Monday, January 16, 2017

The Basis Of The Great Battle Of Marathon

By Eric Bennett


The marathon battle is among the most fought battles during the ancient times. This battle of Marathon was fought by the invading Persian compels of monarch Darius and the Athenian army. The army was supported by some force from the Plataea. It was a decisive battle that shaped the entire development of the contemporary European culture. The culture was shaped through defeating the Persian army.

The battle is known to have taken place during 490BC, and it was firstly incursion on Greece by the Persian Empire. The primary objective of this invasion was Eretria and Athens. During the fight, Eritrea and Athens suffered enormous fatalities, and they had to draw back. However, initially, the two cities had succeeded in burning and destroying the Sardis.

The ultimate victory of such cities gave them a lot of confidence to defend themselves against any attack. They could mobilize over ten thousand soldiers who were well skilled in defense of the entire territory. The main attack took place on great rivers and hills which gave the Athens great tactics to counterfeit the attack. The terrain of that battlefield was very significant, and it gave the army a high mileage in such a fight.

Before going to the battle, the Athenians used to take some days of planning. They used to strategize on how to how to block all the exits from the fighting field to be able to attack the center of Persians. Some soldiers were sent on the marathon to different places. This made it possible for the Persians to attack and conquer their cities. They could also impose some delay that favored them during the fights.

It is also true that the Athenians were the first to attack the Persians despite that they were outnumbered. The main reason for the attack was not necessarily known. Nevertheless, it was noted that this was because of lack of Persian Calvary in their camp. The approach was to encircle the Persian center and conquer the Persian army. Only 192 Athenian and 11 Plataea were lost.

The common tact used by the Greek army was the phalanx formation. The tactic involves the formation of a wall by the use of shields and protruding the spears at the edges of shielded walls. T5he Greeks also used stronger and heavier shields than the Persians. The tactic was very effective since the opponents were not familiar with it.

The battle is considered a pivotal occurrence in European history. The fight marked the last point of Persian attack to the Greece. The fight also led to the development of new territories in the Persian Empire. The war also marked the advent of the blond era of Athens. The war also resulted in the rise of civilization along with significant influence on the western society.

Currently, various legends are allied to this kind of fight. The Persian fleet was said to have matched over 25 miles to accomplish the Athenian victory. These actions led to the formation of a myth that Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Sparta to declare the victory. This also resulted in the modern Olympic Games, which includes the actual 25 miles distance.




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