What happened in the Battle of Marathon?
At the Battle of Marathon, Athens’ underdog victory stunned Persia. The surprise defeat of the mighty Persian Empire in 490 B.C. began the Golden Age of Athens and the Greco-Persian wars. A well-armed Greek hoplite (right) slays a Persian soldier in a detail from a 5th-century B.C. ceramic.
Why was the Battle of Marathon so important?
Despite the death of their commander, the Greeks had won a stunning victory for very minor losses. Marathon did not end the wars against Persia, but was the first turning point in establishing the success of the Greek, and specifically Athenian way, which would eventually give rise to all western culture as we know it.
Who won the Battle of Marathon?
Battle of Marathon, (September 490 bce), in the Greco-Persian Wars, decisive battle fought on the Marathon plain of northeastern Attica in which the Athenians, in a single afternoon, repulsed the first Persian invasion of Greece.
How did Greece win the Battle of Marathon?
Most importantly, the Athenians were led by Miltiades, who proved to be a military genius. He picked the time and place to engage the Persians to nullify their numerical superiority, thereby giving the victory to Athens.
Why did the Battle of Thermopylae happen?
Spartans hold back Persian forces at Anopaea, a single-file pass near Thermopylae. This great battle in 480 happened during the Greco-Persian Wars in which King Xerxes of Persia was attempting to gain more territory. In order to achieve hegemony over the Greek mainland, Xerxes planned to attack by land and by sea.
What is the significance of the marathon in Greek history?
In a nod to Greek history, the first marathon commemorated the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield near the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C. According to legend, Pheidippides ran the approximately 25 miles to announce the defeat of the Persians to some anxious Athenians.
Why was the Greek victory at Marathon so surprising?
Why was the Greek victory at Marathon so surprising? Because the Persian empire was expected to win because it was so much larger than Greece. After the Greek victory the threat from the Persian Empire was finally over.
Who beat the Persian Empire?
Alexander the Great
How Alexander the Great Conquered the Persian Empire. Alexander used both military and political cunning to finally unseat the Persian superpower. For more than two centuries, the Achaemenid Empire of Persia ruled the Mediterranean world.
