AH12: The Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
Darius' first invasion of Greece, the Battle of Marathon, and the significance of the Athenian victory.
The Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
Darius' first invasion of Greece, the Battle of Marathon, and the significance of the Athenian victory.
Key Fact: Darius sent a fleet in 490 BC to punish Athens and Eretria for supporting the Ionian Revolt; Eretria was sacked
Key Fact: The Persian force landed at Marathon, guided by the exiled Athenian tyrant Hippias
Key Fact: The Athenians marched to Marathon and were joined by 1,000 Plataeans; they were heavily outnumbered
Key Fact: Miltiades persuaded the Athenians to attack; the Greeks strengthened their wings and thinned their centre
Key Fact: The Greek wings crushed the Persian flanks, then turned inward to envelop the Persian centre — a decisive victory
Key Fact: Pheidippides allegedly ran 150 miles to Sparta to request help (Sparta arrived after the battle due to a religious festival)
📋 Key Vocabulary and Concepts
For The Battle of Marathon (490 BC), you must know:
- Miltiades: The Athenian general who persuaded the assembly to attack at Marathon and devised the winning tactical plan of strengthening the wings
- Pheidippides: The Athenian runner sent to Sparta to request help; according to Herodotus he ran 150 miles and arrived the next day
- Callimachus: The polemarch (war archon) of Athens who cast the deciding vote to attack at Marathon after the ten strategoi were split 5-5
- Hippias: The former Athenian tyrant who accompanied the Persians to Marathon, hoping to be restored to power; he was elderly and reportedly died at the battle
- Envelopment: A military tactic where the flanks of an enemy formation are attacked simultaneously and then turned inward to surround the centre
❓ Practice Questions
Q: Why did Darius invade Greece in 490 BC?
Q: How did Miltiades win the Battle of Marathon?
Q: Why was the decision to attack controversial?
Q: Why could Sparta not help at Marathon?
Q: What was the significance of the Athenian victory at Marathon?
✅ Answers
- To punish Athens and Eretria for supporting the Ionian Revolt and to extend Persian control into mainland Greece. Darius also wanted to restore Hippias as a puppet tyrant in Athens.
- Miltiades strengthened both wings of the Greek line while thinning the centre. When the Greeks advanced, the strong wings crushed the Persian flanks, then turned inward to attack the Persian centre from both sides (double envelopment). The Persians fled to their ships.
- The ten Athenian strategoi were split 5-5 on whether to attack or wait. The Persians had more troops and feared cavalry. Miltiades persuaded the polemarch Callimachus to break the tie in favour of attacking, arguing that waiting would allow more Persian allies to arrive.
- Sparta was celebrating the festival of Carneia, during which military activity was forbidden by religious law. Pheidippides reached Sparta the day after leaving Athens, but the Spartans said they could not march until the full moon. They arrived after the battle was over.
- It proved that the Greek hoplite phalanx could defeat a larger Persian force, boosted Greek morale and confidence, and demonstrated that Persia was not invincible. It became a defining myth of Athenian identity and democratic superiority.
🧭 Spec Focus — OCR
OCR GCSE Ancient History (J198). Two written papers, no coursework: one covering the Greek world (Persia and Greece, Alexander) and one covering Rome (kings to emperors, Britain). These pages map onto that split: ah-persian-wars, ah-greece and ah-alexander-style period topics for the Greek paper; ah-rome-republic, ah-rome-emperors and ah-britain for the Roman paper. Source-analysis skill is the assessed differentiator — every answer should cite the ancient evidence by author.
🎯 Exam Tips
- Marathon = 490 BC, Darius punishing Athens/Eretria
- Miltiades' tactic: strong wings, thin centre, double envelopment
- Sparta delayed by the Carneia festival (religious prohibition)
- Marathon became a powerful Athenian myth of democratic courage
📝 Exam Technique
GCSE Ancient History Exam Tips — The Battle of Marathon (490 BC):
1. For The Battle of Marathon (490 BC), include specific factual detail: dates, names, events and statistics where relevant
2. For source questions, analyse provenance (who, when, why, audience) before using the content
3. In evaluation questions, discuss multiple factors and weigh their relative significance
4. Always link back to the question focus — don't just narrate what happened with The Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
5. Use phrases like 'the most significant factor was... because...' to show analytical judgement
1. For The Battle of Marathon (490 BC), include specific factual detail: dates, names, events and statistics where relevant
2. For source questions, analyse provenance (who, when, why, audience) before using the content
3. In evaluation questions, discuss multiple factors and weigh their relative significance
4. Always link back to the question focus — don't just narrate what happened with The Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
5. Use phrases like 'the most significant factor was... because...' to show analytical judgement
⚠️ Common Errors
✗ The Spartans refused to help out of rivalry with Athens ✓ Sparta genuinely wanted to help but was prevented by the Carneia religious festival. They sent their full army as soon as the festival ended, arriving three days after the battle
✗ Persians had cavalry at Marathon that won them the battle ✓ Herodotus says the Persian cavalry was absent during the Greek attack — possibly re-embarking on ships. The lack of cavalry was a key factor that made Miltiades choose to attack when he did
✗ Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens and died ✓ Herodotus records that Pheidippides ran from Athens to Sparta (~150 miles) to summon help. The story of him running from Marathon to Athens (~26 miles) and dying with 'rejoice, we conquer' is a later tradition, not in Herodotus
✍️ Model Answer
Full-Mark Response
Describe the events leading to the Battle of Marathon and explain how the Greeks won. [6 marks]
Darius sent a fleet in 490 BC to punish Athens and Eretria for supporting the Ionian Revolt. Eretria was betrayed and sacked. The Persian force, guided by the exiled Athenian tyrant Hippias, landed at the plain of Marathon, about 40 km from Athens. The Athenian assembly sent 10,000 hoplites to Marathon under ten strategoi. They were joined by 1,000 Plataeans. Pheidippides was sent to Sparta for help, but the Spartans were delayed by the Carneia religious festival. The Athenian generals were split 5-5 on whether to attack. Miltiades persuaded the polemarch Callimachus to break the tie in favour of attacking, arguing that the Persians' cavalry was temporarily absent and delay would only strengthen the enemy. Miltiades deployed the Greek line with strengthened wings and a thin centre. When the hoplites charged across the plain, the strong wings crushed the Persian flanks while the centre initially gave ground. The victorious wings then turned inward, enveloping the Persian centre from both sides. The Persians broke and fled to their ships. The Greeks captured seven ships but most Persians escaped. The 192 Athenian dead were buried in a tumulus (soros) that still stands at Marathon. The victory proved that Greek hoplites could defeat larger Persian forces, becoming a foundational myth of Athenian democratic courage and military excellence.
📊 AO Deep Dive
Assessment Objective Analysis
AO1 (Knowledge & Understanding): Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the battle of marathon (490 bc), including key events, individuals, and developments in the ancient world relevant to OCR J198.
AO2 (Explanation & Analysis): Explain and analyse historical events and periods related to the battle of marathon (490 bc), using historical concepts such as causation, consequence, change, continuity, similarity and difference.
AO3 (Source Analysis & Interpretations): Analyse, evaluate and use sources and interpretations related to the battle of marathon (490 bc), considering provenance, utility and the construction of historical arguments.
📝 Exam Questions by Topic
🎬 Video Resources
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