Before Marathon:
- Darius, king of Persia, had sworn revenge on Athens for its part in the Ionian Revolt
- 492 BC - an expedition, under the commander Mardonius, establishes a Persian foothold in Europe
- 491 BC - Persian ambassadors demand Earth and Water from states in Greece as a sign of submission. The demands were rejected, particularly by Athens and Sparta
A Renewed Offensive:
Bolstered by the success of the previous expedition, in 490 BC Darius launched a renewed invasion of Greece. 30,000 Persians set off for a second invasion. Their aim: Athens and Eretria
Among the commanders were:
- Artaphernes - governor of Sardis
- Datis - a distinguished general and commander
- Hippias - a deposed tyrant of Athens who was living in exile in Persia
The Cyclades:
The Persian's first target were the islands of the Cyclades, islands in the centre of the Aegean that stand opposite Athens and mainland Greece
- The Cyclades were only a step away from Athens and Eretria
- The Persians could have a base with which to launch attacks into mainland Greece
- They could also punish Naxos, which had resisited a Persian assault in 499 BC
The Fate of Eretria:
"At the news of the Persian approach the people at once called to Athens for help...nevertheless... things in Eretria were not in a healthy state"
- The Persians fiercely besieged the city, and after six days of fighting stormed the walls
- Once inside, the Persians plundered the city, burning the temples and sanctuaries in revenge for the burning of Sardis
- Citizens who were captured were enslaved, as Darius had ordered
Athens appeals to Sparta:
Alarmed by the fall of Eretria and knowing that they would be the next target, the Athenians appealed to Sparta for aid in defending their city
A runner called Pheidippides ran 150 miles to Sparta and requested aid
The Persian landing at Marathon:
The Persians, with around 600 warships, beached in the bay at Marathon
- It was a large and natural harbour that could accommodate the large fleet
- It was mostly flat land that favoured the Persian's larger army
The Athenians, supported by a contingent of Plataeans, marched out to meet them
- They occupied the foothills to the south of the bay
- They were commanded by ten strategoi, each commanding 1,000 troops
Athenian Strategy and Leadership:
"Amongst the Athenian commanders opinion was divided"
There were ten Athenian strategoi (generals) at Marathon, elected by each of the ten tribes that the Athenians were divided into. Amongst these were:
- Miltiades - an ex Athenian tyrant who knew the Persians personally
- Callimachus - polemarch (chief strategist)
- Themistocles
- Aristides
Greek Disposition:
Strength: 10,000 Athenians and 1,000 Plataeans
Troops: The Hoplite, heavily armoured warriors who fought in a Phalanx formation. They were armed with a shield (hoplon) and a spear
The Phalanx:
- Greek hoplite warriors in battle formed into ranks called the Phalanx, which involved overlapping shields and spears to form a wall which offered maximum protection to the warriors
Persian Disposition:
Strength: 25-30,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry
Troops: far more lightly armoured skirmishers
They relied more on archers and cavalry rather than long melee encounters
Initial Stalemate:
Initially, neither side wished to open the hostilities, and so for approximately five days there was a stalemate
- Miltiades wanted to stage a far more direct assault, but this plan wasn't fully supported by the strategoi
- The stalemate also favoured the Greeks, as they were waiting for the Spartans to arrive
- Datis decided that he would move some of his troops around the Athenian forces and attack the now undefended Athenians
- It was now that Miltiades convinced Callimachus to attack, and so the battle commenced
Miltiades' Strategy:
- Miltiades recognised a key weakness in the Greek forces: whilst they were superior fighters, they lacked in numbers, meaning that the Persians could easily outflank them
- Therefore he changed the traditional Phalanx formation, stretching the line out from its usual eight man deep formation
- Instead, he placed the bulk of the troops on the wings, hoping that the stronger numbers on the flanks would help them envelop the enemy