The Brutal Reality of the Battle of Marathon

PART 2:

Then finally: “We march.” At dawn, the Athenian army leaves the city. Around 10,000 Athenians. Then, hours into the march— reinforcements appear on the road ahead. One thousand Plataeans. A small allied city sending  nearly every soldier it can spare. Not because they expect victory. But because abandoning Athens  means facing Persia alone later.

Miltiades rides forward to meet them. “Arimnestos… you came.” “Plataea stands with Athens,” their  commander replies. “Until the end.” “Then Greece still has a chance.” The army marches east toward Marathon. Past farms already abandoned. Past civilians fleeing inland  with carts and livestock. Past shrines where families  stop to pray as the army passes.

Then finally— the Athenians reach the  heights overlooking the plain. And they see the Persian army below. Ships covering the shoreline. Rows of tents stretching across the beach. Archers. Infantry. Cavalry moving across open ground. The sheer scale of it is staggering. The Greeks held the inland edge  of Marathon, near the sanctuary of Heracles — close enough to watch the Persians,  but protected by the rising hills behind them.

Then the scouts returned. “How many did you see?” “Perhaps 25,000 infantry” “And the cavalry?” “Around 1,000” Another greek says “We are doomed”. “Hold position, we don’t need to attack yet” For a moment, nobody speaks. Then Miltiades turns to  one of the officers nearby. “Send a runner to Sparta.

” “You still believe they’ll come?” “They must.” A young courier steps forward. Pheidippides. “You know the road?” The runner nods. “Then go. Tell Sparta Athens stands at Marathon alone.” Before sunset— the messenger disappears  south toward the mountains. Nearly 240 kilometers to Sparta. For several moments, the Greek line simply stares. Because many of these men have never  seen the Persian Empire before.

Only heard stories. Now the empire is here. And between Persia and Athens… there is only them. The two armies settle into a tense stalemate. Neither side attacks. The Athenians position themselves near the  narrow exits leading inland toward Athens. One flank protected by hills. The other by rough terrain and marshland.

Miltiades understands exactly what matters now: Hold the road to Athens until Sparta arrives. Down on the plain, the Persians wait. A Persian scout approaches the command tent. “The Greeks remain in the hills.” “Good. Let them watch.” “Should we prepare for an attack?” “These are farmers with shields. Athens  will fall when we decide it falls.

” And every morning, the Athenians  wake to the same sight: Persian cavalry maneuvering  across open ground below them. A reminder of what happens if  they fight in the wrong place. Then the messenger finally returns. “The Spartans are coming.” Relief spreads briefly through the camp.

 “We have the advantage my friend, How many days?” “They cannot march yet.” “What?” “The Carneia has begun.” Spartan religious law forbids the army  from marching until the festival ends. “Then we stand alone.” Athens is alone for at least several more days. And every day the Persians remain  at Marathon creates new dangers. The Persians can attack. Sail directly toward Athens.

Or simply wait for fear and  exhaustion to destroy Greek resolve. Inside the Athenian camp,  tension starts spreading. Some commanders begin reconsidering  the decision to fight at all. Then something changes. Some soldiers noticed unusual movement near the Persian ships. Horses being led toward the shoreline.

Crews shouting across the surf. Transport vessels repositioning offshore. “What are they doing?” “They’re loading the cavalry.” “Why?” No one knows. Then a scout comes running from the flank. “The cavalry camps are empty.” Historians still debate  exactly what happened next. Maybe the Persian cavalry  was re-embarking onto ships.

Maybe part of the army was preparing  to sail directly toward Athens. But from the Greek position… the plain suddenly looks different. Less movement. Fewer horses. Miltiades immediately understands the opportunity. If the cavalry is absent, even temporarily… this may be the only moment the Athenians will ever get.

 He moves through the camp calling the commanders together. “We attack now.” “Are you insane? Attack downhill?” “ Across open terrain into Persian archers?” “Without Spartan support?” “Yes” Miltiades sees the alternative clearly. If the Persians regain mobility, Athens loses control of the battlefield forever. And if Persian ships reach Athens before the army can return— the city may fall without another battle.

There is no ideal option left. Only costly ones. Miltiades chooses the course  he judges most feasible. The order spreads down the Greek line. Prepare to advance. “Commander?” “What is it?” “The Greeks are getting ready for an attack.” “What? Ready the men.” The Greek army forms for battle. Miltiades makes one final adjustment.

He strengthens the wings. Weakens the center. Not because he wants to. Because he has to. The Greek line must stretch wide  enough to avoid being surrounded. It is a calculated risk. One that could destroy the army if the center collapses too quickly. Across the plain, Persian archers prepare. Then the Greeks begin advancing. At first slowly.

Shields locked. Spears forward. The Persians watch the line  descending toward them. Then suddenly— the Greeks accelerate. An entire hoplite army charging  directly into Persian missile fire. According to Herodotus, the Persians  believe the Athenians have gone mad. The distance closes violently fast. Then bronze crashes into the Persian line.

Spears shatter on impact. Shields slam together across the front. Men disappear beneath the crush almost instantly. For a moment, the sheer violence of the  Greek charge staggers the Persian line. “Push forward!” Hoplites drive into the lighter Persian infantry with brutal force.

 “DO NOT break formation!” But in the center— the resistance hardens. Greek soldiers begin stumbling  backward under mounting pressure. “They’re holding!” “The center is giving way!” And then— the Greek center starts collapsing. Because the strongest Persian  troops are positioned in the center. And they begin forcing the  weakened Greek center backward.

Dust explodes across the battlefield. Greek soldiers are driven uphill. Formations buckle under pressure. For several terrifying minutes— It looks like Miltiades has  made a catastrophic mistake. The Persian breakthrough is happening  exactly where the Greek line is weakest. But on the wings… the battle is unfolding differently.

The heavier Greek hoplites begin  crushing the Persian flanks. The lighter Persian infantry  cannot stop them in close combat. Then the Greek wings make the decisive move. They do not chase the fleeing enemy. They turn inward. And the Persian center, moments from victory, is suddenly exposed on both sides.

 “The flanks are collapsing!” “Pull back!” What looked like victory turns into compression. Confusion. Panic. The Persian line folds inward on itself. And then it breaks. The Persians run for the ships. Now the battle becomes slaughter. Some flee into the marshes  and disappear into the mud. Others desperately try launching ships  before the Greeks reach the shoreline.

The Athenians pursue them all the way to the sea. “Stop those ships!” Fighting erupts in the surf itself. “Launch now! LAUNCH NOW!” Greek soldiers grab ships before they can launch. Broken hulls slam together along the beach. Eventually the surviving Persian ships finally pull away from shore. The Athenians have done the impossible.

They have defeated the Persian invasion force. Then Miltiades looks south. A scout points toward the horizon. “The fleet is turning toward Athens.” And realizes the worst possibility still remains. The Persian fleet can still reach Athens before the army does. The exhausted Athenians reform immediately.

No celebration. No rest. Just another forced march. Because if the Persians land at Athens undefended— everything they achieved  at Marathon means nothing. The Athenian army reaches the city just in time. When the Persian fleet appears offshore… it finds Athens waiting. Armed. Organized. Still standing. The Persians turn away.

For the first time in history, the Persian Empire  has been defeated in open battle by a Greek army. And across Greece, the  psychological shock is enormous. Persia is no longer invincible. Even Sparta arrives too late to fight. The Spartans walk the battlefield at  Marathon studying the Persian dead and acknowledging what the Athenians accomplished.

But Marathon does not end the war. In Persia, King Darius immediately  begins preparing a far larger invasion. Then he dies. His son Xerxes inherits the throne. And ten years later… Persia returns with one of the largest  armies the ancient world has ever seen. The next time the Greeks face them… it will not be on an open plain.

It will be at a narrow pass called Thermopylae. Watch it now.