The Greek victory at Marathon ended the first Persian invasion and demonstrated that Persian forces could be defeated in open battle.
Key Facts
- Date
- 490 BC
- Persian commanders
- Datis and Artaphernes
- Athenian general
- Miltiades
- Greek allies
- Athens and Plataea
- Persian response to
- Athenian involvement in the Ionian Revolt
- Follow-on invasion
- Second Persian invasion began 480 BC under Xerxes I
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Persia's King Darius I sought to punish Athens and Eretria for their support of the Ionian Revolt, in which the two cities aided the burning of Sardis. After crushing the revolt at the Battle of Lade in 494 BC, Darius dispatched a naval expedition under Datis and Artaphernes across the Aegean to subdue the Cyclades, sack Eretria, and attack Athens.
In 490 BC, the Persian force landed at the bay of Marathon in Attica. The Athenian army, reinforced by a small Plataean contingent under the command of Miltiades, chose terrain that neutralized Persian cavalry. Miltiades strengthened his flanks while thinning his center, drew the Persian infantry forward, then enveloped them. The routed Persians fled to their ships suffering heavy losses.
The Persian defeat at Marathon ended the first invasion of Greece and forced the expeditionary force to withdraw to Asia. Darius began assembling a larger army for a renewed campaign, but an Egyptian revolt in 486 BC and his subsequent death delayed the effort. His son Xerxes I eventually launched a second invasion in 480 BC. The victory greatly elevated Athenian prestige among the Greek city-states.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Miltiades.
Side B
1 belligerent
Datis, Artaphernes.