The Battle of Marathon was fought on a plain on the coast of Attica, northeast of Athens, between the Athenians with a small contingent from Plataea and an invading Persian force sent by Darius I. The Persians had come to punish Athens for supporting the Ionian revolt against Persian rule. The Athenian army, led by ten generals, among them Miltiades, who is credited with the tactics, charged the Persian lines and defeated them, then marched rapidly back to Athens to prevent a landing there. The Greek historian Herodotus is the main source, and scholars debate details such as the number of troops and the exact day. The victory became a symbol of Athenian courage, and it inspired the modern marathon race.
Before and after
- from 499 BCE to 449 BCEGreco-Persian Wars
- 496 BCEOrigins of Temple of Castor and Pollux
- 496 BCEBirth of Sophocles
- 494 BCEBirth of Pericles
- 12 August 490 BCEBattle of Marathon
- 484 BCEBirth of Herodotus
- 11 August 480 BCEBattle of Thermopylae
- 479 BCEDeath of Confucius
- from 478 BCE to 403 BCEFounding of Delian League
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The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 5th century BCE.