HISTORYHISTORY — PAST AND PERSPECTIVE The West’s First Stand: Marathon
Cradle of liberty: Ancient Athens as it may have appeared in the early 5th century B.C., when the infant city-state first came into conflict with the Persian superpower.
At the dawn of what was to become Western Civilization, the Athenians won an amazing victory over the Persians at Marathon.
by Charles Scaliger encamped on the narrow plain along near- had been making the rounds in the Persian by Marathon Bay, preparing to march on court, seeking patrons who would reinstall he man ran along the dusty road, Athens. In that year, 490 B.C., the Persian him in Athens in return for a pledge of sub- mile after mile in the blazing late Empire was the world’s superpower, and mission to the Persian “King of kings.” T summer Mediterranean sun. Past for the past several decades had been relent- In 499 B.C., the Ionian Greek cities, led groves of olives and fields of wheat, past lessly subjugating the Greeks. The founder by the city of Miletus and its somewhat farms and villages, his body soaked with of the Achaemenid Persian dynasty, Cyrus, erratic leader Aristagorus, revolted against perspiration, his runner’s frame never flag- had conquered most of Ionia, that portion their Persian overlords. Aristagorus re- ging, he ran without pause toward Athens, of the Greek world that lay across the Ae- signed his position as tyrant of the city and which lay more than 20 mountainous miles gean Sea from Athens on the peninsula of instituted popular rule. Other Ionian cities ahead. Even when curious knots of on- Asia Minor. His son and successor, the followed Miletus’ example, and the cities lookers tried to stop him, the man ran on, monstrous Cambyses, had annexed Egypt. of Athens and Eretria, impressed by what his eyes riveted to the road. The news he The emperor Darius had conquered the they perceived as a genuine attempt to bore was for the ears of Athenians alone, northern Greek territories of Thrace and replace autocracy with popular rule, sent the greatest tidings that had ever sounded Macedonia two years before, and now had ships and men to support the revolt. in any ears in Attic Greece since the leg- his sights set on Athens which, along with At first, things went well for the Ioni- endary Theseus had founded the city of Sparta, represented the last major holdouts ans and their allies. The combined Greek Athens untold centuries before. of Greek civilization on the Aegean. forces marched to Sardis, at the western Most of the onlookers that September terminus of the Persian Royal Road that afternoon probably guessed the runner’s Coming Collision ran all the way to Susa and Persepolis, business, if not his message. For almost a The collision between Athens and Persia and took the great city, burning it to the week, a gigantic invasion force had been had been building for many years. Ever ground in the process. But in a subsequent since the Athenians had expelled the tyrant battle near Ephesus, the Greeks suffered Charles Scaliger is a teacher and freelance writer. Hippias, in 511 B.C., the former despot a humiliating defeat. The Athenians de-
34 THE NEW AMERICAN • APRIL 2, 2007 The onset: Athenian and Plataean hoplites at Marathon ran full tilt into the waiting Persian ranks, probably to minimize the effect of Persia’s formidable archers. with the remnants of the invasion force. The former Athe- nian tyrant Hippias, however, continued to goad Darius to move against Ath- ens, swearing fealty if he were restored to what he regarded as his rightful office. Two years after the disaster of Athos, Darius was ready for a second attempt. Possibly on the ad- vice of Hippias, and chastened by the ex- perience of his prior invasion, Darius decided to attempt a direct sea assault on Athens, and as- sembled another im- cided to return home, leaving the Ionians The only mistake Darius made during mense task force to do the job. to their fate. the campaign was in allowing the escape Like the force that had put down the But the seeds for Persian-Athenian of Miltiades, the tyrant of the Thracian Ionian Revolt, this armada numbered enmity had been sown. According to the Chersonese, a Greek state occupying a around 600 superbly equipped war ves- Greek historian Herodotus, when the em- peninsula forming the north side of the sels. Setting out from the coast of Asia peror Darius was informed of the Athe- Hellespont or Dardanelles. Miltiades, a Minor, Darius’ fleet, led by Persian gen- nians’ role in the burning of Sardis, he longtime vassal of Persia, had been friend- erals Datis and Artaphernes (with Hippias replied contemptuously, “The Athenians? ly to Darius and had even served, years along for the ride), made for the Cyclades, Who are they?” He called for a bow and before, in the Persian army in a campaign an archipelago that included roughly 20 ceremonially shot an arrow into the air, in- against the Scythians. But in the climate of major inhabited islands east of mainland voking the powers of heaven to help him a general revolt, all Greeks were suspect Attic Greece. They first attacked the no- punish the upstart Athenians. He even al- and Miltiades, although he had taken no table island of Naxos and burned the city. legedly commanded one of his slaves to part against the Persians, was obliged to Then they swept through the rest of the remind him thrice at every dinner to “re- flee for safety to Athens, where he received archipelago, subduing as they went. Ere- member the Athenians.” a warm welcome. Miltiades’ knowledge of tria, which had aided the Ionians alongside But before Darius could exact retri- Persian battle tactics would prove to be in- Athens, was reduced after seven days and bution from the Athenians, he needed to valuable. given no quarter. The city was burned in quell the revolt in Asia Minor. During the With the Ionian revolt suppressed, revenge for Sardis and the few survivors next several years, the valiant Ionians bore Darius turned his attention to the rest of enslaved. the terrible consequences of the Persian Greece. Intending, like his successor Xer- With the fall of Eretria, the Persians emperor’s wrath. In 494 B.C., the city of xes a decade later, to invade Attic Greece at last turned their attention to the Athe- Miletus, ringleader of the rebels, came to from the north, Darius dispatched his most nians. The massive fleet sailed to Mara- a terrible end. A Persian navy numbering trusted general, his son-in-law Mardonius, thon Bay, a little over 20 miles from the 600 vessels besieged the city and took it to cross from Asia Minor into Thrace and city, and most of the Persian army — by storm. No mercy was shown during the subdue the rest of the Greek states. Mar- probably between 20- and 60-thousand pillage that followed, the Persians wishing donius’ army had little difficulty obtain- strong — came ashore and began prepar- to make an example of Miletus for the rest ing the submission of both Thrace and ing to march on Athens. of Greece and, indeed, all of the other Per- Macedonia, but a large part of his army In the meantime, the Athenians had not sian vassal states. Accordingly, the men of was destroyed when his fleet, while sailing been idle. When the terrible news of the Miletus were slaughtered and the women south toward Athens, was shipwrecked in fall of Eretria had arrived, Athens lost no and children carried off into bondage into the unpredictable waters off the peninsula time dispatching a runner to Sparta to beg Susa, at the easternmost extremity of the of Mount Athos. His forces crippled by for military assistance. The Spartans, cog- vast empire. the disaster, Mardonius returned to Persia nizant of the danger but, as always, wary of
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a fight would mean a restora- zen also prepared for war. Athens, like The force that marched forth from Athens tion of the hated and vindictive the rest of free Greece, relied exclusively tyrant Hippias. Callimachus, on militia fighters known as hoplites, all to confront the Persians was a true citizen the Athenian polemarch or of whom furnished their own battle gear. army representing the flower of Athenian commander-in-chief, agreed Every hoplite carried a circular shield — and preparations were made an aspis — as well as a long spear called manhood. For the most part, there were to resist the mighty Persian a doru. Most also bore a short sword, no distinctions in rank or privilege, the invaders with every available the xiphos. Hoplites generally wore a resource. breastplate, bronze helmet, and greaves, less-educated and indigent marching The Athenian citizenry enough armor to protect certain vital beside the learned and the wealthy. were divided into 10 tribes, areas but not so much as to limit mobility each of which elected a strat- too severely. egos or leader, and battlefield The force that marched forth from Ath- hastily conceived military commitments, leadership traditionally was determined by ens to confront the Persians was perhaps replied that they would send aid eventu- a day-to-day rotation of the strategoi. Mil- 10,000 strong, a true citizen army repre- ally. Because of religious scruples, how- tiades was made a strategos, and so were senting the flower of Athenian manhood. ever, they would have to wait until after Themistocles and Aristides, men destined Aeschylus the poet was among them, the full moon, which was still more than to play heroic roles in the next Persian war along with hundreds of other statesmen, a week away. But the Athenians, realizing as well. In a critical break with Athenian merchants, philosophers, and literati. they could not wait, convened in haste to tradition, Miltiades was given sole com- Certain personalities — Callimachus and determine a course of action. mand over the fighting force, presumably Miltiades preeminent among them — took both because of his vigor in exhorting the leading roles, but for the most part, there War Preparations Athenians to fight for their liberty and were no distinctions in rank or privilege, In all her history, Athens had never faced for his experience with Persian military the men of letters marching alongside the a comparable peril. The great city, having tactics. tradesmen, the less-educated and indigent no wall and no means to defend against a Every able-bodied Athenian male citi- beside the learned and the wealthy. siege, was vulnerable to at- tack. Aware of this, Hippias The rout: The Greeks quickly outflanked the Persians on both and the Persians doubtless sides, forcing the vastly larger Persian forces to retreat in anticipated a quick and disarray to their boats. easy victory. But the Athens that Hip- pias remembered — sub- missive, easily dictated to by overweening tyrants — no longer existed. The same nascent desire for self-rule that had kindled the Ionian Revolt had also transformed Athenian soci- ety. Athenians had become accustomed to taking a hand in their own gover- nance, however imperfect their pioneering constitu- tion was, and regarded with horror any prospect of returning to her old despotic ways. It was now Miltiades who convinced the Athenians to go on the offensive against Per- sia. To allow the Persians to advance unchallenged on Athens was to invite a speedy defeat, he argued, while surrendering without
36 THE NEW AMERICAN • APRIL 2, 2007 The first superpower: Achaemenid Persia at its apogee stretched from Greece and North Africa in the west to the Indus River in the east.
The Athenians covered as quickly as each other across the narrow plain of Mar- advanced at a run across the plain of possible the more than 20 miles to Mara- athon. On the sixth, the day of Miltiades’ Marathon — the first time, according to thon and encamped in a strategic pass, legitimate command, the great general Herodotus, that they had ever confronted Avlona, overlooking the plain. Somewhere decided that the moment of decision had an enemy in such a manner — sprinting along the way, 1,000 soldiers from the come. In the early morning, he readied his to close with the Persians before arrows nearby city of Plataea joined them, grate- men for battle. could inflict their deadly toll. As they ran, ful to Athens for an old alliance against As heavily outnumbered as they were, the Greeks shouted their peculiar battle Thebes. the Athenians modified their usual pha- cry, “Elefef! Elefef!” which, together with lanx formation to avoid being outflanked. the unexpected sight of the puny force of Clash of Arms A thin center line only four deep was pro- attacking Athenians, probably bewildered Controlling as they did the best route to tected by two wings eight men deep. Cal- the confident Persians. Athens, the Athenians and their Plataean limachus himself led the right wing and As expected, the well-trained Persian allies decided, rather than attack a foe that the Plataeans the left. center withstood the initial shock and vastly outnumbered them, to wait. The On the Persian side, the strength was drove the weak Greek lines backward. Persian supply chain, after all, was limited, concentrated in the center. The elite Per- But on the wings, the Greeks carried the and the longer they forced the Persians to sian Immortals, exactly 10,000 in number, day. The hoplites typically fought with wait, the more likely the Athenians would probably to match the number of eyes the the first rank locking shields to provide receive reinforcements, especially the Persian god Mithra was said to possess, cover for the spears wielded by men in much-anticipated Spartans (who, unlike were each armed with a shield of leather the second and third ranks. With their the Athenians, already had an unmatched and wicker, a short spear, a bow and quiver much longer spears, larger and stronger reputation for battlefield valor). Miltiades, of arrows, and a dagger and short sword. shields, and better armor, the Greeks man moreover, wished to honor Athenian tra- They each wore a metal coat and a light to man were probably more than a match dition by not leading his men into battle tunic and trousers, and typically blunted for the average Persian soldier. Within a until the day when his command by rota- enemy attacks by a well-coordinated salvo very short time, the superior Persian forc- tion would have occurred. of arrows. es were caught in a double encirclement, For five days the two hosts regarded Anticipating this, the Greek hoplites and their lines broke. The Persian host,
THE NEW AMERICAN • APRIL 2, 2007 37 HISTORYHISTORY — PAST AND PERSPECTIVE including the vaunted Immortals, fled in gedly to the enemy vessel until the Per- ing a token force to guard the battlefield disarray to their boats with the victorious sians finally cut off his arms. and its hallowed dead, marched back as Greeks in hot pursuit. Many of them were The beaten Persians left behind 6,400 fast as they could to defend their city. hewn down on the sands of Marathon Bay, slain on the field of Marathon, while the Ahead of them, so the story goes, they while others stumbled in desperation into Greeks lost only 11 Plataeans and 192 sent a runner, Phidippides, to bear the mes- fens and bogs and were drowned. The re- Athenians, among them Callimachus, their sage of victory. After covering the roughly mainder swarmed aboard their boats as noble commander-in-chief. 26 miles with almost superhuman speed, best they could. In one celebrated inci- The Persians, however, were not fin- Phidippides delivered the momentous dent, Cyne girus, a brother of Aeschylus ished. The fleet, bearing a still very formi- news by breathing a single word — “Ne- the poet, was reported to have seized one dable army, sailed along the coast toward nikékamen” (“We have won”) — and died of the Persian galleys with his hands to Phaleron, the port closest to Athens. Mil- on the spot of exhaustion. prevent it from escaping. He clung dog- tiades and the rest of the Greek army, leav- Miltiades and the rest of the Greek force reached Phaleron in time to prevent Arta- phernes and the Persians from landing. Father of History: Herodotus’ Histories , part history, part Within a short time the Persians weighed geography, part natural history, and part charming fancy, are the anchor and sailed back to Asia. Perhaps, primary source for the Greco-Persian wars, including the Battle of Marathon, and is considered (aside from portions of the Old having taken time to weigh the gravity Testament) to be the first book of history ever written. of their defeat at Marathon, the Persians wanted no more of the Athenian hoplites. Perhaps tidings had reached their spies of a Spartan relief force, 2,000 strong, that was finally approaching Athens. Whatever the reason for the final Persian withdraw- al, the outmanned Athenians had won a stunning and utterly unanticipated victory at Marathon, at the dawn of what was to become Western civilization. Liberal West had triumphed over despotic East for the first, but by no means the last, time, sug- gesting to a Classical culture in its infancy the superiority of self-government over despotism. The Athenians, it is said, took the Spar- tans, who arrived the next day, on a tour of the battlefield, where the latter congratu- lated them on their great victory. Over the grave of the 192 Athenian fallen — who alone of all Athenians, in honor of their unexampled heroism, were buried where they fell instead of in the immense city cemetery — the Greeks erected an honor- ary mound, which stands to this day, to commemorate the heroes who vanquished the “golden-dressed Medes.” Ten years after Marathon, the Persians would return to Greece, in far greater numbers and led by their emperor Xerxes in person, to attempt anew the conquest of Athens and the rest of Greece. But it was Marathon that first advertised to the world the vigor of liberty, and instilled in the Greeks a confidence in their destiny. As the historian J. B. Bury admiringly put it, “The Athenians always looked back to Marathon as marking an epoch. It was as if on that day the gods had said to them, Go on and prosper.” ■
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