What does the marathon battle refer to? Marathon Battle

When it comes to the Battle of Marathon, many people think of the legend of a messenger who, bringing the good news of the Greek victory over the Persians to Athens, ran 42.195 km and, having told his fellow citizens this news, fell dead. In this regard, a sports discipline arose in ancient times - a 42 km race, the so-called marathon, which has survived to this day thanks to the Olympic Games. However, the Battle of Marathon itself is famous for the fact that in this battle the Athenian army managed to defeat the Persian army, which was superior in number to them, while the Greek losses amounted to 192 people against 6,400 killed by the enemy.

Sources

Outcome of the battle

The Persians hoped that their archers would shower the enemy with a hail of arrows, and the cavalry would be able to outflank the Greeks and cause confusion in their ranks. But Miltiades foresaw the possibility of the Persians using this tactic and took retaliatory measures. But the “running march” technique used by the Athenian army came as a surprise to the conquerors. Having approached the Persians at a distance covered by archers, the Greeks began to run, thereby minimizing the damage from enemy arrows. The heavily armed forces were very effective in resisting both the archers and cavalry of the Persians. The result of the battle was a disorderly retreat of the conquerors, while a significant part of the Persian army died on the battlefield.

In fact, for Persia this lost battle did not have any fatal consequences, because the Achaemenid Power was at the peak of its power and possessed enormous resources. The year of the Battle of Marathon marked the beginning of a long period of Greek struggle for their freedom.

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At the Battle of Marathon, the Persian army suffered a crushing defeat. Under the leadership of Miltiades, the allied army of the Athenians and Plataeans destroyed most of the enemy army. For the Hellenes, the battle was the first victory over the army of the Achaemenid Empire.

For the Persians, the defeat of their army did not have great consequences: their state was at the peak of power and possessed enormous resources.

After this unsuccessful expedition, Darius began to gather a huge army to conquer all of Greece. His plans were thwarted by an uprising in Egypt in 486 BC. e. After the death of Darius, Xerxes took his throne. Having suppressed the Egyptian uprising, Xerxes continued preparations for the campaign against Greece.

Sources

The main source that has survived to this day describing the Battle of Marathon is Book VI of Herodotus’s “History”. The approach of the “father of history” to writing his work is “my duty is to convey everything that is told, but, of course, I am not obliged to believe everything. And I will follow this rule in all my historical work” - causes some criticism.

The reliability of the information in his “History” varies. Some stories can be classified as short stories and legends. At the same time, special studies confirm the data of Herodotus. When writing his historical works, he used the works of logographers, records of oracles, official monuments (lists of magistrates, priests and priestesses, etc.), eyewitness accounts and oral traditions. Also, Herodotus was no stranger to political tendentiousness. Living in Athens, he highly appreciates their contribution to the final victory over the Persians. He writes about Sparta with restraint, without denying its merits in the war. He has a particularly negative attitude towards Thebes, who betrayed the pan-Hellenic cause.

Ctesias to a certain extent complements and at the same time contrasts himself with Herodotus. As a hereditary physician, he was captured by the Persians and eventually became a courtier of King Artaxerxes II. As the attending physician of the Persian ruler, Ctesias allegedly gained access to archival materials. Upon returning to his homeland, he wrote “Persian History” (ancient Greek. Περσικά ).

Ctesias is criticized by both ancient and modern researchers. The unreliability and fabulousness of the data he cited were noted by Aristotle, Theopompus, Strabo, Lucian and Plutarch. Modern historians question the very fact that Ctesias used official Persian chronicles. Polemics with his predecessor historians, he copied a lot from them, changing only the details. Ctesias accuses Herodotus of lying and making up things. At the same time, modern historians note the presence of fictional characters in his “Persian History”. Ctesias also makes gross mistakes in dating the events that took place and estimating the number of troops.

The events of the Greco-Persian wars were also paid attention to by the ancient historian-biographers Plutarch and Cornelius Nepos, who lived much later. Information about the Battle of Marathon is given in the biographies of Aristides by Plutarch and Miltiades by Cornelius Nepos.

Pausanias, who lived seven centuries later, describes 4 burial mounds with steles preserved at the site of the battle - one for the Athenians, another for the Plataeans, the third for the slaves who participated in the battle. Also, according to the ancient Greek geographer, Miltiades was subsequently buried in the Marathon Valley. Thucydides mentions burials on the battlefield in his History. Archaeological excavations confirm information from ancient sources. During excavations by the famous amateur archaeologist G. Schliemann and V. Stais, the burials described by Pausanias and Thucydides were discovered.

Background

Situation in Athens

After the death of the tyrant Pisistratus in 527 BC. e. power passed to his sons Hipparchus and Hippias. After the assassination of Hipparchus in 514 BC. e. the surviving Hippias surrounded himself with mercenaries, with the help of whom he hoped to maintain power. In 510 BC. e. The Spartan king Cleomenes launched a military campaign against Athens, as a result of which the tyrant was overthrown. A representative of the Alcmaeonid family, Cleisthenes, returned to Athens. He was entrusted with the preparation of new laws. The innovations he implemented made Athens a democracy (ancient Greek. δημοκρατία ). They were also introduced to ostracism - expulsion from the city by voting of prominent citizens who threatened democracy. Cleisthenes' innovations were not liked by the representatives of the Athenian aristocracy - the eupatrides. Having managed to elect their representative Isagoras as archon, they expelled Cleisthenes and canceled his reforms. Isagoras and his supporters were supported by the Spartans. Demos opposed this change, rebelled and managed to expel both Isagoras and the Spartans from Athens.

After their expulsion, the power of the city began to increase. However, residents feared revenge from the Spartans. The fear of their army was so great that Cleisthenes sent in 508/507 BC. e. embassy to Sardis to the Persian satrap and brother of the king Artaphernes. The purpose of the envoys was to secure a defensive alliance against the Spartans. The Persians demanded "land and water" from the Athenians. The ambassadors agreed. This symbolic act meant a formal recognition of one's subordination. Although the ambassadors were subjected to “severe condemnation” upon returning home, the Persians began to consider the Athenians as their subjects, like the Ionian Greeks. They considered further disobedience as rebellion. One of the main goals of the subsequent military campaigns of the Achaemenid Empire in Greece (the campaign of Mardonius in 492 BC, the expedition of Datis and Artaphernes in 490 BC, as well as the invasion of the army of Xerxes) was the conquest of Athens.

Beginning of the Greco-Persian Wars

In 499 BC. e. Greek city-states in the territory of Asia Minor, under the rule of the Persian king, rebelled. Representatives of the rebels went to their kindred Greeks on the western coast of the Aegean Sea. The Spartans did not want to enter into a military conflict with the Persians, while the Athenians decided to send 20 ships to help. The rebels, together with the Athenians, managed to capture and burn an important city of the empire and the capital of the satrapy of Sardis. Darius wanted to take revenge on the Greeks who took part in the uprising and were not subject to his power.

Darius also saw an opportunity to conquer the scattered ancient Greek cities. In 492 BC. e. During the military expedition of the Persian commander Mardonius, Thrace was conquered, Macedonia recognized the supreme power of the Persian king. Thus, the Persians provided their ground forces with passage to the territory of Ancient Greece.

In 491 BC. e. Darius sent envoys to all independent Greek cities demanding "land and water", which corresponded to submission and recognition of the Persian authority. Realizing the strength and military might of the Achaemenid state, all the cities of ancient Hellas, except Sparta and Athens, accepted humiliating demands. In Athens, the ambassadors were tried and executed. In Sparta they were thrown into a well, offering to take earth and water from there.

Expedition of Datis and Artaphernes

Darius removed Mardonius from command and appointed his nephew Artaphernes in his place, giving him the experienced Mede commander Datis. The main objectives of the military expedition were the conquest or subjugation of Athens and Eretria on the island of Euboea, which also assisted the rebels, as well as the Cyclades islands and Naxos. According to Herodotus, Darius ordered Datis and Artaphernes to “bring into slavery the inhabitants of Athens and Eretria and bring them before his royal eyes.” The former tyrant of Athens, Hippias, was also with the expedition.

During the expedition, the Persian army conquered Naxos and in the middle of summer 490 BC. e. landed on the island of Euboea. When this happened, the inhabitants of Eretria decided not to leave the city and try to withstand the siege. The Persian army did not limit itself to a siege, but tried to take the city by storm. Herodotus wrote that the fighting was fierce, and both sides suffered heavy losses. However, after six days of fighting, two noble Eretrians, Euphorbus and Philagrus, opened the gates to the enemy. The Persians entered the city, plundered it, and burned temples and sanctuaries in retaliation for the burning of Sardis. Captured citizens were enslaved.

Before the battle

After conquering Eretria, the Persians sailed towards Attica. On the advice of the former Athenian tyrant Hippias, who was part of their army, they landed on a plain near the city of Marathon. For the conquerors it had a number of advantages. Firstly, the plain was closest to Eretria. The harbor was convenient and safe. In the valley the Persians could find rich and untouched pastures on which to graze their horses. Also, Datis and Artaphernes did not even think about fighting in the open field, but assumed that the Athenians would limit themselves to defending the walls of their city. According to Hippias, it was possible to leave the valley along convenient roads directly to Athens.

Having learned about this, the Athenians also sent their army to Marathon. According to ancient tradition, the army was led by ten strategists. Militia from Plataea also arrived to help. The opinions of strategists regarding further actions differed radically. Some spoke out against the battle due to the small number of troops, while others, on the contrary, advised joining the battle. Then the strategist Miltiades turned to the polemarch Callimachus, on whose decision the final decision depended, with the words:

It is in your hands, Callimachus, to make the Athenians slaves or to free them. After all, since Athens has existed, they have never faced such a terrible danger as now. We - ten strategists - disagreed: some advised giving battle, while others did not. If we do not now decide to fight, then I fear that great discord will arise and so shake the souls of the Athenians that they will submit to the Medes. If we fight the enemy before anyone has a vile plan, then we will prevail, since there is divine justice. All this is now in your power and depends on you. Join my council, and your hometown will be free and become the most powerful city in Hellas. And if you take the side of the opponents of the battle, then, of course, we are lost.

With his words, Miltiades convinced Callimachus of the need for immediate battle. After making a fundamental decision to give battle rather than stick to defensive tactics, all the strategists, following Aristides, ceded their command to Miltiades.

An army of Athenians and Plataeans arrived at the place where the Persians had landed. The plain represented a vast territory that stretched from south to northeast along the sea and was divided into two halves by a waterfall falling from the Pentel ridge. Its southern part was limited by Mount Pentelikon, which reached directly to the sea coast. The northern half of the plain, distant from Athens, was also surrounded by mountain ranges. In this case, the width of the flat space was apparent. In the northeast there were vast swampy areas, the green surface of which deceived the eye.

Miltiades ordered to set up a camp on the tops of the Pentelsky ridge, thus blocking the only road to Athens. It was along this route that Hippias intended to lead the Persians. For several days both troops stood opposite each other and did not take any military action.

Strengths of the parties

Greek forces

Herodotus does not provide data on the size of the Greek army that participated in the Battle of Marathon. Cornelius Nepos and Pausanias speak of 9 thousand Athenians and a thousand Plataeans. Roman historian of the 3rd century AD. e. Justin writes about 10 thousand Athenians and a thousand Plataeans. These figures are comparable to the number of warriors who, according to Herodotus, participated in the Battle of Plataea 11 years after the events described.

In his essay “Description of Hellas,” Pausanias, when talking about the Marathon Valley, points out the presence of mass graves on it - Athenians, Plataeans and slaves, who were first involved in military battles during the battle. Modern historians generally agree with the number of Hellenes participating in the battle given in ancient sources.

Persian army

According to Herodotus, the Persian fleet initially consisted of 600 ships. However, he does not indicate the number of troops directly, saying only that it was “numerous and well equipped.” Ancient sources are characterized by overestimating the size of the army of their defeated enemy. This made the victories of the Hellenes even more heroic. In Plato's dialogue "Menexenus" and Lysias' "Funeral Oration" the figure is indicated at 500 thousand. The Roman historian Cornelius Nepos, who lived much later, estimates the size of the army of Datis and Artaphernes at 200 thousand infantry and 10 thousand horsemen. The largest figure of 600 thousand is found in Justin.

Modern historians estimate the army that invaded Hellas at an average of 25 thousand foot soldiers and one thousand horsemen (although there are also figures of 100 thousand).

Comparative characteristics of the Greek and Persian troops

The Persian army consisted of representatives of many peoples and tribes subject to the Achaemenid empire. The warriors of each nationality had their own weapons and armor. Herodotus' detailed description states that the Persians and Medes wore soft felt hats, trousers and colorful tunics. Their armor was made of iron scales like fish scales, and their shields were woven from rods. They were armed with short spears and large bows with reed arrows. On the right hip was a sword-dagger (akinak). The warriors of other tribes were much less armed, mostly with bows, and often just clubs and burnt stakes. Among the protective equipment, in addition to shields, Herodotus mentions that they had copper, leather and even wooden helmets.

The Greek phalanx was a dense battle formation of heavily armed warriors in several ranks. During the battle, the main task was to preserve its integrity: the place of the fallen warrior was taken by another standing behind him. The main factor that influenced the development of the phalanx was the use of a large round shield (hoplon) and a closed helmet of the Corinthian type. Leather straps were attached to the inner surface of the hoplon, through which a hand was inserted. Thus, the shield was held on the left forearm. The warrior controlled the shield by holding the belt closer to its edge.

Protecting the hoplite on the left, such a shield left the right half of the body open. Because of this, in the Greek phalanx the soldiers had to stay in a tight line so that each hoplite covered his neighbor on the left, while being covered by his neighbor on the right. For a Greek, losing a shield in battle was considered a dishonor, since it was used not only for his own safety, but also for the protection of the entire rank. The head of a hoplite in the 6th-5th centuries. BC e. protected by a bronze helmet of the Corinthian (or “Dorian”) type, which was worn on a felt lining-cap. The solid Corinthian helmet provided complete protection for the head, but hindered peripheral vision and hearing. The warrior saw only the enemy in front of him, which did not pose much danger in a dense battle formation.

During the Greco-Persian Wars, so-called “anatomical” bronze armor, consisting of chest and back plates, was still common. The plates reproduced the muscular contours of the male torso in relief with sculptural precision. Hoplites wore linen tunics under their armor, and Spartans traditionally covered themselves with red cloaks over their armor. The disadvantage of bronze cuirasses was their unprotected hips. During this era, the so-called linothoraxes, shells based on many layers of flax impregnated with glue, had already appeared, which after a few decades replaced the “anatomical” bronze shells in Greece. Linothoraxes made it possible to cover the hips without restricting the warrior’s movements.

The protective equipment also included bronze greaves. They followed the contour of the front of the shin to fit tightly around the legs and not interfere with walking.

Battle

The German classical historian Ernst Curtius, based on an analysis and comparison of descriptions of the Battle of Marathon and the events preceding it, explains why Miltiades attacked the enemy army on the morning of September 12, 490 BC. e., without waiting for the Spartan army to come to the rescue. He draws attention to the fact that in all the sources that have reached us there is no description of the actions of the cavalry, on which the Persians had high hopes. At certain stages of the battle it could play a decisive role. Curtius is also surprised by the speed with which the Persian army was supposedly boarded.

In conditions of complete defeat, this is unlikely. Based on this, the German historian comes to the conclusion that the Persians, seeing the fortified positions of the Athenians and Plataeans on the mountain slopes, abandoned the idea of ​​​​going to Athens through the Marathon Pass. They preferred to land in a place more convenient for maneuvers, where there would be no mountain passes and the only well-fortified road. Curtius concludes that Miltiades launched his attack only when the Persian army was divided and the cavalry units were already on the ships. Thus, he attacked the troops left behind and covering the departure of the army. Given these prerequisites, it becomes clear why the Athenians did not wait for the professional Spartans to set out on the campaign.

The distance between the Greeks and Persians was at least 8 stadia (about 1.5 kilometers). Miltiades lined up his army in battle formation - the Athenians under the command of Callimachus were on the right flank, the Plataeans were on the left, and in the center were citizens from the phyla Leontis and Antiochida under the command of Themistocles and Aristides. The Hellenic battle line turned out to be equal in width to the Persian one, but its center was only a few rows deep. It was in the center that the Greek army was weakest. On the flanks the battle line was built much denser.

After the formation, the Greeks began to attack. According to Herodotus, they ran all 8 stages. Modern researchers emphasize the impossibility of such an offensive for heavily armed warriors without disrupting the battle order. It is assumed that the Athenians and Plataeans marched the first part of the journey and only after reaching a distance when enemy arrows began to reach them (about 200 m) did they start running. For the Persians, the attack came as a surprise. As Herodotus emphasizes:

They were the first of all the Hellenes to attack the enemies at a run and were not afraid of the sight of Median attire and warriors dressed in Median style. Until now, even the very name of the Medes brought fear to the Hellenes.

The battle lasted a long time. In the center of the battle line, where the selected detachments of the army of Datis and Artaphernes - the Persians and Saca - stood, and the Greek line was weak, the Hellenes began to retreat. The Persians broke through the ranks of the Athenians and began to pursue them. However, the Greeks won on both flanks. Instead of pursuing the retreating enemies, they turned and attacked the troops that had broken through the center. As a result, panic began among the Persians, and they began to randomly retreat to the ships. The Greeks managed to capture seven enemy ships.

According to Herodotus, the Greek losses amounted to only 192 Athenians, among whom were the polemarch Callimachus and Aeschylus' brother Cynegirus. The “father of history” estimates the Persian losses at 6,400 people. The fate of one of the main military leaders of the Achaemenid Empire, Datis, varies in various ancient sources. So, according to Herodotus, Datis returned back to Asia. According to Ctesias, who used the Persian chronicles, Datis died during the battle. Moreover, the Greeks refused to hand over the body of their commander to the Persians.

After the battle

There was an influential “pro-Persian” party in Athens. According to Herodotus, the enemy was given a prearranged signal with a shield from the top of Mount Pentelikon. Subsequently, rumor spread that the Alcmaeonids did this, thus betraying the pan-Greek cause. Having set sail from Marathon, the Persian ships headed towards Sounion in order to go around it and capture Athens. The city remained defenseless, since the entire militia was on the battlefield at a distance of 42 km.

The enemy's plans were guessed in time by Miltiades. The winners of Marathon were not destined to rest after the battle. Leaving a detachment led by Aristides to guard prisoners and spoils of war, the Greek army, fully armed, made a forced march to Athens.

When the Persians reached the Bay of Phalerum, they found the entire Greek army again standing before them. Seeing that the city was reliably guarded, the Persians did not dare to fight and sailed home.

The next day, the Spartan army arrived at Athens, having covered the distance from Sparta (220 km) in 3 days. Late for the battle, they examined the battlefield, praised the Athenians and returned home. The dead were awarded the greatest honors by the standards of the ancient Athenians - they were buried on the battlefield.

Simonides dedicated one of his epigrams to the winners of Marathon:

In the front row on the fields of Marathon fighting with enemies,
The children of Athens destroyed the power of the brilliant Medes.

Having dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the Persians, the Battle of Marathon significantly raised the morale of the Athenians and subsequently remained in their memory as a symbol of the greatness of Athens. The importance that the Greeks attached to this victory is evidenced by a large number of monuments and quotations dedicated to Marathon. Aeschylus, who took part in the battle, writes in his epitaph:

The trumpets of Marathon howl in the bay,
And with the jaws of my brother, already armless,
He grabs the slippery stern.
We are destined for victory in a wondrous battle...

The significance of the battle for the further course of the Greco-Persian wars

The significance of the battle was assessed differently by the warring parties. For the Hellenes, it became the first victory over the army of the Achaemenid Empire. For the Persians, the defeat of their army did not have great consequences. Their state was at the peak of its power and possessed enormous resources. After this unsuccessful expedition, Darius began to gather a huge army to conquer all of Greece. His plans were thwarted by an uprising in Egypt in 486 BC. e. Darius died that same year. Xerxes took his throne. Having suppressed the Egyptian uprising, the young king continued preparations for the campaign against Greece.

Over the 10 years that passed from the battle of Marathon to the new Persian invasion of Hellas, one of the participants in the battle, Themistocles, carried out a number of reforms to create a powerful fleet in Athens. It was his actions that subsequently led to the complete defeat of Xerxes' army.

Photo gallery

Artaphernes

Legends

Several legends are associated with the Battle of Marathon. According to one of them, which has come down to us from Herodotus’s “History,” the Athenians sent a certain messenger Pheidippides to Sparta so that he would hasten the Lacedaemonians to set out on a campaign. On the way, the god Pan appeared to him and said that he favored the inhabitants of Athens, who neglected him, and would come to his aid. According to legend, God kept his promise, after which sacrifices began to be made to him every year. The legend may have a symbolic character, since the word “panic”, which Pan inspired upon his appearance, comes from the name of this mythological character. The resulting panic among the Persian troops was one of the important factors in the victory of the Hellenes.

According to another legend, the legendary hero Theseus took part in the battle. In his description of the portico on the Athenian acropolis - a painted stoa - Pausanias talks about the depiction of other patron gods of the city in the painting dedicated to the battle. Thus, the Greeks attributed the share of victory in such an important battle to the gods.

Another unreliable historical legend gave its name to the sports discipline - marathon running (running 42 km 195 m). According to Plutarch, who wrote his works more than 500 years after the events described, Miltiades sent a messenger Eucles to Athens with the news of the victory. Having run about 40 kilometers to the city immediately after the battle, the walker shouted “Rejoice, Athenians, we have won!” and died. Lucian transforms the name of Plutarch's messenger Euclus into Herodotus' Pheidippides. Pheidippides, indicated by Herodotus, would have to run several hundred kilometers (the distance from Marathon to Sparta, from there back with a message to Marathon, participate in the battle, and then with all the Greeks return quickly to Athens - about 500 km). Since not just one person, but an entire army was heading to Athens, the legend does not stand up to criticism. Considering the obvious historical unreliability of the Pheidippides marathon, since 1983 a group of enthusiasts has annually organized a Spartathlon - a 246 km run between Athens and Sparta.

The Battle of Marathon in art

When the son of the winner of the Battle of Marathon, Miltiades Kimon, became the head of Athens, then on his instructions one of the most famous buildings of ancient Athens, the Painted Stoa, was erected on the northern side of the Agora (central square). It was a portico painted by the best artists of that time. One of the paintings depicted Cimon's father Miltiades during the Battle of Marathon. In general, modern researchers consider the paintings of the Stoa to be an example of monumental propaganda of the early classical era. Also, a monument in honor of the battle was erected near the southern wall of the Acropolis of Athens.

A poetic description of the battle is given in the poetic cycle “Marathon” by the German poet Georg Heim. Lord Byron, who took part in the Greek revolution against the Ottoman Empire, in his work “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” appeals to the patriotic feelings of the Greeks, recalling their past victories.

In 2010, the National Bank of Greece issued a commemorative bimetallic coin with a face value of 2 euros, with a circulation of 2.5 million copies, dedicated to the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon. The reverse of the coin depicts a shield and a warrior, which represent the fight for freedom and noble ideals. The bird on the shield symbolizes the birth of Western civilization in its current form.

Lord Byron. Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (trans. P. Kozlov)

Centuries have passed, Athens has been destroyed!
And Marathon Valley astonishes, as before, the light
He is still the same, only the plowman has changed.
He drives the plow into that land as a slave;
As in the days of yore, the laurel became akin to her;
As of old, the south warms her with rays.
But the foreigner became the property
The land where the Greeks faced the head
The Persians bowed down. Those legends are alive
At the word: Marathon - memories
We are presented with a shadow of the past in reality.
The troops clashed: the bloody battle continued;
The Mede throws away his bow and quiver.
Behind him rushes the Greek, covered in glory.
What a trophy the years have left us
In the country where Asia shed tears,
Where did the shine of freedom illuminate Hellas?
Silent tombs ruined vaults;
The debris of the urns is all that has been hidden in the darkness for years.

In the history of many countries around 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 of Marathon. The Battle of Marathon played a similar role for the Hellenes. We will look at the summary, causes and consequences of this battle below. Victory in this battle not only made it possible to defend their independence, but also to create conditions that would further facilitate their unification into a single force against an external threat.

Background to the conflict

True, the historical authenticity of this legend is very doubtful, but one of the most popular athletics disciplines, namely running 42.195 km, is called the marathon.

The 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 larger army of Xerxes, son of Darius, invaded Hellas. But it was precisely the memory of this victory that then inspired the Hellenes to what seemed hopeless resistance. The battle of Marathon showed that even with small forces it is possible to win victories over 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. The Battle of Marathon occupied such a significant place in the hearts of the Greeks. Its date has always been sacred for the Hellenes. But this battle was significant not only for one people, it was important for the entire world history. This can be evidenced by the fact that any school textbook on ancient history covers the Battle of Marathon. 5th grade in Russian schools is required to study this topic in the history course. Every educated person must know about this event.

Now only the obelisk says that in the place where the hill now rises, the Battle of Marathon once took place. A photo of this memorial 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.

At the beginning of the 5th century BC. e. The ruler of the huge Persian power, the powerful king Darius I, planned to subjugate all of Hellas. Ambassadors from Darius arrived in Greek cities with the words: “Our ruler, the king of kings, the great king Darius, the ruler of all people from sunrise to sunset, demands from you land and water...” With this event, the period of the Greco-Persian wars begins. In today's lesson you will learn about the first military clash between the Greeks and Persians - the famous Battle of Marathon.

Background

Persian kings by 539 BC conquered Asia Minor, Babylon, Egypt, Palestine and Syria.

In the second half of the 6th century. BC. became a huge state. Its territory extended from India to Egypt.

Ancient Greece at this time was in the heyday of its power and culture.

Events

546 BC- the campaign of the Persian king Cyrus in Asia Minor. Lydia and the large city of Sardis were captured, after which the Greek city-states in Asia Minor surrendered to the Persians one after another.

513 BC- the campaign of the Persian king Darius against the Scythians. Ended in failure for Darius.

500-449 BC.- Greco-Persian wars.

500 BC- the beginning of the Greek uprising against the Persians in Asia Minor. Considered the beginning of the Greco-Persian Wars. Athens helped with the fleet, but the uprising was still suppressed.

September 12, 490 BC- Marathon Battle (see plan).

• The Persian fleet suddenly appeared off the coast of Greece near the city of Marathon near Athens.
• Urgently gathering an army, the Athenians sent a messenger to Sparta. But the Spartans could not go on a military campaign until the full moon. Therefore, the Spartan army was delayed and did not have time for the battle.
• They had to defend themselves against the Persians with a small army, led by Miltiades.
• By forming a phalanx, the Athenians were able to defeat the outnumbered Persians.
• The Persians fled from the battlefield and decided on a trick: they sailed to Athens to capture the unarmed city.
• Having guessed the plans of the Persians, the Greek army marched 42 km (the distance from Marathon to Athens) and met the Persians where they wanted to land. The frightened Persians sailed away without a fight.

Hoplite phalanx - combat formation of Greek heavy infantry (hoplites). Hoplites were armed with large round shields, helmets and spears. The warriors stood and moved in close formation, shoulder to shoulder, so they were very dangerous for the enemy.

Participants

They sent to Sparta for help. They promised to help, but later, citing an ancient custom that forbade the Spartans to enter into battle before the full moon. Only the city of Plataea, bordering Attica, sent a detachment of soldiers to help Athens.

From Marathon to Athens is about 40 km. When the Greek army reached the hills surrounding Marathon Bay, they saw the enemy's vast camp and their ships. The enemy's superiority was obvious. Miltiades blocked the enemy's path to Athens, but did not dare to descend from the hills onto the plain, convenient for the Persian cavalry. It went day after day. September 13, 490 BC e. Miltiades built his army so that the forest and sea covered its flanks. The Persians tried to lure out the enemy. This went on for 3 days. On the third day, the Persians decided to go around Attica and land troops near Athens. In response to this, Miltiades decided to start a battle and withdrew his troops from the camp. He built the army in a phalanx - in close, serried ranks, not allowing the enemy to surround them. The Persians began to advance (Fig. 2).

Fearing the approach of the Spartans, Darius I moved his troops towards the Greeks. The Greeks met the enemy with a hail of stones and arrows. And then Miltiades ordered (the sound of a trumpet) to go on the offensive. And then it seemed to the Persians that the Greeks had gone mad. Lacking cavalry and archers, they rushed to the attack under enemy arrows. Thus began the marathon battle. The phalanx's attack was terrible - the Persians suffered heavy losses. However, new warriors began to push back the Greeks and struck at the enemy’s center. The Greeks wavered and began to retreat. Soon the Persians cut the Greek army into two groups, victory seemed close, but... The edges of the Greek army began to move forward, enveloping the enemy army. The Persians could not stand it and ran to their ships. While the Greek phalanx was rebuilding, the Persians boarded ships and headed for Athens. Having guessed the enemy's plan, the Athenians rushed with all their might to defend their home city. We met the Persian fleet at the ready in the Athenian harbor. The Persians did not tempt fate and sailed away.

Rice. 2. Marathon Battle ()

After the full moon, the Spartans arrived, but they were too late for the battle. They nevertheless went to Marathon to examine the battlefield.

Miltiades ordered the fastest warrior to go to Athens to report the victory. In Athens, the warrior only managed to say: “Rejoice, Greeks, we won!” His heart could not withstand the enormous stress, and he died (Fig. 3). And in his memory, the distance he covered was 42 km 195 meters, on which the most enduring runners now compete during the Olympics. This sport is called marathon running.

Rice. 3. Feat of Pheidippides ()

After the Greek victory at Marathon, the Persians were no longer considered invincible. The Athenians were the first to defeat them.

Bibliography

1. A.A. Vigasin, G.I. Goder, I.S. Sventsitskaya. Ancient world history. 5th grade - M.: Education, 2006.
2. Nemirovsky A.I. A book to read on the history of the ancient world. - M.: Education, 1991.

1. Rulibs.com ()
2. E-reading-lib.org()

Homework

1. Why did most of the city-policies of Greece recognize the power of the Persians?
2. How were the Persians who landed at Marathon militarily superior to the Greeks?
3. Why, despite the superiority of the Persians, did the Greeks win?
4. What competition is held today to commemorate the victory of the Athenian army in the Marathon battle?

September 12, 490 BC e. Not far from the Greek village of Marathon, a battle took place between the troops of Athens and the army of the Persian king Darius. This battle is known to us as the Battle of Marathon. Thanks to the Battle of Marathon, it was possible to stop the advance of the Persian Empire into Europe.

Prehistory: In 510 BC. The citizens of Athens expelled their tyrant Hippias from the city, and he fled under the protection of Darius. In 508 or 507 BC. e. the ambassadors of Athens, sent by Cleisthenes, asked Darius for help in view of the supposed Spartan intervention and, as a sign of submission, offered him “earth and water”; this gave Darius reason to consider Athens as a city subject to him.

The reason for the battle was that in 500 BC. e. the inhabitants of the Greek city of Miletus in Asia Minor (which was at that time conquered by the Persians) rebelled against Persian rule. The Athenians, who encouraged the Milesians to do this, first assisted them with their fleet, but at a critical moment abandoned the rebels. The uprising was suppressed. However, King Darius I decided to punish the Athenians for helping Milete. The sea campaign was planned as a punitive action against Athens, as well as the city of Eretria on the island of Euboea, which also helped the rebels. A previous attempt to punish the Greeks (in 493 BC) failed due to a storm that scattered the ships carrying the Persian army and smashed them against the rocks.

In the summer of 490 BC. e. a fleet of 600 ships (including special ships for transporting horses) was assembled in Cilicia and sailed from there to conquer Greece. Sources do not name the exact number of troops that took part in the marathon battle. Historians estimate the minimum number of Persian troops at 20 thousand soldiers, and the maximum number of all participants in the campaign at 100 thousand. The number of cavalry was small, and cavalry did not participate in the battle. The Athenian army, according to researchers, numbered about 10 thousand hoplites (heavily armed infantrymen), and 1000 hoplites were sent by the city of Plataea, allied to Athens. Another 2,000 infantrymen went from Sparta to Marathon, but this detachment was late and did not take part in the battle.

The commanders of the Persians in this campaign were Datis and Artaphernes. The campaign was led by the former Athenian tyrant Hippias; he longed to take revenge on the Athenians and regain power. The Persian fleet moved from island to island, destroying cities and enslaving the inhabitants. In the end, the Persian ships landed on the shores of Attica, where the closest convenient place for landing was Marathon Bay, which was adjacent to a small valley.

The Marathon plain has the shape of a crescent, its ends abutting the Marathon Bay, and on the outer side it is bordered by a number of heights. A Greek army came from Athens to that very valley and set up a camp at a distance of 1-2 km from the Persian landing site. The commander of the Athenian troops was the polemarch Callimachus.

Before the battle, Miltiades formed the Greek phalanx at the entrance to the Marathon Valley. On the right flank were the best Athenian hoplites, the rest of the warriors lined up to the left according to the phyla; the left flank consisted of a detachment of Plataeans. The right wing was led by Callemarchus, the left flank was commanded by the brave Aemnest.

Due to the numerical superiority of the Persians and the considerable width of the valley, Miltiades could not give his phalanx the necessary depth. In addition, he took into account the possibility of his flanks being covered by Persian cavalry. Therefore, he reduced the number of ranks in the center and accordingly increased the number of ranks on the flanks. The total length of the front reached approximately 1 km.

The Persian battle formation consisted of foot archers located in the center and cavalry lined up on the flanks. In order to not give the Persian cavalry time to attack the Greeks on the plain and to immediately move on to hand-to-hand combat after archery, Miltiades moved from the heights towards the enemy in a “running march”. The “Running March” made it possible to quickly overcome the space hit by arrows and had a moral effect on the enemy.

Having withstood the initial onslaught, the Persian archers counterattacked the Greeks, broke through the weak center of the Athenian phalanx and pursued the Athenians deep into the valley. But the strong flanks of the Greek phalanx overthrew the Persian cavalry, which failed to break through the ranks of the Athenians here, and went against the Persian center, rushing to the aid of their constrained comrades. The consequence of this attack was the defeat of the Persian archers. Surrounded on all sides, the Persians fled.

The battle continued until dark. The weapons and protection of the Greeks, their physical training, better coordination of actions in the ranks, gave them a great advantage over the light weapons and uncoordinated actions of the Persians and Saks. In the evening, already in the dark, the Persian center could not stand it and fled to the parking lot of its fleet.

The Athenians' victory cost 192 citizens, including the polemarch Callimachus. Herodotus estimates the Persian losses at 6,400 people. The Persian fleet headed from the Marathon Valley to Athens, around Attica, rounding Cape Sounion. The Persians hoped to get there before the hoplites on foot, but the Athenians beat them to it. Seeing from the ships that the Athenian army was already waiting for them, the Persian commanders did not dare to land on the shore and left the shores of Hellas

The Persians, despite the losses they suffered in the Marathon valley and the general failure of that campaign, did not consider themselves defeated and were preparing for a full-scale war against Greece.

However, the moral impact of the victory at Marathon on the entire Greek society was very significant. For the first time, the superiority of Greek weapons and Greek military art over Persian ones was demonstrated. This confidence played an important role in subsequent events.

There is also a legend according to which a Greek warrior named Pheidippides, after the Battle of Marathon, ran without stopping from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory of the Greeks. Having reached Athens without stopping, he managed to shout “Rejoice, Athenians, we have won!” and died. This legend is not confirmed by documentary sources; According to Herodotus, Pheidippides was a messenger who was unsuccessfully sent for reinforcements from Athens to Sparta and covered a distance of 230 km in less than two days.

The legend was invented by later authors and appeared in Plutarch's Ethics in the 1st century AD (more than 550 years after the actual events). The International Olympic Committee in 1896 estimated the actual length of the distance from the Marathon battlefield to Athens to be 34.5 km. At the first modern Games in 1896 and at the 2004 Games, the marathon actually took place along a distance laid from Marathon to Athens.