The Battle of Marathon and Its Relation to the Modern Marathon

The Battle of Marathon and Its Relation to the Modern Marathon

The Battle of Marathon was dramatic turning point for the Greek city-states against the invading Persians. The Battle of Marathon also spawned a famous legend that's influence can be seen a variety of areas from the Modern Olympics to one of the most internationally recognized sneaker companies. The Battle of Marathon also illustrated the importance of strong military leadership and strategy, especially when facing overwhelming odds.

The vast majority of information about the battle comes from writing of Herodotus. Although, he does provide valuable insight into the actual battle one also has to consider his biases when analyzing specifics details. This is particularly true because Herodotus was born after the battle and certainly could have added embellishments to promote his own agendas. It does appear that his basic facts agree with other historical and physical evidence. The battle probably took place in September of 490 B.C., although, according to other secondary sources in could have been August. (Sowerby 83) The majority of the battle took place outside the village of marathon near the bay. According to Herodotus there were 10,000 Athenians and 1,000 Plateans led by Miltades fighting a much larger group of Persians. Later ancient sources place the numbers between 100,000 and 600,000, while other more modern estimates place the Persian numbers closer to 20,000 to 60,000. (Green 35 -37) Before the actual fighting began there was five days of peace where the two opposing forces faced off without any violence. This was certainly to the advantage of Athens. Herodotus suggests that they sent of a young foot soldier to ask for help from the neighboring Spartans. Herodotus identifies the soldier as Pheidippides. This journey would have been a little more than 140 miles and supposedly done in slightly over two days. (Green 111, 113) After looking at other sources that discuss the physical training of the Greek military most modern historians agree that this journey would have been plausible. However, historically one learns that Athens did not receive or need Sparta's help despite the overwhelming odds.

The military strategy employed by the Athenians is what won them the battle and turned the tide of the war. Under the Athenian military system there were many generals and it was often mired in bureaucracy and personal disagreements. (Sowerby 70) However, after realizing that were dramatically outnumbered they made the vital decision to place the full strategic control in the hands of Miltiades. He implemented a decisive and revolutionary formation. The Athenians were weak in the middle but led with a forward charge. However, Miltiades placed the majority of his strength on the wings, causing a trapezoid like formation. The Athenians were able to outflank the Persians on both sides. Allowing the weaker middle to recover. This forced the Persians to retreat into the Bay of Marathon, allowing the Athenians to not only defeat them on the individual battlefield, but also according to Herodotus to destroy seven ships. (http://www.liviua.org/he-hg/herodotus/logos6_19.html) This idea of flanking from each side and the recovering in the middle became known as double envelopment. It became an accepted military strategy being utilized in World War II by the Germans in a defeat over the allies at Tannenburg The casualties

according to Herodotus were 6,400 for the Persians, while the Athenians lost 192 and Plateans lost merely one man. This is situation where Herodotus may not be entirely accurate. It seems unlikely that Herodotus could have even know the exact and even more unlikely that the numbers were as uneven as they appear. Although historically its generally agreed that the battle took place and that Athens won, it seems likely they would have suffered much heavier losses. (Green 119)

The victory for the Greek city-states illustrated a major turning point in the Persian war. It was the first major land victory for the Greeks on their mainland. It also highlighted vulnerability in the Persian Empire that many of their colony like possessions took advantage of causing major strife within the empire. (Green 83) It also led to unrest with the Persian army itself, as many questioned how they could have suffered such an embarrassing defeat when they so vastly outnumbered the "unorganized Greeks". After the Battle of Marathon was certainly not the end of the war, nor did mark an error of infallibility in Greek fighting strategy. However, it was fundamental step in the Greek effort to unite for the good all of the city-states. The Athenian victory provided many other areas including Sparta with a renewed enthusiasm that victory was possible.

As previously discussed Herodotus included the story Pheidippides,