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Homework: The significance of the battle of
Marathon for the Athenians and the other
Greeks
The battle of Marathon was a major turning point for
the Athenians. In the late Sixth Century, some
twenty years before this battle, the Athenians had
begun to develop a democratic system of
government in which each man had the right to
speak about and vote on state policy. Each citizen
was given some measure of power and
responsibility for what happened in his state. BUT –
this system was new and no-one knew if it would
last.
We know that Athens went on to become a highly
successful state. Just over sixty years after the battle
of Marathon, her leader, Pericles, was claiming that
the city was an example to the rest of Greece.
Indeed, Athens was a cultural centre with
philosophers, historians, playwrights, architects and
artists from all over the Greek world coming to the
city.
Athens became a leading state, with numerous
political allies, and even turned her alliances into an
empire, so that much of the Greek world was subject
to her power. Marathon may have given the
Athenians the confidence to move forward and take
a more prominent role in Greece.
To what extent Marathon is responsible for the
development of Athens it is impossible to say. But if
the Athenians lost the battle, they might well have
become subjects of the Persians and become part
of the Persian Empire. Given the Spartans
somewhat laid back attitude before Marathon, it
seems unlikely that they would have come to the aid
of the Athenians had this happened.
Herodotus does not speak much about the
consequences of the battle. However, something of
his view may be implied by the speech which he puts
into the mouth of Miltiades, as he was attempting to
persuade Callimachus that it was time to fight.
‘It is down to you, Kallimachos, either
to enslave Athens or to make her free
and to leave a memorial of yourself for
the whole span of human history
greater than even Harmodios and
Aristogeiton. For now the Athenians
have come to the greatest crisis they
have ever faced, and if they submit in
slavery to the Persians, it is clear what
they will suffer when handed over to
Hippias; but if this city survives, it will
be able to become the most powerful of
all the Greek cities. … If you accept my
opinion about what to do, our
fatherland will be free and will be the
first city in Greece. But if you choose to
vote with those who do not wish to
fight, you will achieve the opposite of
what I have just said.
Herodotus, 6.109
This speech is, of course, written after the event by
Herodotus, at a time when Athens had become one
of the greatest states in the Greek world. It does
show, however, that Herodotus at least saw
Marathon as a key moment in the development of
the city.
One important aspect of the Athenian victory was the
absence of the Spartans: the Athenians had become
a military force to be reckoned with. Until that time,
everyone turned to Sparta for military help – the
Ionians, for example, had done this when they
wished to start their revolt. Now, however, the
Athenians had been successful, and all the Spartans
could do was to congratulate them. This must have
strengthened Athens’ position both for the coming
battles against Xerxes and, subsequently, in the
development of her defensive league against Persia,
the Delian League, which later became the Athenian
Empire.
The Delian League
After the defeat of the Persians in 479BC, the
Greeks were faced with the question of how to
protect themselves against the continuing threat
posed by the Persians. The Spartans were not
willing to take on the burden of leadership, so the
Athenians began a defensive league called the
Delian League. It was so called because its
treasury was at Delos, an island sacred to Apollo.
Members of the league paid either tribute money or
ships to the Athenians, who, in return, guaranteed
their safety from Persian attack. During the course
of the fifth century, this League changed into an
Empire for the Athenians, who came to have ever
increasingly power over their allies.
The Athenians themselves held the victors of
Marathon in great esteem. Some forty years later,
their leader Pericles persuaded the Athenians to
build the Parthenon, a great temple on the Acropolis
in the centre of Athens. Around the centre of this
temple runs a sculptural frieze which depicts a
religious procession in Athens, the Panatheaic
procession. There are 192 men in this procession,
and some believe that these were the victors of
Marathon. There is no written evidence to this effect,
but the fact that there are 192 men is suggestive. If
this is this case, it would reflect the highest possible
honour for those who died: to be shown on a temple,
the house of the goddess Athena, at a time when the
Greeks were only just beginning to show humans on
their temples.
In the second century AD, a Greek doctor named
Pausanias travelled around Greece, and wrote an
extensive guidebook. He visited Marathon over half
a millennium after the battle, and described the place
as follows:
There is an area called Marathon…
At this point in Attica, the barbarians
landed and were overpowered in
battled and they lost some of their
ships which they were putting off
from the land. There is a tomb of
these Athenians in the plain, and on
it grave-markers giving the names
of each of those who died by their
tribe, and another for the Plataeans
from Boeotia and another for slaves.
For slaves also fought then for the
first time. And there is a separate
monument for Miltiades, son of
Cimon, alone, although he died
later… There through the whole
night it is possible to hear the horses
neighing and men fighting… The
Marathonians worship those who
died in this battle, calling them
heroes… The Athenians say that
they buried the Persians, as the
divine law always requires a corpse
to be hidden in earth, but I was not
able to find a tomb. I could not seen
a mound nor anything other
indication, as they took them to a
trench and throw them in
haphazardly.
Pausanias, 1.32
Herodotus also tells us that before the Battle at
Marathon, no Greek could hear the name ‘Persian’
without terror. Perhaps the events of this day gave
the Athenians and other Greeks to face the Persian
threat when it reappeared in 480BC. Darius returned
to Persia, and never again fought against the
Greeks. It was left to his son, Xerxes, to launch the
next expedition.
TASK 2E
1. Describe two ways in which the
victors at Marathon were honoured by
the Athenians.
2. Explain two reasons why the victory
at Marathon was significant for the
Athenians.
3. Describe how you think the battle of
Marathon might have affected how
the Athenians were seen by the rest
of the Greeks.
TASK 2F: Source-Based Exercise
1. Read the section from the speech of Miltiades
given above, Herodotus, 6.109.
(a) Summarise Miltiades’ seech.
(b) Explain whether you think this is what
Miltiades actually said.
(c) Explain why you think Herodotus included
this account at this point in his narrative.
2. Read the excerpt from Pausanias, and note
that he was writing in the second century AD.
(a) What does this passage tell us about how
the Athenians honoured those who fought
at Marathon?
(b) What does this passage tell us about how
the Persian corpses were treated?
(c) What information is given in this passage
which is not in Herodotus? Why do you
think Herodotus did not include it?
(d) How reliable do you think Pausanias is as
a historical source? Explain your answer.
Lesson 10: Xerxes decision to invade
Greece
Introduction
After Darius’ failed attempts to take Greece, he
returned to Persia. He was angered by what had
happened at Marathon. He planned for another
attack on Greece. He summoned soldiers from
throughout Asia. However, in the third year after
Marathon he faced a rebellion in Egypt. He decided
to go to war against both Greece and Egypt. Darius
died before he could start both expeditions. His two
sons fought over the succession – but Xerxes was
successful – but at first was only interested in
defeating Egypt.
3.1 Reasons for Xerxes’ expedition against
the Greeks
Xerxes was in a difficult position. He wanted to get
revenge for his father against the Greeks.
Particularly the burning of Sardis and defeat at
Marathon. When Darius died in 485BC, Xerxes
may have felt duty-bound to complete the job left
unfinished by his father.
Another factor which may have motivated Xerxes
was the desire to expand the empire. The kings
before him, including Darius, increased the size of
the Persian Empire. Conquering Greece would help
to establish his status as King. In addition, fighting
away from home was always a good way to avoid
rebellion in the empire. Herodotus reports that his
army was drawn from many places throughout the
empire: soldiers who were fighting for their king
were far less likely to fight against him.
Herodotus gives us an account of Xerxes’
motivations which requires careful consideration. He
tells us that at first Xerxes was not at all interested
in invading Greece. He was more interested in
dealing with the Egyptians, who had rebelled in the
final year of Darius’ reign.
Mardonius, Xerxes’ cousin, kept on talking to him,
reminding him of the injuries which the Athenians
had done to the Persians. He suggested to him, that
if he led an army against Athens, his name would be
honoured throughout the world, and it would deter
others from attacking Persia (Herodotus, 7.5).
Herodotus also states that Mardonius added to
these points that Europe (i.e. Greece in Europe) was
a beautiful place, and only the Persian king should
really be ruling there. Herodotus notes that
Mardonius was really motivated by the desire to
become governor of Greece himself.
In addition to Persian court politics, Greek politics
determined that the Persians were almost invited to
attack. The ruling family in Thessaly offered
assistance to Xerxes. The Pisistratidae, the former
tyrants of Athens, were keen that he should attack,
just as Hippias had supported Darius. They kept
trying to persuade Xerxes to act. Part of their
strategy was to use Onomacritus, a collector of
oracles, who gave Xerxes prophecies which
suggested that he would be successful in any
attempt against Greece – those which suggested
otherwise were carefully omitted. Herodotus
describes how ‘Xerxes gave in and allowed himself
to be persuaded to undertake the invasion of
Greece’ (Herodotus, 7.6).
Once he had decided to act, Xerxes was not going
to allow anything to stand in his way. He had clearly
decided to leave nothing to chance, and aimed to
conquer Greece. They were far larger in scale than
those before: great numbers of troops from all over
the empire, required to march over the newly
constructed bridge over the Hellespont. These had
to be given provisions, as well as co-operate with the
naval forces. Xerxes had all this in mind, and must
surely only have had the conquest of the whole of
Greece in mind: he would not be content with merely
subduing Athens, Greece as a whole must have
been his idea. Herodotus agrees with this
assessment stating that the purpose of Xerxes’
expedition was the conquest of the whole of Greek
(Herodotus, 7.138).
TASK 3A
1. When did King Darius die?
2. Which two countries was Xerxes considering
attacking when he became king?
3. Give details of three factors which suggested to
Xerxes that he should attack Greece.
4. Explain two reasons why Xerxes wanted to
attack Greece in 480BC.
Herodotus 7: 5-7
After the death of Darius, his son Xerxes became
king. Xerxes did not want to march against Greece
instead he wanted to crush the Egyptian rebellion.
Mardonius, Xerxes cousin, tried to persuade
Xerxes to change his mind: 'Master, it is not
reasonable that the Athenians who have done the
Persians a great deal of harm should not pay the
penalty for what they have done. After crushing the
Egyptians you should lead your army against
Athens. If you do not do this you will damage your
reputation.' Mardonius then went on to say that
Europe was a rich country which deserved to
belong to a great King.
6
Mardonius said this because he wanted to control
Greece. Others also tempted Xerxes. The Aleuadai
(who were the leading family in Thessaly) invited
Xerxes into Greece. The old royal family of Athens
(the Peisistratus) brought omens and prophecies
which said that the Persians would win. (The
prophecies which said the Persians would lose
were thrown away because they wanted to
convince Darius to help them reclaim their kingdom
in Athens.) The one which struck Xerxes the most
was that only a Persian man could bridge the
Hellespont and tame the waters. .
7
Xerxes found himself convinced. At first he
overcame the Egyptian rebels and put it under
much tighter control than it had been under Darius.
He also gave it to his brother to control for him.
Unfortunately his brother was shortly murdered by
a Libyan man.
wishing to show his power and to leave something
memorable. Although it was possible to drag their
ships across the isthmus without any great effort,
he ordered the canal to be dug through to the sea
wide enough for two triremes to be rowed through
at the same time. The same men who were
ordered to dig the canal were also ordered to put a
bridge across the banks of the River Strymon.
1.
Describe Xerxes’ actions in this passage.
2.
Explain why you think Xerxes took this
course of action.
TASK 3B Source-based Task: Xerxes decides to
invade
Read Herodotus 7: 5-7.
1.
What does Xerxes wish to do after his father
death?
2.
Who does Herodotus say convinces Xerxes
to fight?
3.
How do they convince him?
4.
What does this say about Xerxes character?
3.
What does this episode show about
Xerxes’ determination in attacking Greece?
Herodotus 7.23 – 24.
23
The barbarians divided up the ground to build the
canal at Athos. Each team would dig a deep
channel and pass it to another team above them
who would remove it from the channel. They would
then pass it up the sides until it reached the final
team who would throw it away.
But most of the barbarians failed. Only the
Phoenicians knew how to build a ditch which would
not collapse. They made the top and bottom of the
channel the same size. They taught this method to
the other barbarian. To feed these huge teams
Xerxes had to turn a nearby meadow into a market.
This was a meeting place to share ideas and to sell
the ready made corn which was transported from
Asia for them.
24
So far as I can understand by thinking about this,
Xerxes ordered them to dig this canal out of pride,
4.
How reliable do you think this account by
Herodotus is? Explain your reasons for your
answer.