In the history of many countries of the world, there are iconic battles that become a kind of symbol for future generations. For Russia, this is Borodino and Stalingrad, for France - the lifting of the siege of Orleans, for the Serbs - the battle on the Kosovo field. The Battle of Marathon played a similar role for the Hellenes. A brief summary, causes and consequences of this battle, we will consider below. The victory in this battle not only allowed the ancient Greeks to defend their independence, but also created conditions conducive to their further rallying into a single force in the face of an external threat.
Background to the conflict
In the VI century BC, the largest power of that time, the Persian Empire, was formed on the territory of the Near and Middle East. In a number of wars in a relatively short period of time, she won and conquered such great states as Media, Babylon, Lydia and Egypt. The Persians also captured numerous Greek city-states located on the territory of Asia Minor, which is in modern Turkey.
In 499 B. C. e. these policies rebelled against Persian rule. Athens provided significant support, which by that time, thanks to a number of outstandingstatesmen who carried out democratic reforms began to play the most important political and economic role of all Greek city-states.
But the uprising was still crushed by the Persian army. And for the Persians themselves, the intervention of Athens in the affairs of the empire was a good reason for organizing expansion into the Balkan Peninsula, the capture of which they had long dreamed of.
Start of war
In 492, by order of the Persian king Darius I, Thrace, a country located at the very borders of Greece, was conquered. Then the ruler of the empire sent an ultimatum to all the city-states of Hellas, demanding recognition of his supremacy. Almost all the policies of Greece, fearing the might of the Persians, humbly complied with this requirement, with the exception of freedom-loving Athens and Sparta.
Deciding to punish the Athenians for obstinacy, Darius I sent in 490 BC. e. for their conquest expedition, led by the son of his sister Artaphernes. The Persians easily captured the island of Nakosos and landed on Euboea - the island where the city of Eretria, allied to Athens, was located. During a difficult siege, the troops of Darius managed to capture this policy, taking advantage of the betrayal of some of the local residents. The city was savagely sacked and its inhabitants enslaved.
After that, the Persian forces sailed towards Attica - the Greek region where Athens was located. There they landed near the small town of Marathon. It was here that the Battle of Marathon, significant for the Hellenes, took place. Date September 12, 490 BC. e. became really iconic for them.
Beforebattle
As soon as the Athenians learned about the landing of Darius' forces near their city, they immediately sent an army to meet them. This was a very unexpected decision for the Persians, because they thought that the relatively small army of Athens would prefer to hold a siege within the walls of the city, and not meet with an enemy outnumbering them in an open field.
However, the Greeks themselves did not immediately make this decision, even though the Athenians came to the aid of the inhabitants of Plataea. But the commander Miltiades managed to convince the supreme commander Callimachus of the need for this step. His heartfelt speech convinced other strategists not to wait for the Spartan army, which was soon to come to the rescue, but to start the battle as soon as possible, which went down in history as the Battle of Marathon. The plan was precisely in surprise. At a general council, command in the upcoming battle was entrusted to Miltiades.
Opponent Forces
According to historians, the Greek army consisted of 9,000–10,000 Athenians and 1,000 Plataeans. The main force of the Hellenic army was the hoplites, organized into a phalanx. It was extremely difficult to break such a system, consisting of disciplined and experienced warriors. On the right flank of the Greek army there were hoplites led by Callimachus, in the center - warriors from the Athenian phyla Antiochis and Leontida, under the leadership, respectively, of Aristides and Themistocles, the future hero of the Salamis sea battle, and on the left flank there were a thousand Plataeans.
The Persian army was much more numerous. According to experts, it numbered 25,000 foot soldiers and a thousand horsemen. Although, ancient historians, in order to embellish the victory of the Hellenes, cite figures of 200 and even 600 thousand people. But the qualitative composition of the Persian army was much worse than the Athenian one, since, unlike the monolithic Greek phalanx, it consisted of rather scattered units and various tribes. Not all of them were properly equipped. In addition, the Hellenes were much more motivated, because they fought for their own freedom and land, unlike the Persian warriors, who went to war only for the interests of the king.
Fight
The battle of Marathon began with the rapid advance of the Greeks. Separating them from the Persians for a kilometer and a half, they literally ran, although this seems incredible, because the Athenian hoplites were heavily armed warriors.
First, the most powerful central part of the Persian army pushed back the detachments of the phyla Antiochida and Leontida, and began their pursuit. But the Hellenic army had fairly strong flanks, while those of the Persians consisted of poorly organized and poorly armed tribes. For this reason, in these areas, the Athenians and Plataeans triumphed over the enemy. But, unlike the Persians, they did not pursue the fleeing enemy, but turned their weapons against the center of Darius's army. Thus, in this area, the Greeks managed to achieve a decisive preponderance of forces. This maneuver sent everyone into a panic. Persian army, and they began to run to their ships.
This time the Greeks did not stop the pursuit and rushed in pursuit of the completely lost enemy formation. As a result, in addition to many killed, 7 Persian ships were captured, and the Hellenes completed the Battle of Marathon with complete victory. A diagram of this momentous battle is below.
Battle results
The Athenians, together with the inhabitants of Plata, certainly won the Battle of Marathon. The plan of Miltiades fully justified itself. There are no different points of view among serious historians about this. But in terms of the number of dead, the estimates of experts differ significantly.
But no one can justifiably dispute the figures given by Herodotus, almost a contemporary of those events, due to the lack of an appropriate material and documentary base. He also speaks of 192 killed Hellenes and 6400 Persians. Moreover, among the dead Greeks were such famous personalities as Callimachus and Kinegir.
Running at the cost of life
As soon as the battle of Marathon ended, the Greeks sent a messenger Eucles to Athens with the joyful news of the triumph. He was so eager to please his fellow citizens that he ran 40 kilometers separating the Marathon from his hometown, literally in one breath. Running into the town square, he informed the inhabitants of the policy about the victory and immediately died of a broken heart.
True, the historical accuracy of this legend is very doubtful, but one of the mostpopular track and field disciplines, namely running 42, 195 km, are called marathon.
Meaning of the Battle of Marathon
The Battle of Marathon by no means put an end to the Persians' aspirations to gain a foothold in the Balkans, in particular to conquer Greece. It only postponed this plan for 10 years, when an even more numerous army of Xerxes, the son of Darius, invaded Hellas. But it was the memory of this victory that then inspired the Hellenes to seemingly hopeless resistance. The battle of Marathon showed that even small forces can defeat a large, but poorly organized army of conquerors.
Memory of the Battle of Marathon
The memory of this victory has not lost its relevance for thousands of years. Such a significant place in the hearts of the Greeks was occupied by the Battle of Marathon. His date has always been sacred to the Hellenes. But this battle was significant not only for one people, it was important for the whole world history. This can be evidenced at least by the fact that in any school textbook on ancient history the Battle of Marathon is covered. Grade 5 in Russian schools necessarily studies this topic in the course of history. Every educated person should know about this event.
Now only the obelisk says that the Battle of Marathon once took place on the spot where the hill now rises. A photo of this commemorative sign can be seen below.
The memory of the Battle of Marathon lives in the heart of every person who is ready to give his life for the freedom and independence of the Motherland.
