The Battle of Marathon

The Persian soldier recalled that day. The heavily armed Athenian hoplites, fully clad in bronze helmets, cuirasses, and greaves, with massive round shields in their left hands and long spears in their right, charged fiercely toward them. The Persian archers fired their arrows with all their might, but the terrifying bronze warriors seemed undeterred as they mercilessly slaughtered the Persian soldiers. The Persian forces, unable to withstand the onslaught, fled to their ships without looking back. That was their only chance for survival.

 

 

1. Storm, Earth, Water
King Darius of Persia ordered General Mardonius to lead an expedition against Greece. This was to punish Athens, which had meddled in the Ionian Revolt. In 492 BCE, the Persian army set sail for Greece but was struck by a violent storm off Mount Athos, losing half of its fleet. General Mardonius was also injured in Thrace. However, Darius did not give up and in 491 BCE sent envoys to the Greek city-states. Their mission was to collect earth and water as symbols of submission. The envoys collected earth and water from all the city-states except Athens, because the Athenians had executed them.

 

2. The Persian Invasion
Darius was enraged and reorganized his army for another invasion of Greece. The army sailed from Rhodes, passing through Samos and Naxos, and landed on the island of Euboea. They captured Eretria, which had assisted the Ionians during the revolt, within seven days. The Persian forces then moved towards the Attica Peninsula and landed at Marathon on September 1. In a state of panic, Athens sent an urgent plea for help to Sparta. However, the Spartans could only respond that they would send troops in 15 days. Time was critical, and Athens could not wait. Unable to wait for the Spartan reinforcements, Athens mobilized its army on September 3 and set up camp at Marathon. Soon, support from Athenian colonies and soldiers from Plataea gathered at Marathon.

 

3. The Size and Position of the Armies
From September 3 to 11, the Athenian alliance and the Persian Empire faced off at Marathon for nine days. The Athenian army consisted of approximately 10,000 hoplites. The Persian army numbered around 25,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry. Both armies were positioned by the sea. Despite having a larger force, the Persians placed their elite infantry in the center, with archers and shield-bearers on the flanks. In contrast, the Athenians thinned their center into four ranks and reinforced their wings.

 

4. The Battle
At the start of the battle, the Athenians slowly approached the Persians. When the distance between them had narrowed to about 200 meters, they charged forward in a rush. This tactic was meant to avoid the Persian archers' attacks. The Athenians were fighting well, but their relatively thin center began to be pushed back as time passed. Eventually, the Persian center broke through the Athenian lines. However, this was a trap. The Persian elite infantry had penetrated too deeply into the Athenian lines. Meanwhile, the Athenian left wing overwhelmed the Persian right wing, and the Athenian right wing did the same to the Persian left. As a result, the exposed sides of the Persian center were attacked by the Athenian wings. The Persian army began to disintegrate and retreat. The remaining Persian troops on the right wing fled to their ships, but the Athenians pursued them into the marshes and destroyed them. The survivors of the Persian center and right wing managed to escape by sea, but despite the Athenians’ relentless pursuit, they managed to flee.

 

5. The Athenian Maneuver
Though the Athenians had won, they could not fully enjoy their victory. They had missed the Persian fleet. Expecting that the Persian fleet would try to attack Athens, the Athenian army hastily marched 30 kilometers in full armor and arrived in Athens within three hours. Just as the Athenians arrived, the Persian fleet appeared. It was a close call. Seeing the Athenians in position, the Persian fleet abandoned its attack and retreated.

 

6. The Outcome of the Battle
The Persians suffered 6,400 casualties, while the Athenians lost only 192 men. It was a decisive victory for Athens. The Athenians' victory at Marathon ensured the independence of Greece. When the Persians launched their invasion, almost all Greek city-states surrendered. Only three city-states—Athens, Eretria, and Sparta—resisted. From the Persian perspective, if they could crush these three cities, the conquest of Greece would be complete. However, the defeat at Marathon changed everything. Furthermore, the victory at Marathon united the Greek city-states. As a result, when Persia launched its second invasion ten years later, all of Greece united in the Hellenic League to confront the Persian Empire. Meanwhile, Athens' democracy survived thanks to its victory at Marathon, and the status of its citizen hoplites rose.