The battle of Marathon Flashcards
First Greek victory over the Persians
What is a trireme?
A type of Greek ship
How many ships did Darius send to attack Greece? (according to Herodotus)
600
How many infantry did Darius send to attack Greece?
25,000
How many miles is Marathon from Athens?
about 26
When did the battle of Marathon take place?
September 490BC
Why was Marathon chosen?
It was a flat plain, meaning the Persian cavalry could be disembarked
What did Datis and Artaphernes do at Naxos on the way to Marathon?
Destroy the temples and town
What did Datis do at Delos on the way to Marathon?
Sacrifice to the god Apollo in an attempt to gain trust from the Greeks
Who did the Athenians send to ask Sparta for help before the battle?
Pheidippides
What god did Pheidippides meet?
Pan
How many generals were the Athenians commanded by?
ten
How far did pheidippides run from Athes to Sparta?
150 miles
Why did the Spartans say they couldn’t hepl the Athenians?
It was the ninth day of the month so they were engaged in a religious festival, they could not coe until the full moon
Who did help the Athenians?
The Plataeans
Why did the Plataeans decide to help?
The Athenians had previously supported them in a dispute with their neighbours the Thebans
Who is our only nearly contemporary source for this battle?
Herodotus
The Athenian commanders were divided in their opinions of whether to fight or not.
How was the matter settled?
Miltiades convinced Callimachus, the polemarch or war archon, that they should fight
How did the Athenian democratic system work in regards to the leadership of the generals?
Each was in charge for a day
Who led the Greek forces?
Miltiades
Until when did Miltiades feruse to fight?
His own day of leadership
Who commanded the right wing?
Callimachus
Who was on the left wing?
The Plataeans
The Greek forces were very spread out
What effect did this have?
Strong wings and a weaker centre
Why were the Greek forces so spread out?
Because the Persian forces were so wide
How did the Greeks enter the battle?
At a run
unusual because of their heavy armour
Who was better amoured, the Greek hoplites or the Persians?
The Greek hoplites
Where did the Persians break through the Greek forces?
The centre
How where the Persians driven down to the sea?
They were surrounded by the strong Greek wings
What is a phalanx?
a rectangular formation of hoplites
How deep were the Greek phalanxes?
8 men on the wings, 4 in the centre
Why were Persian archers less successful than normal?
The Greeks were more heavily armoured than the Persians
How many Greeks ans Persians does Herodotus SAY were killed?
192 Greeks, 6400 Persians
Why is the number of Greeks killed likely to be accurate?
The name of each man was recorded on a grave marker on the mound where they were buried
How is the number of dead Persians thought to have been calculated?
By assuming every 3 Athenians who died killed 100 Persians
Up until the battle of Marathon, which state had the Greeks turned to for military assistance?
Sparta
Which later (by almost half a millenium) author is the existence of the mound backed up by?
Pausanias
How might the Athenian dead of the battle have been honoured?
192 men in a sculptural freize on the Parthenon, a temple to the goddess Athena, at a time Greeks were just beginning to put people on their temples
Why did Darius not return to attack Greece again?
He died
