The Persian Wars - The Battle of Marathon

Before the ancient Greeks invented democracy and most of the other things they are famous for today, they faced the biggest threat in the world at the time—the Persian Empire—and won.


The Persian Empire was the largest and most wealthy civilization in the world. The empire stretched from Pakistan in the east to Egypt and Asia Minor in the west. Greece’s territory and its armies were tiny in comparison to the mighty Persians.



Call it crazy. Call it bravery. Call it whatever you want. The Greeks took on the Persians despite all odds being against them. If the Greeks had lost the Persian Wars, all of their contributions to our society today might have never happened.

WHAT CAUSED THE PERSIAN WARS?

Basically, the Persian Wars were a result of the Persian Empire’s desire to show the Greeks who was boss. The Persian king, Darius, was angry at the Greeks presence in the western part of his empire in Asia Minor. Greek colonies dotted the western coast of Asia Minor. Officially, these colonies were under Persian rule.

The Greeks did not like bowing down to a king that was not Greek. The Greek colonies of Asia Minor rebelled against Persian control, and King Darius decided to teach them a lesson. In fact, Darius decided he would invade and conquer all of Greece to end the threat once and for all. Darius summoned his army and navy and invaded GreeceThe first battle between the Greeks and the Persians is called The Battle of Marathon.

THE GREEKS DEFEAT THE PERSIANS AT THE BATTLE OF MARATHON

In 492 BCE, the first attempt by Darius and the Persians to conquer Greece was stopped by a storm in the Aegean Sea. The Greeks believed the storm was sent by the gods atop Mount Olympus to stop the invading forces. King Darius ordered some of his men to whip the sea with chains as punishment for the storm.

But no storm came in 490 BCE on the Persian’s second attempt. The Persians landed a force of 48,000 warriors at the beach at Marathon, about 26 miles northeast of Athens. The Athenians were only able to muster a force of only 12,000 to defend.



And where were the Spartans? They were celebrating a religious festival when the invasion occurred. They believed they would anger the gods if they left to fight the Persians.  In later battles with the Persians, the Spartans more than made up for their absence at Marathon.

For 8 days, the Greek army sat atop the hills overlooking Marathon watching the huge Persian army below preparing to attack. The Persian plan was to get back on board their ships and sail around the coast to attack Athens directly. Just as the Persians began load up their ships, the Greek general Milatides ordered his army to attack.



The Greeks formed in phalanxes and charged down the hill toward the Persians. Outnumbered 4 to 1, it would seem as if the Greek attack was suicide, but the Greeks actually had big advantages over the Persians.


COMPARISON OF GREEK and PERSIAN ARMIES AT MARATHON



GREEKS



ADVANTAGE


PERSIANS


FORCE OF 12,000 MEN


PERSIANS


FORCE OF 48,000 MEN


WERE CHARGING
DOWNHILL (HAD GRAVITY ON THEIR SIDE)


GREEKS


WERE FIGHTING
UPHILL AND HAD THE SEA AT THEIR BACK (NOWHERE TO RETREAT)


WERE DEFENDING
THEIR HOMELAND


GREEKS


WERE FAR AWAY FROM
HOME AND WEARY FROM TRAVEL


ARMED WITH LONG,
STRONG SPEARS


GREEKS


ARMED WITH SHORT
SPEARS AND BOWS


HAD HEAVY SHIELDS
AND ARMOR


GREEKS


WORE LIGHT LEATHER
ARMOR AND WICKER SHIELDS

(GOOD FOR STOPPING
ARROWS, NOT SO GOOD AGAINST SPEARS)


FOUGHT IN A PHALANX
FORMATION


GREEKS


HAD NEVER SEEN A
PHALANX BEFORE




Using his troop’s advantages over the Persians, Milatides was able to surround the Persian army and inflict heavy casualties. At the Battle of Marathon, the Persians lost 6,400 men. The Greeks lost 192.

The Battle of Marathon was a huge victory for Greece. Had they lost, Greece would likely have become part of the Persian Empire, and many of the cultural and scientific advances would not have happened. After the victory, (at least in legend) a soldier ran the 26 miles to Athens to report the good news. Upon arriving in Athens, the runner collapsed and died.