why did the battle of marathon happen

Help our mission to provide free history education to the world! The story of these day runners is the origin of the marathon race. As the armies clashed, the thinner Greek center was quickly pushed back. Mark is a full-time author, researcher, historian, and editor. In those days Greece was not a unified country, but a collection of independent city-states. The Spartan king, on the third day of the battle, rallied his small force - the survivors from the original Spartan 300, 700 Thespians and 400 Thebans - and made a rearguard stand to defend the pass to the last man in the hope of delaying the Persians progress, in order to allow the rest of the Greek force to retreat or also possibly to await relief from a larger Greek force. As Simonedes' epitaph at the site of the fallen stated: 'Go tell the Spartans, you who read: We took their orders and here lie dead'. Their king, who had watched Persias forces easily consume all that stood in their path in the years leading up to this, was far too terrified to resist the takeover. Forming his men, Militiades reinforced his wings by weakening his center. The Greek tactic of feigning a disorganised retreat and then turning on the enemy in the phalanx formation also worked well, lessening the threat from Persian arrows and perhaps the hoplites surprised the Persians with their disciplined mobility, a benefit of being a professionally trained army. Sprinting, shouting, furious and ready to attack, that fear was pushed aside, and it must have seemed insane to the Persians. They also ensured that their ideas would be able to spread. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. The battle occurred on the beach, near the Persian ships, and can be visualized using the map of the Battle of Marathon in figure 2. When the two fleets finally met, the Greeks fought late in the day and therefore limited the duration of each skirmish which diminished the numerical advantage held by the Persians. (2021, September 9). The Battle of Marathon also gave rise to the legend that the Athenian herald Pheidippides ran from the battlefield to Athens to announce the Greek victory before dropping dead. Consequences. Thermopylae was an excellent choice for defence with mountains running down into the sea leaving only a narrow pass along the coast. In 2005, outside of the normal competition, he decided to fully retrace the steps of Pheidippides and ran from Athens to Sparta and then back to Athens. Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter! Why was the battle of Marathon fought? Years prior, he had accompanied the Persian king, Darius I, during his campaigns against the fierce nomadic warrior tribes north of the Caspian Sea. Kennedy Hickman is a historian, museum director, and curator who specializes in military and naval history. Despite being greatly inferior in numbers, the Greeks held the narrow pass for three days with Spartan king Leonidas fighting a last-ditch defence with a small force of Spartans and other Greek hoplites. What were the consequences of the battle of Marathon? Hickman, Kennedy. Having trained dedicatedly for most of his life, he was able to travel long distances over difficult terrain, and at that moment, he was invaluable. Who was the Athenian runner who ran from Athens to Sparta? How old is the United States of America? was part of the first Persian invasion of Greece. Cite This Work Political Aspects of the Classical Age of Greece, Wars of the Alexander the Great: Battle of Chaeronea, Persian Wars - Battle of Marathon - 490 BCE, Biography of Artemisia I, Warrior Queen of Halicarnassus, Rulers of the Persian Empire: Expansionism of Cyrus and Darius, The Battle of Gaugamela During the Wars of Alexander the Great, The Peloponnesian War: Causes of the Conflict, M.S., Information and Library Science, Drexel University, B.A., History and Political Science, Pennsylvania State University. Indeed, for this very reason, the Spartans had arrived too late at the earlier Battle of Marathon. With your support millions of people learn about history entirely for free, every month. Anticipating this, Militiades quickly returned the bulk of the army to the city. The Greeks, who did not have cavalry or archers, could not safely cross the plains while the Persian cavalry were present. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. Mary has a Master's Degree in History with 18 advanced hours in Government. And though the Persians a civilization rich with its own intricacies and motivations have been vilified by the conflicts victors, had the Greeks fears been realized, the collective path of revolutionary ideas and the growth of societies would probably look nothing like they do today, and the modern world could be much different. The Greeks' favored way of fighting was in a formation called the phalanx. Ten years later the Persians returned and won a victory at Thermopylae before being defeated by the Greeks at Salamis. The Athenians knew that to stay on the defensive in the battle of Marathon would mean returning to a destroyed home, their city plundered and burned. The Persian Empire in 500 BC. Others scrambled and made it back to the water, floundering to their ships in a panic and rowing quickly away from the dangerous shore. Although the Persian tactic of rapidly firing vast numbers of arrows into the enemy must have been an awesome sight, the lightness of the arrows meant that they were largely ineffective against the bronze-armoured hoplites. World History Encyclopedia. There would be no compromises. We are victorious! echoed across the expectant crowd, and in the second before they broke into a jubilant celebration, Pheidippides, overcome with exhaustion, staggered and fell to the ground, dead or so the myth of the origins of the first Marathon goes. Ten years later the Please note that some of these recommendations are listed under our old name, Ancient History Encyclopedia. began his conquest by first sending envoys to attempt a diplomatic conquest of the northernmost of the Grecian kingdoms: Macedonia, the homeland of future Greek leader, Alexander the Great. Herodotus contradicts this legend and states that Pheidippides ran from Athens to Sparta to seek aid before the battle. What happened at Battle of Marathon? This event was later conflated with the soon-to-be victorious Athenians marching back to Athens at a quickened pace. Herodotus, born a few years after the battle, based his judgment on eyewitness accounts. An error occurred trying to load this video. The Persians could guess what the Greeks were up to they would have done the same had they been on the defensive and so they hesitated to launch a decisive frontal attack. Olson says that this means the Battle of Marathon actually happened on 12 August 490 BC. The Battle of Marathon was fought in August or September 490 BC during the Persian Wars (498 BC448 BC) between Greece and the Persian Empire. 30 chapters | At Marathon, the Greeks also ran into battle in order to lessen their exposure to Persian arrows. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. Wealth and resources seem an unlikely motive; other more plausible suggestions include the need to increase the prestige of the king at home or to quell once and for all a collection of potentially troublesome rebel states on the western border of the empire. Cyrus the Great Facts & Achievements | Who was King Cyrus the Great? But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. I feel like its a lifeline. In 490 BCE Greek forces led by Athens met the Persians in battle at Marathon and defeated the invaders. It was preceded by the Ionian Revolt. The spread of these ideas continues to influence the world today, particularly in the West. Herodotus writes that before leaving the city, the Athenians sent a runner, Pheidippides, to Sparta to ask for aid. Meanwhile, the Immortals now entered the fray behind the Greeks who retreated to a high mound behind the Phokian wall. Athens and Sparta were able to galvanize a number of cities, previously petrified at the thought of a Persian attack, into defending their homeland. Darius I, king of Persia whod likely set his sights on Greece as far back as 513 B.C. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. The Battle of Marathon was the first major victory for the Greeks over the Persians and gave them confidence that they could be defeated. However, an unscrupulous traitor was about to tip the balance in favour of the invaders. Peloponnesian War Causes & Results | What Caused the Peloponnesian War? Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Our mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. For decades the mere mention of the Persian army was enough to terrify the Greek city-states they were an unknown entity, supported by incredibly strong cavalry and vast numbers of soldiers, and seemingly impossible for the small, contentious peninsula to confront. Early in the morning, the hoplites once more met the enemy, but this time Xerxes could attack from both front and rear and planned to do so but, in the event, the Immortals behind the Greeks were late on arrival. WebThe battle of Marathon was fought in September of 490 B.C., when the Persian king Darius I sent a force to subdue Athens after the Athenians had supported the Ionian Greeks during their unsuccessful rebellion against Persian rule in western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). He has a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Michigan. When he arrived, exhausted, and managed to sputter out the Athenian request for military assistance, he was crushed to hear a refusal. The result of the battle was, however, indecisive and on news of Leonidas' defeat, the fleet withdrew to Salamis. But reconciling Greek historian Herodotuss accounts with a line in the Byzantine historical record known as the Suda gives a reasonable explanation as to why they might have done so. Whatever the case, the Persian horses played no significant role in the coming battle. The battle proved the superiority of the Greek long spear, sword, and armour over the Persians weapons. This tale of romantic sacrifice then caught the attention of author Robert Browning in 1879, who wrote a poem entitled Pheidippides, which deeply engaged his contemporaries. But the Greeks remained outnumbered and outmatched, the enemy they faced, according to ancient historians, standing at over 100,000 men strong. Cartwright, M. (2013, April 16). Then after much discussion and compromise between Greek city-states, suspicious of each others' motives, a joint army of between 6,000 and 7,000 men was sent to defend the pass at Thermopylae through which the Persians must enter mainland Greece. That left his son Xerxes I to inherit the throne of Persia as well as Dariuss dream to conquer Greece and the preparations he had already made to do so. Cavalry, usually operating on the flanks of the main battle, were used to mop up opposing infantry put in disarray after they had been subjected to repeated salvos from the archers. The second day followed the pattern of the first, and the Greek forces still held the pass. In defeating the Persians, they helped ensure the continued independence of Greece from Persian rule. WebWhat happened at the battle of Marathon? The rest of the Persian fleet still with a staggering 600 ships or more managed to escape, but 6,400 Persians lay dead on the battlefield, and more had drowned in the swamps. Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University. Last modified April 16, 2013. And, showing up a little late only a few days after the Athenians victory 2,000 Spartan soldiers arrived, having marched immediately upon the conclusion of their festival and moving their entire army over the 220 kilometers in only three days. The Battle of Marathon was where Athenians thwarted the Persian attempt to subdue it. Leonidas had stationed the contingent of Phokian troops to guard this vital point but they, thinking themselves the primary target of this new development, withdrew to a higher defensive position when the Immortals attacked. About five days after first arriving at Marathon, the Greeks decided to attack, and Miltiades moved his army into position. In a phalanx formation, the hoplites would stand close together, usually in columns of eight. All while the Greek forces had lost only 200 men. Why did the Athenians win at Marathon? Along with the tangible and strategic factors that propelled the Athenians to victory were several intangibles that factored in their favor , including their love of freedom and rights as citizens that they did not want to lose; the fear of what the Persians would do to their city and families if they were to lose the We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The Battle of Marathon took place in Greece, not far from Athens. This was not forthcoming as the Athenian messenger had arrived during the festival of Carneia, a sacred time of peace. Leonidas' bullish response to Xerxes request was 'moln labe' or 'come and get them' and so battle commenced. Refusing to relent, the Athenians splashed into the sea after them, burning a few ships and managing to capture seven, bringing them to shore. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. With the Persians closing in on the Greek capitol, Athenian general Miltiades assumed command of the hastily assembled army. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. When word was brought to Darius, his first response was to inquire as to who the Athenians were. But he took no time to mourn. Why was the Battle of Marathon fought in Greece? She has taught college History and Government courses. The historian Herodotus reports that their retreat was disciplined and organized. Who was the winner of the Battle of Marathon? A commotion outside the city walls caught the attention of the archons, and suddenly the gates were thrust open. Our publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education, Internet Scout (University of Wisconsin), Merlot (California State University), OER Commons and the School Library Journal. Miltiades had his center form columns of only four men, rather than eight. 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