persians who "in their minds they charged the Athenians with madness which must be fatal, seeing that they were few and yet were pressing forwards at a run, having neither cavalry nor archers. "^[41] It is also a matter of debate whether the Greek army ran the whole distance or marched until they reached the limit of the archers' effectiveness, the "beaten zone", or roughly 200 meters, and then ran towards the ranks of their enemy. Proponents of the latter opinion note that it is very hard to run that large a distance carrying the heavy weight of the hoplitic armor, estimated at 32 kilograms (70. 5 pounds). ^[42] Proponents of the former opinion note the following arguments: the ancient Greeks—as indicated by the surviving statues—were in very good physical condition (the hoplite run had recently become an Olympic sport), and if they had run the entire distance, it would have been covered in about 5 minutes, whereas if they had marched, it would have probably taken 10, enough time for the Persians to react, which they did not. The Olympic sports comprise all the Sports contested in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

Composition and formation of Persian forces

Immortal lancers, detail from the archers' frieze in Darius' palace, Susa. Silicious glazed bricks, c. 510 BC. Louvre

The bulk of Persian infantry were likely Takabara lightly armed archers. The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France Archery is the practice of using a bow or Crossbow to shoot Arrows Archery has historically been used in Hunting and Combat and has Several lines of evidence support this. First of all, Herodotus does not mention a shield wall in Marathon, that was typical of the heavier Sparabara formation, as he specifically mentions in the Battle of Plataea and the Battle of Mycale. Persian Sparabaras, meaning "shield bearers" in Persian, were front line infantries of the Achaemenid Empire. The Battle of Plataea was the final major Battle of the Greco-Persian Wars in southern Greece. The Battle of Mycale, Ancient Greek, grc-Latn Mache tes Mycales, was one of the two major battles that ended the Persian invasion of Greece during the Also, in the depiction of the Battle of Marathon in the Stoa that was dedicated a few years later in 460 BC when most veterans of the war were still alive, that is described by Pausanias, only Takabara infantry are depicted. Stoa (plural stoae or stoæ) in Ancient Greek architecture; covered walkways or Porticos commonly for public usage Events By place Persian Empire Egypt revolts against Persian rule ^[43] Finally, it seems more likely that the Persians would have sent the more multipurpose Takabara soldiers for a maritime operation than the specialized Sparabara heavy (by Persian standards) infantry. ^[21] The Takabara troops carried a small woven shield, probably incapable of withstanding heavy blows from the long spears of the hoplites. The usual tactic of the Persian army was for the archers to shoot volleys of arrows to weaken and disorganise their enemy, then their excellent cavalry moved in to deliver the coup de grace. Arrows Grand Prix International was a Formula One team active from 1977 to 2002 On the other hand, the Ασπις (aspis), the heavy shield of the hoplites, was capable of protecting the man who was carrying it (or more usually the man on his left) from both the arrows and the spears of its enemies. For the poem traditionally attributed to Hesiod see The Shield of Heracles An aspis (ˈæspɨs Ancient Greek: ασπίς The Persians were also at a severe disadvantage due to the size of their weapons. Hoplites carried much longer spears than their Persian enemies, extending their reach as well as protecting them. ^[44] Persian armies would usually have elite Iranian troops in the center and less reliable soldiers from subject peoples on the sides of the formation. It is confirmed by Herodotus that this is how the Persian army was arrayed in the battlefield. ^[45]

During the Ionian revolt, the phalanx was seriously weakened by the arrows of the Persian archers before it reached hand-to-hand combat with them—where it excelled—because it moved slowly in order to maintain formation. This is why Miltiades, who had great experience with the Persian army since he was forced to follow it during its campaign in Scythia in 513 BC, ordered his army to run. In Classical Antiquity, Scythia ( Greek Skuthia) was the area in Eurasia inhabited by the Scythians, from the 8th Events and trends 519 BC — Zhou Jing Wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. ^[21] This could have meant that they could end up fighting in disordered ranks. Herodotus, however, mentions in the description of the battle that the retreat of the center happened in order, meaning that the formation was not broken during the initial rush. This is supported by the fact that there were few casualties in that phase of the battle. The Greek center was reduced to four ranks, from the normal eight. The wings maintained their eight ranks. If Miltiades only wanted to extend the line and prevent the Persian line from overlapping the Greeks, he would have weakened, uniformly, the whole army so as not to leave weak points. But Herodotus categorically states that it was a conscious decision to strengthen the sides^[46] probably in order to have a strong force to defeat the weaker-in-quality Persian sides.

The initial positions of the troops before the clash. The Greeks (blue) have pulled up their wings to bolster the corners of their significantly smaller centre in a ]] shape. The Persian fleet (red) waits some way off to the east. This great distance to the ships played a crucial role in the later stages of the battle.

The front of the Greek army numbered 250 × 2 (for the center tribes) plus 125 × 9 (for the side tribes and the Plateans) = 1,625 men. If the Persians had the same density as the Greeks and were 10 ranks strong then the Persian army opposing the Greeks numbered 16,000. men^[21] But if the front had a gap of 1. 4 meters between soldiers compared to 1 meters for every Greek and had a density of 40 to 50 ranks as seems to be the maximum possible for the plain—the Persian army had even fought in 110 ranks—then the Persian army numbered 44,000 to 55,000. ^[22] If the Persian front numbered 2,000 men and they fought in 30 ranks (as Xenophon in Cyropaedia claims) they numbered 60,000. Xenophon (Ancient Greek, Modern Greek "Ξενοφών" "Ξενοφώντας" ca Cyropaedia (from Greek Kúrou paideía (Κύρου παιδεία "The Education of Cyrus" is a "partly fictional biography" of Cyrus the Kampouris^[21] suggests it numbered 60,000 since that was the standard size of a major Persian formation.

The enemies engage in hand to hand combat

The Greek wings (blue) envelop the Persian wings (red) while their strategically-thinned centre filled the gap made between them.

As the Greeks advanced, their strong wings drew ahead of the center, which retreated according to plan. The retreat must have been significant since Herodotus mentions that the center retreated towards Mesogeia, not several steps. ^[47] However, ranks did not break since the overall casualties were low, and most were sustained during the last phase of the battle. ^[48] The Greek retreat in the center, besides pulling the Persians in, also brought the Greek wings inwards, shortening the Greek line. The result was a double envelopment, and the battle ended when the whole Persian army, crowded into confusion, broke back in panic towards their ships and were pursued by the Greeks. The pincer movement or double envelopment is a basic element of Military strategy which has been used to some extent in many Wars and is considered For psychological condition see Panic attack Panic is a sudden Fear which dominates or replaces thinking and often affects groups of ^[49] The sides were left open so that the Persian ranks would break, since even a desperate army that maintained numerical advantage after a battle could still defeat its enemy. Some, unaware of the local terrain, ran towards the swamps where they drowned.

Herodotus records that 6,400 Persian bodies were counted on the battlefield,^[50] and it is unknown how many perished in the swamps. Also, seven Persian ships are mentioned captured though none are mentioned sunk. ^[51] The Athenians lost 192 men^[50] and the Plateans 11,^[52] most during the final chase when their heavy armor proved a disadvantage. Among the dead was the polemarch Callimachus and the general Stesilaos. One story documents that Kynaigeirus, brother of the playwright Aeschylus who was also among the fighters, charged into the sea, grabbed one Persian trireme, and started pulling it towards shore. Aeschylus (ˈɛskɨləs or /ˈiːskɨləs/ Greek: Ασχύλος, Aischylos, 525 BC/524 BC 456 BC/455 BC was an ancient Greek Playwright A member of the crew saw him, cut off his hand, and Kynaigeirus died. ^[48]

It seems that Aeschylus considered that his participation in Marathon was his greatest achievement in life (rather than his plays) since in his gravestone there was the following epigram:

Αἰσχύλον Εὐφορίωνος Ἀθηναῖον τόδε κεύθει

μνῆμα καταφθίμενον πυροφόροιο Γέλας·

ἀλκὴν δ’ εὐδόκιμον Μαραθώνιον ἄλσος ἂν εἴποι

καὶ βαρυχαιτήεις Μῆδος ἐπιστάμενος^[53]

This tomb the dust of Aeschylus doth hide,

Euphorion's son and fruitful Gela's pride

How tried his valor, Marathon may tell

And long-haired Medes, who knew it all too well.

According to Ctesias, Datis was slain at Marathon. Ctesias of Cnidus ( Greek) was a Greek Physician and Historian from Cnidus in Caria. ^[54] Herodotus, however, has him alive after the battle returning a statue of Apollo to Delos that had earlier been removed by his army,^[55] though he does not mention him after the remnant of the army returned to Asia. The island of Delos ( Greek: Δήλος Dhilos) isolated in the centre of the roughly circular ring of islands called the Cyclades, near Mykonos

Aftermath

Hill where the Athenians were buried after the Battle of Marathon

Greek Corinthian Helmet and the skull reportedly found inside it from the Battle of Marathon, now residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. The Royal Ontario Museum, commonly known as the ROM, is a major Museum for world culture and Natural history in the city of Toronto

As soon as Datis had put to sea, the two center tribes stayed to guard the battlefield and the rest of the Athenians marched to Athens. A shield had been raised over the mountain near the battle plain, which was either the signal of a successful Alcmaeonid revolution or (according to Herodotus) a signal that the Persian fleet was moving towards Phaliro. ^[51] They arrived in time to prevent Artaphernes from securing a landing. Seeing his opportunity lost, Artaphernes turned about and returned to Asia. ^[56] On the next day, the Spartan army arrived, having covered the 220 kilometers (136. 7 miles) in only three days. Some modern historians doubt they traveled so fast. The Spartans toured the battlefield at Marathon, and agreed that the Athenians had won a great victory. ^[57]

The Greek upset of the Persians, who had not been defeated on land for many decades (except by Samagaetes and Scythes, both nomad tribes), caused great problems for the Persians. The Persians were shown as vulnerable. Many subject peoples revolted following the defeat of their overlords at Marathon. Order was not restored for several years.

The dead of Marathon were awarded by the Athenians the special honor of being the only ones who were buried where they died instead of the main cemetery of Athens in Kerameikos. Kerameikos is an area of Athens, Greece, located to the northwest of the Acropolis, which includes an extensive area both within and outside the city ^[58] On the tomb of the Athenians this epigram composed by Simonides was written:

Ελλήνων προμαχούντες Αθηναίοι Μαραθώνι

χρυσοφόρων Μήδων εστόρεσαν δύναμιν

which means

The Athenians, as defenders of the Hellenes, in Marathon

destroyed the might of the golden-dressed Medes

(translation by Major General Dimitris Gedeon, HEAR)

The tomb was excavated in the 1880s by German archaeologists. An epigram is a short Poem, often with a clever twist at the end or a concise and witty statement The team, however, did not include any anthropologists, and were therefore unable to determine the number of bodies in the tomb. The same team also found a ditch containing large numbers of hastily buried human bones which was identified as the burial place of the Persians.

For the Athenians, the victory gave confidence to the people. Two years later ostracism was exercised for the first time, its first victim being a friend of Peisistratus. Ostracism ( ostrakismos) was a procedure under the Athenian democracy in which a prominent Citizen could be expelled from the City-state ^[59] By one account, at the end of the battle the Athenians had killed 6,400 Persians but had lost only 192 soldiers themselves. The Persian losses may have been exaggerated. However, it is true that in a short amount of time this tiny state had defeated the giant that had come to destroy it.

Conclusion

Marathon was in no sense a decisive victory over the Persians. However, it was the first time the Greeks had bested the Persians on land, and "their victory endowed the Greeks with a faith in their destiny that was to endure for three centuries, during which western culture was born. " (J. F. C. Fuller, A Military History of the Western World). John Stuart Mill's famous opinion is that the Battle of Marathon was more important an event for British history than the Battle of Hastings. John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 &ndash 8 May 1873 British Philosopher, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential The Battle of Hastings was the decisive Norman victory in the Norman Conquest of England. Kampouris sees the battle as a failure of purely maritime operations, due to their inherent weaknesses.

The longest-lasting legacy of Marathon was the double envelopment. The pincer movement or double envelopment is a basic element of Military strategy which has been used to some extent in many Wars and is considered Some historians have claimed it was random rather than a conscious decision by Miltiades. As they say, was it really Cannae before Cannae?^[60] In hoplitic battles, the two sides were usually stronger than the center because either they were the weakest point (right side) or the strongest point (left side). For the 11th century battle in the Byzantine conquest of the Mezzogiorno, see Battle of Cannae (1018. However, before Miltiades (and after him until Epaminondas), this was only a matter of quality, not quantity. Epaminondas ( Greek:) (ca 418 BC&ndash362 BC was a Theban General and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek Miltiades had personal experience from the Persian army and knew its weaknesses. As his course of action after the battle shows (invasions of the Cyclades islands), he had an integrated strategy upon defeating the Persians, hence there is no reason he could have not thought of a good tactic. The CYCLADES Packet switching network was an extremely influential French network system in the early 1970s similar to the ARPANET. The double envelopment has been used ever since, such as when the German Army used a tactic at the battle of Tannenberg during World War I similar to that used by the Greeks at Marathon. The German Army (Deutsches Heer heɐ) is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Battle of Tannenberg was a decisive engagement between the Russian Empire and the German Empire in the first days of World War I, fought by the World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All

Date of the battle

Herodotus mentions for several events a date in the lunisolar calendar, of which each Greek city-state used a variant. A lunisolar calendar is a Calendar in many Cultures whose date indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar Year. Astronomical computation allows us to derive an absolute date in the proleptic Julian calendar which is much used by historians as the chronological frame. The proleptic Julian calendar is produced by extending the Julian calendar to dates preceding AD 4 when its quadrennial leap year stabilized August Böckh in 1855 concluded that the battle took place on 11 September 490 BC in the Julian calendar, and this is the conventionally accepted date. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Events By place Greece Darius I sends an expedition under Artaphernes and Datis the Mede across However, this depends on when the Spartans held their festival and it is possible that the Spartan calendar was one month ahead of that of Athens. In that case the battle took place on 11 August 490 BC. Events 2492 BC - Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation Events By place Greece Darius I sends an expedition under Artaphernes and Datis the Mede across If the battle really occurred in August, temperatures in the area typically reach over 30 degrees Celsius and thus make the marathon run event less plausible. The Celsius Temperature scale was previously known as the centigrade scale. See D. W. Olson et al. , "The Moon and the Marathon", Sky & Telescope Sep. 2004, pp. 34—41. 1

Legends associated with the battle

A victory that important against a superior enemy was bound to have consequences on religious life. Herodotus mentions that Pheidippides was visited by the god Pan on his way to Sparta for help. He asked why the Athenians did not honor him and Pheidippides promised that they would do so from then on. After the battle, a temple was built to him, and a sacrifice was annually offered. ^[61] The festival of "Agroteras Thusia", (Thusia means sacrifice) was held at Agrae near Athens, in honor of Artemis Agrotera, in fulfillment of a vow made by the city, before the battle, to offer in sacrifice a number of goats equal to that of the Persians slain in the conflict. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's In Greek mythology, Artemis language|Greek] ( Nominative), ( Genitive))] was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister For the Genus of Crambidae (grass moths called Agrotera see List of crambid genera A, or subfamily Spilomelinae. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia The number being so great, it was decided to offer 500 goats yearly until the number was filled. Xenophon notes that at his time, 90 years after the battle, goats were still offered yearly. Xenophon (Ancient Greek, Modern Greek "Ξενοφών" "Ξενοφώντας" ca ^[62]

Plutarch mentions that the Athenians saw Theseus, the mythical hero of Athens leading the army in full battle gear in the charge against the Persians^[63] and indeed he was depicted in the mural of the Poikele Stoa fighting for the Athenians along with the twelve gods and other heroes,^[64] Pausanias tells us that those who fought at Marathon:

Furthermore Pausanias mentions that at times ghosts were seen and heard to engage in battle in Marathon. ^[36] This phenomenon appears to have also been reported in the modern era: according to newspapers of the time in the year 1930, visitors to the region claimed to have heard a sound of metal clashes and screams coming from the battlefield. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This event is usually mentioned in books about paranormal events in Greece and is usually associated with the drosoulites phenomenon of Southern Crete, though the scientific explanation given for the latter (a mirage from North Africa) can not explain the former event. Paranormal is an Umbrella term used to describe unusual Phenomena or experiences that lack an obvious Scientific explanation The term refers to a long procession of visions seen by residents in the Fragokastello area in Crete, Greece Crete ( Greek: Κρήτη transliteration: Krētē, modern transliteration Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the A mirage is a naturally-occurring Optical phenomenon, in which light rays are bent to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan

Another tale from the conflict is of the dog of Marathon. Claudius Aelianus^[65] relates that one hoplite brought his dog to the Athenian encampment. Aelianus Tacticus, Greek military writer of the 2nd century CE resident at Rome is sometimes confused with Claudius Aelianus The dog followed his master to battle and attacked the Persians at his master's side. A dog is also depicted in the mural of the Poikile Stoa.

Marathon run

According to Herodotus, an Athenian runner named Pheidippides ran from Athens to Sparta to ask for assistance before the battle. Pheidippides (el Φειδιππίδης sometimes given as Phidippides or Philippides) hero of Ancient Greece, is the central figure in a story which The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη This event was later turned into the popular legend that Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens. The traditional story relates that Pheidippides, an Athenian herald, ran the distance between the battlefield by the town of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) with the word "Νενικήκαμεν!" (Nenikékamen, We are victorious!) and died on the spot. Marathon ( Demotic Greek: Μαραθώνας Marathónas; Attic / Katharevousa:, Marathṓn) is an ancient Greek city-state Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Events By place Greece Darius I sends an expedition under Artaphernes and Datis the Mede across Most accounts incorrectly attribute this story to the historian Herodotus, who wrote the history of the Persian Wars in his Histories (composed about 440 BC). Events By place Greece Samos, an autonomous member of the Delian League and one of Athens ' principal allies with a The story first appears in Plutarch's On the Glory of Athens in the 1st century AD, who quotes from Heracleides of Pontus' lost work, giving the runner's name as either Thersipus of Erchius or Eucles. Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c "Heraclides" redirects here The former Butterfly Genus of the same name is now included in Papilio. ^[66] Lucian of Samosata (2nd century AD) also gives the story but names the runner Philippides (not Pheidippides). Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανός ὁ Σαμοσατεύς Lucianus c ^[67] It should be noted that in some medieval codices of Herodotus the name of the runner between Athens and Sparta before the battle is given as Philippides and in a few modern editions this name is preferred. ^[68]

Another point of debate is the path taken by the runner. There are two exits from the battlefields. One is towards the south that follows modern-day Marathonos avenue leading through Pikermi over the pass of Stavros Agias Paraskevis and down modern day Messogeion avenue to Athens, which is 40. Pikermi (Greek Modern Πικέρμι Ancient/Katharevousa Πικέρμιον is a community of the Greek prefecture of Attica. 8 kilometers (25. 3 miles) long—following the ancient roads, the modern road has been lengthened somewhat to accommodate vehicular traffic to and from Mesogeia. The other is towards the north, over the modern village of Vranas, up the relatively high mountain pass towards modern day Dionyssos and the northern suburbs of Athens, which is 34. 5 kilometers (21. 4 miles) long. It is more likely that the runner followed the safer, shorter but more tiring northern route than the longer but unsafe southern route. For the first modern marathon during the 1896 Olympics, the southern route was chosen probably because it was the main modern route between Marathon and Athens. The marathon is a long-distance foot race with an official distance of 42 The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, were an International That event was won by the Greek Spyros Loues who, being a local, knew that he had to conserve energy to pass the Stavros Agias Paraskevis pass, unlike his foreign competitors who were unaware of the terrain and abandoned the race there. The race today is run over a distance of 42. 2 kilometers (26. 2 miles). This length was set during the 1908 Olympics because the British royal family wanted to see the runners starting from the balcony of Windsor Castle, and to have the end of the race in front of the Royal Box at the Olympic Stadium. The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom.

A popular legend about the battle and the run was recorded by Andreas Karkavitsas in the 19th century and also Linos Politis^[69]

References

Sources

Primary sources

• Herodotus (484 BC-425 BC?), Ιστορίης Απόδειξης (The histories), Book VI

• Thucydides (ca 460 BC-ca 400 BC, Ξυγγραφη (The Peloponnesian Wars)

• Isocrates (436 BC-338 BC), Επιταφειος τοις Κορινθειοις βοηθοις (Funeral Oration)

• Plato (428 BC/427 BC–ca. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash Events By place Persian Empire Xerxes I quells the Egyptian revolt against Persian rule Events By place Persian Empire Artaxerxes I, Achaemenid king of Persia, is succeeded by his son Xerxes II Thucydides ( C 460 BC &ndash C 395 BC) ( Greek Θουκυδίδης Thoukydídēs) was a Greek Events By place Persian Empire Egypt revolts against Persian rule Events By place Persian Empire Artaxerxes II King of Persia appoints Tissaphernes to take over all the districts in Isocrates ( Greek: Ἰσοκράτης 436–338 BC an Ancient Greek rhetorician, was one of the ten Attic orators. Events By place Greece Following Pericles ' visit to the Black Sea, a large Athenian Colony is founded at Events By place Persian Empire The Persian general and Vizier, the Eunuch Bagoas, falls out of favour with Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Events By place Greece The chief city of Lesbos, Mytilene, revolts against Athenian rule Events By place Greece Sparta 's King Archidamus II is succeeded by his son Agis II. 348 BC/347 BC), Μενέξενος (Menexenus)

-Νόμοι (Laws)

• Xenophon (c. Events By place Persian Empire After being besieged by the Persian forces of King Artaxerxes III, Sidon is taken and Events By Place Greece In the wake of the Macedonian victory at Olynthus, Athens seeks to make peace with Macedonia Xenophon (Ancient Greek, Modern Greek "Ξενοφών" "Ξενοφώντας" ca 427 BC–355 BC), Κυρου Ανάβασις (Anabasis)

• Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC), ΑΘηναιων Πολιτεια (The Athenian Constitution)

• Cornelius Nepos (ca. Events By place Greece Sparta 's King Archidamus II is succeeded by his son Agis II. Events By place Greece King Artaxerxes III of Persia forces Athens to conclude a peace which requires the city to Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Events By place Greece Lysias, the Athenian orator on the occasion of the Olympiad, rebukes the Greeks for allowing Events By place Macedonian Empire In Babylon, the struggle for the succession to Alexander the Great develops Cornelius Nepos (Κορνήλιος Νέπως in Ancient Greek literature (c 100 BC- 24 BC), De Viris Illustribus (Lifes of the eminent commanders)

• Plutarch (46-127 AD), Βίοι Παραλληλοι (Parallel Lives), Theseus, Aristeides, Themistocles

- Περί του Ηροδότου κακοηθείας (On the malice of Herodotus)

• Lucian (ca. Year 24 BC was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c Year 46 was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανός ὁ Σαμοσατεύς Lucianus c 120 - ca. 180 AD), Ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἐν τῇ προσαγορεύσει πταίσματος (A slip in the tongue of salutation)

• Pausanias (2nd century AD), Ελλαδος Περιήγησις (Description of Greece)

• Claudius Aelianus (c. Events By place Roman Empire The praetorian prefect Tarutenius Paternus achieved a decisive victory against the Quadi Pausanias ( Greek:) was a Greek traveller and Geographer of the 2nd century CE, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus The 2nd century is the period from 101 to 200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. Aelianus Tacticus, Greek military writer of the 2nd century CE resident at Rome is sometimes confused with Claudius Aelianus 175–c. Events By Place Roman Empire Marcus Aurelius suppresses a revolt of the legate Avidius Cassius in Syria 235 AD), Ποικιλη Ιστορια (Various history)

• Marcus Junianus Justinus (3rd century AD), Historiarum Philippicarum (Epitome of the Phillipic History of Pompeius Trogus)

• Photius c. Events By Place Roman Empire Pressure on Rome by Goths, Quadi, Sassanids Franks and Alemanni Justin (Latin Marcus Junianius (or Junianus) Justinus) was a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire. The 3rd century is the period from 201 to 300 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus, known as Pompeius Trogus, Pompey Trogue, or Trogue Pompey, was a 1st century BC Roman historian of the Celtic 820 - 893 AD, Μυριόβιβλον (Bibliotheca or Myriobiblon): Epitome of Περσικά (Persica) by Ctesias (4th century BC)

• Suda Dictionary (10th century AD)

Secondary sources

• Peter Green, The Greco-Persian Wars

• Dr. Events By Place Asia Tahir, the son of a slave is rewarded with the governorship of Khurasan for supporting the Caliphate This article refers to the year 893 The number 893 can also refer to Japanese traditional organized crime groups Yakuza. Ctesias of Cnidus ( Greek) was a Greek Physician and Historian from Cnidus in Caria. The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. The Suda or Souda ( also, Suidas) is a massive 10th century Byzantine Greek historical encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean Manousos Kampouris, Η Μάχη του Μαραθώνα, το λυκαυγές της κλασσικής Ελλάδος = The battle of Marathon, the dawn of classical Greece, Πόλεμος και ιστορία = War and History magazine, issue 26 January 2000, Communications editions, Athens

• Christian Meier, Athen. Ein Neubeginn der Weltgeschichte, Berlin 1993

• Busolt D. Griechichse Geschichte bis zur Schlacht bei Chaeroneia, vol I, Gotha 1893

• Glotz G. , Roussel P. , Cohen R. , Histoire Grecque vol. I-IV, Paris 1948

• Bengtson H. , Griechische Geschichte Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaft III, 4. München 1969

• Lex. Hist. Staetten s. v. Marathon 48

• Nikos Giannopoulos, Μαραθώνας 490 πΧ (Marathon 490 BC) in Στρατιωτική Ιστορία, Μεγάλες Μάχες, Μαραθώνας 490 π. Χ (Military history, Great Battles, Marathon 490 BC),Periskopio editions, Athens March 2006

• Garoufalis N. Demetrios Η Μάχη του Μαραθώνα, Η δόξα της οπλιτικής φάλαγγας = The battle of Marathon, the glory of the hoplitic phalanx, Στρατιωτική Ιστορία = Military History magazine, issue 13, September 1997, Perisopio editions, Athens

• Christodoulou Demetrios, Η στρατιωτική ιστορία της αρχαίας Ελλάδος, μία άλλη προσέγγιση (=The military history of ancient Greece, another point of view), Στρατιωτική Ιστορία (=Military history) magazine, issue 20 April 1998, Periscopio editions Athens

• I. Kakrides, Οι αρχαίοι Έλληνες στην νεοελληνική λαική παράδοση (=The ancient Greeks in modern Greek popular traditions), Athens 1989

• Martin, Thomas R. (2000). Ancient Greece from prehistoric to Hellinistic times. New Haven, New England: Yale University Press.

• UT, Knoxville (2007). Ancient Greece and Rome in battle modes. Love and romance

In fiction

• Alice Leader's 2004 children's novel Shield of Fire (ISBN 9780141315287) focuses on the Persian invasion and the Battle of Marathon as seen by a young Greek girl.
• The film The 300 Spartans refers to Marathon through spoken recollections by the character of Xerxes. The 300 Spartans is a 1962 film depicting the Battle of Thermopylae.
• The Macintosh game Marathon loosely references the Battle of Marathon throughout the game. The Marathon Trilogy is a Science fiction series of First-person shooter Computer games from Bungie Software, originally

External links

The Academic Publishing Wiki has a journal article about this subject:

The struggle for Greece: Marathon and Artemision

• Battle of Marathon animated battle map by Jonathan Webb
• Livius, Battle of Marathon by Jona Lendering
• Black and white photo-essay of Marathon