12
BEFORE 1000 CE
4
GRECO-PERSIAN DUEL
A Persian soldier (left)
and a Greek hoplite (right) are depicted ghting
to the death on this kylix (wine cup) dating
from the 5th century
BCE. The hoplite’s shield
bears the emblem of Pegasus, the divine
winged stallion of Greek mythology.
US_012-015_Marathon.indd 12 09/04/2018 12:08
13
MARATHON
◼
490 BCE
In 499 BCE, the Greek cities of Ionia, on Asia Minor’s
west coast, revolted against Persia. Only Athens and
Eretria in central Greece answered their appeal for
aid, and the Ionian revolt was put down after ve
years. But Darius I, king of Persia, did not forget the
aront by the Greeks, and in 490
BCE he dispatched
an enormous eet to exact revenge. Eretria fell after
a week-long siege, and then the Persian armada descended on Marathon, a
short march away from Athens. The Athenians had been forewarned so they
sent messengers—runners such as Pheidippides—hundreds of miles to the
other Greek cities, to plead for reinforcements. The Spartans agreed to help,
but observance of their festival of Carneia delayed them for 10 days.
Without immediate allies, the Athenian generals Callimachus and Miltiades
led 10,000 hoplites on the 26-mile (40-km) march from Athens, reaching
Marathon just in time to prevent the Persians making their attack. After
several days—during which the Persians reembarked their cavalry onto ships
for a direct attack on Athens, and the Athenian army was reinforced by a
contingent from the Greek city of Plataea—the two armies clashed. The
hoplite phalanx’s success in almost enveloping their opponents might have
been fruitless had not the battle-weary Athenians marched straight back
to their city and prevented a Persian landing. With the nal arrival of the
Spartans, the Persian commanders Datis and Artaphernes withdrew their
eet, granting Greece a 10-year respite before the next Persian invasion.
Marathon
490 BCE
◼
CENTRAL GREECE
◼
PERSIAN EMPIRE VS. ATHENS AND PLATAEA
GRECO–PERSIAN WARS
Around 700 BCE, the aristocratic
military culture of Greece’s Homeric
age was replaced by the disciplined tactics
of the phalanx—a compact formation up to
eight ranks deep composed of land-owning
citizens. Armed with long thrusting spears,
short swords, and thick bronze breastplates,
each soldier bore a large round shield, or
hoplon, which gave them their name. In
close formation, the shields protected the
unguarded side of the man to the left and
the spears projecting from the phalanx
made it almost impenetrable. In hoplite
warfare, most casualties occurred when
one side’s ranks broke and ed.
THE HOPLITE PHALANX
2This image from the 6th century BCE shows a
hoplite soldier on the battleeld.
US_012-015_Marathon.indd 13 09/04/2018 12:08
14
BEFORE 1000 CE
On arriving at Marathon, the Greeks camped beside a grove
of trees, blocking the Persians’ route to Athens. However, they
did not advance farther, afraid to face the more mobile Persians
on the open plain and hoping for the arrival of reinforcements
from Sparta. When part of the Persian eet, including most of
its cavalry, left for Athens, the Greek general Miltiades persuaded
a divided council of Greek generals to unite and attack.
Thinning the center of his line, the Greek commander
Callimachus reinforced his wings and closed rapidly, giving
the Persian archers little time to unleash their deadly volleys.
Although the Greek center buckled, this drew their opponents
forward, and when the Persian wings were in turn pushed back
by the force of the reinforced phalanx facing them, the hoplites
swung inward, threatening to envelope Darius’s troops. The
Persians broke and ed toward their ships; thousands died as the
pursuing hoplites cut them down while they oundered in the
marshes. The Greeks captured seven Persian ships, but the rest
made their escape. For the loss of just 192 hoplites, the Athenians
and Plataeans had won an important victory. However, Athens
still lay exposed to the escaping eet and the Persian cavalry
that was still heading toward the city. In the event, the city
was successfully defended.
3
MARATHON, 490
BCE
The Greeks felled trees to create obstacles to defend
their anks as they advanced from their camp. Unable to maneuver because of
these and the marshes, the Persians risked being pinned against the shore when
the Greek wings broke the Persian anks. The resulting retreat was chaotic,
and in it, according to some accounts, the Persian general Datis was killed.
4
KING DARIUS
Darius I of
Persia (r.522–486
BCE)
annexed Thrace in 512
BCE,
but his attempt to exact
revenge for the Ionian
revolt by conquering
Greece foundered at
Marathon. A revolt in
Egypt delayed a second
expedition, and his
death gave the
Greeks six years of
further respite.
In detail
MILTIADES
DATIS
Marathon
Trikorythus
Heracleum
Greek
camp
Persian
camp
Hoplites
Persian
eet
Bay of Marathon
¡
Weak Greek
center of hoplites
allow Persians to
be drawn in
€
Strong Greek
phalanxes on the
wings crush
the Persians on
each side
Greek forces
Persian forces
Trees felled by Greeks
N
0 km
2 40 miles
2 4
US_012-015_Marathon.indd 14 09/04/2018 12:08
15
MARATHON
◼
490 BCE
3
ON THE BATTLEFIELD
The Greek phalanx crashes
into the Persian line at Marathon in this frieze from
a sarcophagus found in Italy. After nearly a week in
which the two armies had stood o against each
other, the attack caught the Persians by surprise,
and by the time Datis had realized the trap Miltiades
had set, it was too late for him to react.
2
IMMORTALS
The Immortals were a unit of 10,000
men that formed the bodyguard of the Persian king.
They were tasked with protecting the king and breaking
down stubborn opposition on the battleeld. Other
elite formations, similarly equipped with long spears
and bows, made up the Persian center at Marathon,
while less experienced troops formed the anks.
US_012-015_Marathon.indd 15 09/04/2018 12:08
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.