Marathon : The Rise of Athens

The Battle of Marathon was fought in 490 BC during first Persian invasion of Greece. Athens won a stunning victory against numerically superior Persians. That stopped the invasion and increased the prestige and influence of Athens because Sparta didn't fight in this battle. Usually Athens was a naval power but this battle showed the Greek world that Athens could win land battles too without any help from Sparta. This battle increased the rivalry between Athens and Sparta which started the war between these two powers in later stages (Peloponnesian War from 431 to 404 BC).

Battle of Marathon

Prelude : After the Athenian interference in Ionian revolt against Persian Empire, the Persian emperor Darius I wanted to teach Athens and the Greeks a lesson. Athenians not only supported the Ionian revolt, they also tried to influence the other Greek cities within the Persian Empire to revolt. Darius I now wanted to subjugate all Greece specially Athens. So, after crushing the Ionian revolt, he built an armada and sent it to acquire Greek lands for foothold which could be used as base of operation for further invasion. The armada reached Marathon and started landing the troops there. Marathon was not far from Athens so Athenians marched hastily towards Marathon with a small allied force provided by Greek city Plataea. They blocked the two paths of entrance. Terrain of Marathon was mostly marshy and hilly which favored the Athenian tactics of blocking.

Armies : The Athenian and Plateau forces were mostly consist of hoplites and fight in traditional Greek style phalanx formation. The estimated number was 10000 in total. On the other hand the Persians were consist of their archers and spearmen. Because of the marshy terrain Persians were unable to use their cavalry to flank the Athenians on side or rare. The Persians deployed nearly 25000 infantry for the battle as per modern estimate.

Persian Spearmen

The Battle : The battle started after Persians tried to push back the Athenians by breaking their formation which guarded the path by their shield wall. They deployed their infantry and archers to break it. On the other hand Athenians started deploying their own strategy to encircle the Persians from three sides. Their plan was to force the bulk of the Persian troops to fight in the middle. This way they could attack them from three sides and crush them. The Athenian plan worked. After being encircled from three sides panic broke out in Persian army and they routed. Athenians followed them with warcry and heavy fighting started on the beach. Athenians started burning the anchored Persian ships. Many ships were burnt and others fled in panic. The casualties on Persian side was far greater than the Athenians. According to modern estimation, Persians lost nearly 5000 soldiers and 7 ships while the Athenians lost nearly 1000 men. The Athenian casualties mainly occurred during the fight on the beach and on the ships.

The Map

Aftermath : This victory hampered Darius's plan to subjugate Greece. This defeat was a slap on Persian invincibility. He built another huge army for second invasion but a revolt started in Egypt so he had to cancel the plan. After his death his son Xerxes started the second invasion of Greece. On the Athenian side this victory proved their capability in land battles. It increased their prestige and influence on other city states throughout Greece and the coastal city states in Aegean Sea. The battle of marathon still remembered today by the Marathon Run event in Olympics. The messenger who delivered the news of victory from Athens to Marathon died after delivering it from exhaustion. We all know the name Marathon and this the history behind Marathon. 

Marathon Race