A report on Battle of Marathon, Battle of Plataea and Achaemenid Empire

1900 depiction of the Battle of Marathon

Persians and Spartans fighting at Plataea. 19th century illustration.

The plain of Marathon today, with pine forest and wetlands.

A map showing the Greek world at the time of the battle

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest territorial extent under the rule of Darius I (522 BC–486 BC)

The Achaemenid Empire and its allied Greek states (Macedonia, Thessaly, Malis, Locris, Phocis and Boeotia) at the time of the Battle of Plataea.

Darius I of Persia, as imagined by a Greek painter on the Darius Vase, 4th century BC

Movements of the Persian and Greek armies in 480–479 BC

Initial disposition of forces at Marathon

Answer of Aristides to the ambassadors of Mardonius: "As long as the sun holds to its present course, we shall never come to terms with Xerxes".

Map of the expansion process of Achaemenid territories

The initial movements at the Battle of Plataea. The Greek line moves forward to the Asopus ridge.

Cyrus the Great is said, in the Bible, to have liberated the Hebrew captives in Babylon to resettle and rebuild Jerusalem, earning him an honored place in Judaism.

Athenians on the beach of Marathon. Modern reenactment of the battle (2011)

The tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire. At Pasargadae, Iran.

The ethnicities of the soldiers of the army of Darius I are illustrated on the tomb of Darius I at Naqsh-e Rostam, with a mention of each ethnicity in individual labels. Identical depictions were made on the tombs of other Achaemenid emperors, the best preserved frieze being that of Xerxes I.

The Spartan general Pausanias commanded the Allied Greek troops.

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC

Persian infantry (probably Immortals), shown in a frieze in Darius's palace, Susa in Persia (which is today Iran)

Disposition of Achaemenid troops beyond the Asopos river at the beginning of the Battle of Plataea. From left to right: Greek allies, Sacae, Indians, Bactrians, Medes and Persians.

The Persian queen Atossa, daughter of Cyrus the Great, sister-wife of Cambyses II, Darius the Great's wife, and mother of Xerxes the Great

Aristides, commander of the Athenians, informed by Alexander I of Macedon (a nominal ally of the Achaemenids) that delaying the encounter with the Persians would help further diminish their already low supplies. Battle of Plataea, 479 BC.

Map showing events of the first phases of the Greco-Persian Wars

Greek troops rushing forward at the Battle of Marathon, Georges Rochegrosse, 1859.

The battlefield of Plataea from the Achaemenid (northern) side.

Greek hoplite and Persian warrior depicted fighting, on an ancient kylix, 5th century BC

Pausanias offering sacrifice to the Gods before the battle

Achaemenid king fighting hoplites, seal and seal holder, Cimmerian Bosporus.

Scene of the Battle of Plataea. 19th century illustration.

Achaemenid gold ornaments, Brooklyn Museum

"They crashed into the Persian army with tremendous force", illustration by Walter Crane in Mary Macgregor, The Story of Greece Told to Boys and Girls, London: T.C. & E.C. Jack.

The main phase of the battle at Plataea. The Greek retreat becomes disorganised, and the Persians cross the Asopus to attack.

Persian Empire timeline including important events and territorial evolution – 550–323 BC

Scene of the Battle of Plataea on the south frieze of the Temple of Athena Nike, Athens. The scene on the right may show the fight over the body of Masistius. British Museum.

Relief showing Darius I offering lettuces to the Egyptian deity Amun-Ra Kamutef, Temple of Hibis

The 24 countries subject to the Achaemenid Empire at the time of Darius, on the Egyptian statue of Darius I.

Cynaegirus grabbing a Persian ship at the Battle of Marathon (19th century illustration).

Coin of Alexander I of Macedon in the decade following the Battle of Plataea and the departure of Achaemenid forces (struck in 480/79-470 BC).

The Battle of Issus, between Alexander the Great on horseback to the left, and Darius III in the chariot to the right, represented in a Pompeii mosaic dated 1st century BC – Naples National Archaeological Museum

Relief of the battle of Marathon (Temple of Augustus, Pula).

Alexander's first victory over Darius, the Persian king depicted in medieval European style in the 15th century romance The History of Alexander's Battles

Contemporary depiction of the Battle of Marathon in the Stoa Poikile (reconstitution)

Frataraka dynasty ruler Vadfradad I (Autophradates I). 3rd century BC. Istakhr (Persepolis) mint.

Greek Corinthian-style helmet and the skull reportedly found inside it from the Battle of Marathon, now residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.

Dārēv I (Darios I) used for the first time the title of mlk (King). 2nd century BC.

Winged sphinx from the Palace of Darius in Susa, Louvre

Reconstitution of the Nike of Callimachus, erected in honor of the Battle of Marathon. Destroyed during the Achaemenid destruction of Athens. Acropolis Museum.

Volume of annual tribute per district, in the Achaemenid Empire, according to Herodotus.

Luc-Olivier Merson's painting depicting the runner announcing the victory at the Battle of Marathon to the people of Athens.

Achaemenid tax collector, calculating on an Abax or Abacus, according to the Darius Vase (340–320 BC).

Burton Holmes's photograph entitled "1896: Three athletes in training for the marathon at the Olympic Games in Athens".

Letter from the Satrap of Bactria to the governor of Khulmi, concerning camel keepers, 353 BC

Relief of throne-bearing soldiers in their native clothing at the tomb of Xerxes I, demonstrating the satrapies under his rule.

Achaemenid king killing a Greek hoplite. c. 500 BC–475 BC, at the time of Xerxes I. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Persian soldiers (left) fighting against Scythians. Cylinder seal impression.

Color reconstruction of Achaemenid infantry on the Alexander Sarcophagus (end of 4th century BC).

Seal of Darius the Great hunting in a chariot, reading "I am Darius, the Great King" in Old Persian (𐎠𐎭𐎶𐏐𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁𐎴 𐏋, "adam Dārayavaʰuš xšāyaθiya"), as well as in Elamite and Babylonian. The word "great" only appears in Babylonian. British Museum.

Achaemenid calvalryman in the satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.

Armoured cavalry: Achaemenid Dynast of Hellespontine Phrygia attacking a Greek psiloi, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.

Reconstitution of Persian landing ships at the Battle of Marathon.

Greek ships against Achaemenid ships at the Battle of Salamis.

Iconic relief of lion and bull fighting, Apadana of Persepolis

Achaemenid golden bowl with lioness imagery of Mazandaran

A section of the Old Persian part of the trilingual Behistun inscription. Other versions are in Babylonian and Elamite.

A copy of the Behistun inscription in Aramaic on a papyrus. Aramaic was the lingua franca of the empire.

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world, was built by Greek architects for the local Persian satrap of Caria, Mausolus (Scale model)

Reconstruction of the Palace of Darius at Susa. The palace served as a model for Persepolis.

Lion on a decorative panel from Darius I the Great's palace, Louvre

Apadana Hall, Persian and Median soldiers at Persepolis

Lateral view of tomb of Cambyses II, Pasargadae, Iran

Plaque with horned lion-griffins. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes.

- Battle of Marathon

It took place in 479 BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states (including Sparta, Athens, Corinth and Megara), and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I (allied with Greece's Boeotians, Thessalians, and Macedonians).

- Battle of Plataea

Although Plataea was in every sense a resounding victory, it does not seem to have been attributed the same significance (even at the time) as, for example, the Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon or the allied Greek defeat at Thermopylae.

- Battle of Plataea

However, in 490 BC the Persian forces were defeated by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon and Darius would die before having the chance to launch an invasion of Greece.

- Achaemenid Empire

The land army which he left in Greece under Mardonius retook Athens but was eventually destroyed in 479 BC at the Battle of Plataea.

- Achaemenid Empire

These numbers are highly comparable to the number of troops Herodotus says that the Athenians and Plataeans sent to the Battle of Plataea 11 years later.

- Battle of Marathon

9 related topics with Alpha

Leonidas at Thermopylae, by Jacques-Louis David, 1814.

Battle of Thermopylae

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A map of almost all the parts of the Greek world that partook in the Persian Wars

The Spartans throw Persian envoys into a well

The site of the battle today. Mount Kallidromon on the left, and the wide coastal plain formed by accretion of fluvial deposits over the centuries; the road to the right approximates the 480 BC shoreline.

Map showing Greek and Persian advances to Thermopylae and Artemisium

Map of Thermopylae area with a reconstructed shoreline of 480 BC.

Contemporary depictions: probable Spartan hoplite (Vix crater, c.500 BC), and Scythian warrior of the Achaemenid army (tomb of Xerxes I, c.480 BC), at the time of the Second Persian invasion of Greece (480–479 BC).

Spartans surrounded by Persians, Battle of Thermopylae. 19th century illustration.

Crown-wearing Achaemenid king killing a Greek hoplite. Impression from a cylinder seal, sculpted circa 500 BC–475 BC, at the time of Xerxes I. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A Persian soldier at the time of the Second Achaemenid invasion of Greece.

The Capture of the Acropolis and the destruction of Athens by the Achaemenids, following the battle of Thermopylae.

Hidush (Indian soldier of the Achaemenid army), circa 480 BC. Xerxes I tomb. Herodotus explained that Indians participated on the Second Persian invasion of Greece.

The Battle of Thermopylae, 19th century engraving

Scene of the Battle of the Thermopylae (19th century illustration).

The Battle of Thermopylae was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I.

The engagement at Thermopylae occurred simultaneously with the Battle of Artemisium: between July and September 480 BC. The second Persian invasion under Xerxes I was a delayed response to the failure of the first Persian invasion, which had been initiated by Darius I and ended in 490 BC by an Athenian-led Greek victory at the Battle of Marathon.

However, the following year saw a Greek army decisively defeat Mardonius and his troops at the Battle of Plataea, ending the second Persian invasion.

Persian soldier (left) and Greek hoplite (right) depicted fighting, on an ancient kylix, 5th century BC

Greco-Persian Wars

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Herodotus, the main historical source for this conflict

Thucydides continued Herodotus's narrative

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent under Darius the Great

Persian and Median Immortals in ceremonial dress, bas-relief in Persepolis

According to Herodotus, the Athenians, hoping for protection against Sparta, made the gift of "Earth and Water" to the Persians in 507 BC.

Coinage of Athens at the time of Cleisthenes. Effigy of Athena, with owl and ΑΘΕ, initials of "Athens". Circa 510-500/490 BC.

The burning of Sardis by the Greeks and the Ionians during the Ionian Revolt in 498 BC.

Map showing main events of the Ionian Revolt.

The soldiers of Xerxes I, of all ethnicities, on the tomb of Xerxes I, at Naqsh-e Rostam.

Probable Spartan hoplite (Vix crater, c. 500 BC).

Major events in the second invasion of Greece

Schematic diagram illustrating events during the Battle of Salamis

Spartans fighting against Persian forces at the Battle of Plataea. 19th century illustration.

Athens and her "empire" in 431 BC. The empire was the direct descendant of the Delian League

Map showing the locations of battles fought by the Delian League, 477–449 BC

Dynast of Lycia, Kherei, with Athena on the obverse, and himself wearing the Persian cap on the reverse. Circa 440/30–410 BC.

Coinage of Tiribazos, Satrap of Lydia, with Faravahar on the obverse. 388–380 BC.

The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the Greeks and the enormous empire of the Persians began when Cyrus the Great conquered the Greek-inhabited region of Ionia in 547 BC. Struggling to control the independent-minded cities of Ionia, the Persians appointed tyrants to rule each of them.

However, while en route to attack Athens, the Persian force was decisively defeated by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon, ending Persian efforts for the time being.

The following year, the confederated Greeks went on the offensive, decisively defeating the Persian army at the Battle of Plataea, and ending the invasion of Greece by the Achaemenid Empire.

Gobryas, father of Mardonius, on the tomb of Darius I.

Mardonius (nephew of Darius I)

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Mardonius led the Destruction of Athens. Part of the archaeological remains called Perserschutt, or "Persian rubble".

Answer of the Athenian Aristides to the ambassadors of Mardonius: "As long as the sun holds to its present course, we shall never come to terms with Xerxes".

Camp of Mardonius and disposition of Achaemenid troops at the Battle of Plataea (479 BC), in which Mardonius was killed. From left to right: Greek allies, Sacae, Indians, Bactrians, Medes and Persians.

Mardonius ( Mr̥duniyaʰ; Mardónios; died 479 BC) was a leading Persian military commander during the Persian Wars with Greece in the early 5th century BC who died at the Battle of Plataea.

He was relieved of his command by Darius, who appointed Datis and Artaphernes junior to lead the invasion of Greece in 490 BC, and though they were subsequently successful in capturing Naxos and destroying Eretria, they were later defeated at the Battle of Marathon.

Battle of Salamis

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Map showing the Greek world at the time of the battle

Fleet of triremes based on the full-sized replica Olympias

The Lycian dynast Kybernis (520-480 BCE) led 50 Lycian ships in the Achaemenid fleet.

The Ionian fleet, here seen joining with Persian forces at the Bosphorus in preparation of the European Scythian campaign of Darius I in 513 BC, was part of the Achaemenid fleet at Salamis. 19th century illustration.

The battle of Salamis, 19th century illustration.

Battle of Salamis, by Wilhelm von Kaulbach (detail).

Death of the Persian admiral Ariabignes (a brother of Xerxes) early in the battle; illustration from Plutarch's Lives for Boys and Girls c. 1910

Artemisia, Queen of Halicarnassus, and commander of the Carian contingent of the Achaemenid fleet, at the Battle of Salamis, shooting arrows at the Greeks. Wilhelm von Kaulbach (detail).

The triumph of Themistocles after Salamis. 19th century illustration.

The wrath of Xerxes looking at the Battle of Salamis from his promontory, by Wilhelm von Kaulbach (detail).

Serpent Column, a monument to their alliance, dedicated by the victorious Allies in the aftermath of Plataea; now at the Hippodrome of Constantinople

The Battle of Salamis was a naval battle fought between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes in 480 BC. It resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks.

The following year the remainder of the Persian army was decisively beaten at the Battle of Plataea and the Persian navy at the Battle of Mycale.

At the ensuing Battle of Marathon, the Athenians won a remarkable victory, which resulted in the withdrawal of the Persian army to Asia.

Rock relief of an Achaemenid king, most likely Xerxes, located in the National Museum of Iran

Xerxes I

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The "Caylus vase", a quadrilingual alabaster jar with cuneiform and hieroglyphic inscriptions in the name of "Xerxes, the Great King". Cabinet des Médailles, Paris

Engraving of Babylon by H. Fletcher, 1690

Achaemenid king killing a Greek hoplite. Impression from a cylinder seal, sculpted c. 500 BC – 475 BC, at the time of Xerxes I Metropolitan Museum of Art

Foundations of the Old Temple of Athena, destroyed by the armies of Xerxes I during the Destruction of Athens in 480 BC

The rock-cut tomb at Naqsh-e Rustam north of Persepolis, copying that of Darius, is usually assumed to be that of Xerxes

This cuneiform text mentions the murder of Xerxes I by his son. From Babylon, Iraq. British Museum

Xerxes being designated by Darius I. Tripylon, Persepolis. The ethnicities of the Empire are shown supporting the throne. Ahuramazda crowns the scene.

Trilingual inscription of Xerxes at Van (present-day Turkey)

The Persian king in the Biblical Book of Esther is commonly thought to be Xerxes

Xerxes (Ahasuerus) by Ernest Normand, 1888 (detail)

Xerxes I ( Xšayār̥šā; ; c. 518 – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of Darius the Great ((r.

Xerxes I is notable in Western history for his invasion of Greece in 480 BC. His forces temporarily overran mainland Greece north of the Isthmus of Corinth until losses at Salamis and Plataea a year later reversed these gains and ended the second invasion decisively.

Darius died while in the process of preparing a second army to invade the Greek mainland, leaving to his son the task of punishing the Athenians, Naxians, and Eretrians for their interference in the Ionian Revolt, the burning of Sardis, and their victory over the Persians at Marathon.

Herodotus

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A romanticized statue of Herodotus in his hometown of Halicarnassus, modern Bodrum, Turkey

Herodotus ( Hēródotos; c. 484 BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey).

The Histories primarily cover the lives of prominent kings and famous battles such as Marathon, Thermopylae, Artemisium, Salamis, Plataea, and Mycale.

The Parthenon, a temple dedicated to Athena, located on the Acropolis in Athens, is one of the most representative symbols of the culture and sophistication of the ancient Greeks.

Ancient Greece

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Northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (c.

The Victorious Youth (c. 310 BC), is a rare, water-preserved bronze sculpture from ancient Greece.

Dipylon Vase of the late Geometric period, or the beginning of the Archaic period, c. 750 BC.

Early Athenian coin, depicting the head of Athena on the obverse and her owl on the reverse – 5th century BC

Delian League ("Athenian Empire"), immediately before the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC

Alexander Mosaic, National Archaeological Museum, Naples.

Map showing the major regions of mainland ancient Greece and adjacent "barbarian" lands.

Greek cities & colonies c. undefined 550 BC (in red color)

Marble bust of Pericles with a Corinthian helmet, Roman copy of a Greek original, Museo Chiaramonti, Vatican Museums; Pericles was a key populist political figure in the development of the radical Athenian democracy.

Inheritance law, part of the Law Code of Gortyn, Crete, fragment of the 11th column. Limestone, 5th century BC

Fresco of dancing Peucetian women in the Tomb of the Dancers in Ruvo di Puglia, 4th–5th century BC

Gravestone of a woman with her slave child-attendant, c. undefined 100 BC

Mosaic from Pompeii depicting Plato's academy

The carved busts of four ancient Greek philosophers, on display in the British Museum. From left to right: Socrates, Antisthenes, Chrysippus, and Epicurus.

The ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, 4th century BC

A scene from the Iliad: Hypnos and Thanatos carrying the body of Sarpedon from the battlefield of Troy; detail from an Attic white-ground lekythos, c. 440 BC.

The Antikythera mechanism was an analog computer from 150 to 100 BC designed to calculate the positions of astronomical objects.

Mount Olympus, home of the Twelve Olympians

Though heavily outnumbered, the Athenians—supported by their Plataean allies—defeated the Persian hordes at the Battle of Marathon, and the Persian fleet turned tail.

The Persians were decisively defeated at sea by a primarily Athenian naval force at the Battle of Salamis, and on land in 479 BC at the Battle of Plataea.

To fight the enormous armies of the Achaemenid Empire was effectively beyond the capabilities of a single city-state.

Hoplite

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Hoplites ( : hoplítēs) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields.

Hoplites shown in two attack positions, with both an underhand thrust and an overhand prepared to be thrown

Phalanx fighting on a black-figure amphora, c. 560 BC. The hoplite phalanx is a frequent subject in ancient Greek art

Hoplite armour exhibit from the Archaeological Museum of Corfu. Note the gold inserts around the chest area of the iron breastplate at the centre of the exhibit. The helmet on the upper left is a restored version of the oxidised helmet on the right.

Stele of Aristion, heavy-infantryman or hoplite. 510 BC. Top of helmet and pointed beard missing.

Athenian cavalryman Dexileos fighting a naked Peloponnesian hoplite in the Corinthian War. Dexileos was killed in action near Corinth in the summer of 394 BC, probably in the Battle of Nemea, or in a proximate engagement. Grave Stele of Dexileos, 394-393 BC.

Chigi Vase with Hoplites holding javelins and spears

Hoplites on an aryballos from Corinth, c. 580–560 BC (Louvre)

Crouching warrior, tondo of an Attic black-figure kylix, c. 560 BC (Staatliche Antikensammlungen)

Achaemenid king killing a Greek hoplite. Circa 500 BC–475 BC, at the time of Xerxes I. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Spartan hoplite. (Image from Vinkhuijzen Collection of Military Costume Illustration, before 1910)

Paintings of Ancient Macedonian soldiers, arms, and armaments, from the tomb of Agios Athanasios, Thessaloniki in Greece, 4th century BC

Etruscan warrior, found near Viterbo, Italy, dated circa 500 BC.

The formation proved successful in defeating the Persians when employed by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE during the First Greco-Persian War.

The phalanx was also employed by the Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE and at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BCE during the Second Greco-Persian War.

Fragment from Histories, Book VIII on 2nd-century Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 2099

Histories (Herodotus)

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Considered the founding work of history in Western literature.

[[Candaules, King of Lydia, Shews his Wife by Stealth to Gyges, One of his Ministers, as She Goes to Bed|Candaules, King of Lydia, shews his wife by stealth to Gyges...]], by William Etty (1830)

Edwin Long's 1875 interpretation of The Babylonian Marriage Market as described by Herodotus in Book 1 of the Histories

Nile crocodile allowing the trochilus to eat leeches in its mouth. Drawing by Henry Scherren, 1906

Scythian warriors, drawn after figures on an electrum cup from the Kul'Oba kurgan burial near Kerch (Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg)

Statue of Athena, the patron goddess of Athens

The Battle of Salamis, by Wilhelm von Kaulbach (1868)

The Serpent Column dedicated by the victorious Greeks in Delphi, later transferred to Constantinople

Dedication in the Histories, translated into Latin by Lorenzo Valla, Venice 1494

Reconstruction of the Oikoumene (inhabited world), ancient map based on Herodotus,

The Indian Gold Hunters, after Herodotus: gold ants pursuing gold hunters.

Croesus Receiving Tribute from a Lydian Peasant, by Claude Vignon

The Histories also stands as one of the earliest accounts of the rise of the Persian Empire, as well as the events and causes of the Greco-Persian Wars between the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. Herodotus portrays the conflict as one between the forces of slavery (the Persians) on the one hand, and freedom (the Athenians and the confederacy of Greek city-states which united against the invaders) on the other.

The Athenian win at the Battle of Marathon, led by Miltiades and other strategoi (This section starts roughly around 6.100)

The Persian retreat to Thebes where they are afterwards slaughtered (Battle of Plataea)