Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/thermopylae/. Cartwright, Mark. 10 generals at the head of 10,000 soldiers set out for Marathon, tight-lipped and fearful, but ready to fight to the last man if necessary. That hope for leniency was met with severe and brutal disappointment as the Persians sacked the city, burned the temples, and enslaved the population. The pass of Thermopylae, located 150 km north of Athens was an excellent choice for defence with steep mountains running down into the sea leaving only a narrow marshy area along the coast. On the sixth day, however, the Athenians inexplicably abandoned their plan of maintaining a defensive stance and attacked the Persians, a decision that seems foolhardy considering the enemy they faced. But the Greeks had managed to overcome insurmountable odds and succeed in protecting Athens, the jewel of Greece, from total annihilation. The left and right wings of the Greek army consisted of the normal eight-man columns. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Create your account. In addition to the land forces, the Greek poleis sent a fleet of trireme warships which held position off the coast of Artemision (or Artemisium) on the northern coast of Euboea, 40 nautical miles from Thermopylae. The Greeks had no cavalry whatsoever and feared the Persian horses most of all. The Persians could guess what the Greeks were up to they would have done the same had they been on the defensive and so they hesitated to launch a decisive frontal attack. During the battle, the right and left wings of the Greek army crushed those of the Persians. They were accepted as a vassal kingdom of Persia, and in doing so, opened a route for Persian influence and rule into Greece. Having trained dedicatedly for most of his life, he was able to travel long distances over difficult terrain, and at that moment, he was invaluable. The battle began with an initial stalemate that lasted for five days, after which the Greeks attacked. Something they would have to do only a few years later, with the arrival of the seemingly unstoppable invasion by Xerxes I. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. World History Encyclopedia, 16 Apr 2013. Even the Romans, famous for their legions, used a Greek-style hoplite army until 315 BCE. Conceived as a purely maritime enterprise, Darius assigned command of the expedition to the Median admiral Datis and the son of the satrap of Sardis, Artaphernes. Aside from ushering in an era of hoplite warfare, it also ensured that Greek ideas would be able to flourish and spread. What was the most important impact of the Battle of Marathon? The victory at Marathon may not have been a crushing defeat of Persia as a whole, but it still stands as a major turning point. Olson says that this means the Battle of Marathon actually happened on 12 August 490 BC. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Anticipating this, Militiades quickly returned the bulk of the army to the city. 30 Apr 2023. Therefore, the Spartans, widely credited as being the best fighters in Greece and the only polis with a professional army, contributed only a small advance force of 300 hoplites (from an estimated 8,000 available) to the Greek defensive force, these few being chosen from men with male heirs. This is Sparta: Fierce warriors of the ancient world - Craig Zimmer. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. With the re-institution of a modern Olympics in 1896, the organizers of the games hoped for an event that would capture the publics attention and also reflect upon the gilded age of ancient Greece. WebYoure Temporarily Blocked. Shortly afterward, the Persian center also crumbled and fled. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. The answer lies in part with the failure of the first Greco-Persian war, a decade earlier, which ended in the Persian defeat at the Battle of Marathon (now famous for the race that bears its name). Though, this seems unlikely, given the distance between them. Following Greek support for an uprising in Ionia (a coastal area in modern-day western Turkey), Darius I, emperor of the Persian Empire dispatched forces west to inflict retribution on those Greek city-states that had aided the rebels. After a series of political negotiations it became clear that the Persians would not gain victory through diplomacy and the two armies met at Plataea in August 479 BCE. The Persian Empire landed a force of about 25,000 or 30,000 soldiers at the Bay of Marathon, where they were decisively defeated by a Greek force of about 11,000 hoplite soldiers. The Greeks, fielding the largest hoplite army ever seen, won the battle and finally ended Xerxes' ambitions in Greece. For decades the mere mention of the Persian army was enough to terrify the Greek city-states they were an unknown entity, supported by incredibly strong cavalry and vast numbers of soldiers, and seemingly impossible for the small, contentious peninsula to confront. Related Content Kennedy Hickman is a historian, museum director, and curator who specializes in military and naval history. World History Encyclopedia. Xerxes returned home to his palace at Sousa and left the gifted general Mardonius in charge of the invasion. When word was brought to Darius, his first response was to inquire as to who the Athenians were. Political Aspects of the Classical Age of Greece, Wars of the Alexander the Great: Battle of Chaeronea, Persian Wars - Battle of Marathon - 490 BCE, Biography of Artemisia I, Warrior Queen of Halicarnassus, Rulers of the Persian Empire: Expansionism of Cyrus and Darius, The Battle of Gaugamela During the Wars of Alexander the Great, The Peloponnesian War: Causes of the Conflict, M.S., Information and Library Science, Drexel University, B.A., History and Political Science, Pennsylvania State University. The rest of the Persian fleet still with a staggering 600 ships or more managed to escape, but 6,400 Persians lay dead on the battlefield, and more had drowned in the swamps. Ten years later the Persians returned and won a victory at Thermopylae before being defeated by the Greeks at Salamis. Battle of Salamis History & Strategy | Who Won the Battle of Salamis? The Battle of Marathon was a historic battle that saw the great and mighty army of Persia face off against the Greek city-state of Athens. Submitted by Mark Cartwright, published on 16 April 2013. World History Publishing is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. This suited the Persians as they could now continue unimpeded along the mountain path and arrive behind the main Greek force. Who was the winner of the Battle of Marathon? Due to the tactical superiority of the Greek hoplite soldiers, who fought in the phalanx formation, the Athenians triumphed over the Persians. Thermopylae is a mountain pass near the sea in northern Greece which was the site of several battles in antiquity, the most famous being that between Persians and Greeks in August 480 BCE. Figure 2: A possible position of the Greek and Persian armies in an initial stand-off at Marathon. Refusing to relent, the Athenians splashed into the sea after them, burning a few ships and managing to capture seven, bringing them to shore. In their mutual refusal to bow down, the traditional rivals for power in the Grecian Peninsula had tied themselves together as both allies and leaders in the defense against Persia. The Battle of Marathon Free men, in respect of their own laws, had sacrificed themselves in order to defend their way of life against foreign aggression. They joined with the Spartans and King Leonidas during the legendary suicidal stand in the pass of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans stood against tens of thousands of Persian soldiers. A soldier by the name of Pheidippides burst through still clad in full armor, splattered with blood and dripping with sweat. The Spartans declined to send aid at that time, due to a religious ceremony, but promised to come after the next full moon. There was also the matter of the Persian cavalry, numbering around 1,000. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Last mile update 11:39 a.m. To link to this article in the text of an online publication, please use this URL: https://historycooperative.org/the-battle-of-marathon/. The battle would take on mythical status amongst the Greeks, but in reality it was merely the opening overture of a long war with several other battles making up the principal acts. Seeing that the opportunity to strike the previously lightly-defended city had passed, the Persians withdrew back to Asia. This legendary run is the basis for the modern track and field event. This was, perhaps, to stretch his lines longer in order to avoid being outflanked by the more numerous Persians. Persian Wars: Battle of Marathon. Leonidas had stationed the contingent of Phokian troops to guard this vital point but they, thinking themselves the primary target of this new development, withdrew to a higher defensive position when the Immortals attacked. The Battle of Marathon occurred in 490 BCE, when the Persian Empire was at its height. They were joined by 1,000 Plataeans and assistance was requested from Sparta. This allowed Greek ideas to further develop and spread, greatly influencing the Western world even today. Left to fend for themselves, the Athenian and Plataeans continued to prepare for battle. According to Herodotus, an Athenian runner named Pheidippides was sent to run from Athens to Sparta to ask for assistance before the battle. The Athenian and Plataean dead of Marathon were buried on the battlefield in two tumuli. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Herodotus writes that the Greeks ran the full distance to the Persian army. 15 Significant Facts about the Battle of Marathon On a sweltering summer day, the nine elected magisterial archons of Athens waited breathlessly for news, surrounded by a restless crowd of citizens. WebWhy couldnt the Spartans help the Athenians in the Battle of Marathon right away? The Battle of Marathon was fought in August or September 490 BC during the Persian Wars (498 BC448 BC) between Greece and the Persian Empire. Battle of Marathon - Definition, Facts & Who Won - History Before the Athenian army departed, the elected city magistrates, or archons, had dispatched Pheidippides an athletic message carrier whose profession, called a hemerodromos (meaning day-long-runner), bordered a sacred calling on a desperate plea for assistance. 1. The Byzantine Suda, Cavalry Away, https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-html/. Battle of Marathon - Wikipedia Battle of Marathon. Thermopylae 480 BC: Last stand of the 300, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. In what year did the Battle of The Battle of Marathon - National Geographic Here are 10 facts about it. Athens had been spared the revenge of Darius, though the Persian king was far from finished. Battle of Marathon Flashcards | Quizlet The Origin of Hotdogs, The History of Boracay Island in The Philippines. Most modern historians believe the Greeks marched at normal speed until they arrived within range of the Persian archers (approximately 200 meters) and then ran the remaining distance in order to close the gap more quickly. Unification of Northern China by Shi Huangdi | Who was Qin Shi Huang? The truth, however, is that Few dared to refuse, but the Athenians promptly threw those messengers into a pit to die, as did the Spartans, who added a curt, Go dig it out yourselves, in response. 429 lessons. A fully accurate recounting of the events at Marathon can never truly be known. After the battle, Xerxes ordered that Leonidas' head be put on a stake and displayed at the battlefield. The Greeks were spurred on by desperate courage, and they were determined to clash with the Persian army to defend their freedom. Pursuing the enemy, the Greeks were slowed by their heavy armor, but still managed to capture seven Persian ships. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. With all prepared, the trumpets sounded and Miltiades ordered, At them!. Greek hoplite armies fought in heavier armor and shields than the Persians. Forming his men, Militiades reinforced his wings by weakening his center. Indeed, Spartan indifference is epitomised by Dieneces, who, when told that the Persian arrows would be so dense as to darken the sun, replied that in that case the Spartans would have the pleasure of fighting in the shade. Mound (soros) in which the Athenian dead were buried after the Battle of Marathon. Robert Bliss has taught history and other social studies to students age 7 to 18 since 2009. The Athenians realized they had only two options to defend their families to the end, or to be killed, very likely tortured, enslaved, or mutilated (as the Persian army had a fun habit of cutting off the ears, noses, and hands of their defeated enemies).

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