The Battle of Marathon. "History" of Herodotus

When it comes to the Battle of Marathon, many people come to mind the legend of the messenger, who, carrying to Athens the joyful news of the victory of the Greeks over the Persians, ran 42.195 km and, having informed his fellow citizens this news, fell down dead. In this connection, in the antiquity, sport discipline arose - 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 known for the fact that in this battle the Athenian army managed to defeat the superior army of the Persians, while the losses of the Greeks amounted to 192 people against 6400 dead by the enemy.

Sources

Marathon battle is covered in the sixth book "History" of Herodotus. This is the main source, narrating about those events, which has survived to our time. The information set forth by the ancient Greek historian is often criticized, because his approach to writing his works is the principle of conveying everything that people tell him, and whether or not to believe all this or not is a completely different matter.

Many of the stories of Herodotus can be attributed to legends and short stories. In addition, various official records and eyewitness accounts served him as sources. Nevertheless, the historian's data today are confirmed by all sorts of research. According to Herodotus, the date of the Battle of Marathon - September 12, 490 BC. E.

Prehistory

In the VI century BC there was an active development of the Persian Empire, which constantly added new territories to itself. In the end, in the west Achaemenid power collided with a highly developed Greek civilization, whose people were very freedom-loving. And although the Persian conquerors managed to subjugate many Hellenic cities located on the west coast of Asia Minor, the Greeks continued to resist, and in 500 BC. E. On these lands an open uprising broke out, which began in Miletus. The Battle of Marathon became a vivid episode of this confrontation.

However, the first years of the uprising did not bring great successes to the Greeks who lived in Asia Minor in the struggle against the conquerors. Despite the fact that Eretria and Athens provided military support to the inhabitants of Miletus, the Greeks were not able to unite all their forces and give the Persians due rebuff. Therefore, in 496 BC. E. The Achaemenid state suppressed insurrections, while declaring war on the whole of Hellas.

The beginning of a new war

In 492 BC. E. The first march against the Greeks was organized, but the fleet, which sent the army across the sea, was almost completely destroyed by the raging storm. The military operation was interrupted, and the following year the Persian king Darius decided to act differently: he sent ambassadors to Hellas who, on his behalf, demanded submission from the Greeks. Some cities preferred to agree to the demands of Darius, but not all. Residents of Athens and Sparta simply dealt with the Persian ambassadors.

In 490 BC. E. The Persians are making a new trip to Hellas, and this time it begins more successfully. Their fleet safely crosses the Aegean Sea, and the army landed in the north-east of Attica - just near the small town of Marathon. In these places, and there was a marathon battle, which became famous throughout the world.

Preparations for the Battle

The Persian army consisted equally of foot archers and cavalry, the total number of twenty thousand men. Marathon plain was great for their tactics of fighting. The army of the Athenians was practically half the size, but considerably superior in equipping lightly armed Persians. It consisted of hoplites, clad in armor, legguards, copper helmets and armed with large shields and long throwing spears. But the Battle of Marathon was won by the Greeks not only because of their good equipment. An important role was played also by strategy.

Miltiades, who was one of the ten commanders who traditionally led the Greek army, was familiar with the tactics of fighting the Persians. He proposed an effective plan, but the opinions of the strategists were divided. Some of them insisted that the army return to Athens and defend the city, while others wished to meet the enemy here in the valley. In the end, Miltiades managed to win the majority over to his side. He said that if the Battle of Marathon was won, it would save other Greek cities from destruction .

The outcome of the battle

Persians expected that their archers would shower the enemy with a hail of arrows, and the cavalry could bypass the Greeks from the flanks and make confusion in their ranks. But Miltiad provided for the possibility of the Persians using this tactic and took retaliatory measures. But the "fleet march" reception, used by the Athenian army, was a surprise for the conquerors. Approaching the Persians at a distance, shot through by archers, the Greeks switched to running, thereby minimizing the damage from enemy arrows. The heavily armed Hellenic hoplites were very effective against both archers and cavalry of the Persians. The result of the battle was the indiscriminate retreat of the conquerors, while a significant part of the Persian army perished on the battlefield.

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