First Persian invasion of Greece
First Persian invasion of Greece | |
---|---|
Part of the | |
Result |
Persian victory
|
Territorial changes | Persia conquers Macedon and the Cycladic Islands, re-subjugates Thrace, and establishes supremacy over the Aegean Sea[1] |
Eretria
Other Greek city states
Mardonius
Datis
Artaphernes
Total:
9,000-10,000
100,000 oarsmen
(Non combatant)
Total:
26,000-28,000
Herodotus:
192 Athenians killed
11 Plataeans killed
Eretria enslaved
Naxos looted
Unknown losses for other states
Herodotus:
6,400 Persians killed
7 ships sunk
Other estimates:
4,000-5,000 killed[2]
Unknown losses during entire campaign
The first
The first campaign in 492 BC, led by
The second Persian campaign, in 490 BC, was under the command of Datis and Artaphernes. The expedition headed first to the island Naxos, which it captured and burned. It then island-hopped between the rest of the Cycladic Islands, annexing each into the Persian empire. Reaching Greece, the expedition landed at Eretria, which it besieged, and after a brief time, captured. Eretria was razed and its citizens enslaved. Finally, the task force headed to Attica, landing at Marathon, en route for Athens. There, it was met by a smaller Athenian army, which nevertheless proceeded to win a remarkable victory at the Battle of Marathon.
This defeat prevented the successful conclusion of the campaign, and the task force returned to Asia. Nevertheless, the expedition had fulfilled most of its aims, punishing Naxos and Eretria, and bringing much of the Aegean under Persian rule, as well as the full inclusion of Macedon. The unfinished business from this campaign led Darius to prepare for a much larger invasion of Greece, to firmly subjugate it, and to punish Athens and Sparta. However, internal strife within the empire delayed this expedition, and Darius then died of old age. It was thus left to his son Xerxes I to lead the second Persian invasion of Greece, beginning in 480 BC.
Sources
The main source for the Greco-Persian Wars is the Greek historian
Some subsequent ancient historians, despite following in his footsteps, criticised Herodotus, starting with
The Sicilian historian
Background
The first Persian invasion of Greece had its immediate roots in the
The Ionian revolt had begun with an unsuccessful expedition against
The involvement of Athens in the Ionian Revolt arose from a complex set of circumstances, beginning with the establishment of the
Cleomenes, unsurprisingly, was not pleased with events, and marched on Athens with the Spartan army.[31] Cleomenes's attempts to restore Isagoras to Athens ended in a debacle, but fearing the worst, the Athenians had by this point already sent an embassy to Artaphernes in Sardis, to request aid from the Persian Empire.[32] Artaphernes requested that the Athenians give him an 'earth and water', a traditional token of submission, which the Athenian ambassadors acquiesced to.[32] However, they were severely censured for this when they returned to Athens.[32] At some point later Cleomenes instigated a plot to restore Hippias to the rule of Athens. This failed and Hippias again fled to Sardis and tried to persuade the Persians to subjugate Athens.[33] The Athenians dispatched ambassadors to Artaphernes to dissuade him from taking action, but Artaphernes merely instructed the Athenians to take Hippias back as tyrant.[26] Needless to say, the Athenians balked at this, and resolved instead to be openly at war with Persia.[33] Having thus become the enemy of Persia, Athens was already in a position to support the Ionian cities when they began their revolt.[26] The fact that the Ionian democracies were inspired by the example of Athens no doubt further persuaded the Athenians to support the Ionian Revolt; especially since the cities of Ionia were (supposedly) originally Athenian colonies.[26]
The city of Eretria also sent assistance to the Ionians for reasons that are not completely clear. Possibly commercial reasons were a factor; Eretria was a mercantile city, whose trade was threatened by Persian dominance of the Aegean.[26] Herodotus suggests that the Eretrians supported the revolt in order to repay the support the Milesians had given Eretria in a past war against Chalcis.[34]
The Athenians and Eretrians sent a task force of 25
492 BC: Mardonius' campaign
In the spring of 492 BC an expeditionary force, to be commanded by Darius's son-in-law Mardonius, was assembled, consisting of a fleet and a land army.[42] Whilst the ultimate aim was to punish Athens and Eretria, the expedition also aimed to subdue as many of the Greek cities as possible.[42][43] Departing from Cilicia, Mardonius sent the army to march to the Hellespont, whilst he travelled with the fleet.[42] He sailed round the coast of Asia Minor to Ionia, where he spent a short time abolishing the tyrannies that ruled the cities of Ionia. Ironically, since the establishment of democracies had been a key factor in the Ionian Revolt, he replaced the tyrannies with democracies.[42] Mardonius' establishment of democracy here can be seen as a bid to pacify Ionia, allowing his flank to be protected as he advanced towards the Hellespont and then onto Athens and Eretria.
Thence the fleet continued on to the Hellespont, and when all was ready, shipped the land forces across to Europe.
Meanwhile, the fleet crossed to
Then, whilst the army was camped in Macedon, the Brygians, a local Thracian tribe, launched a night raid against the Persian camp, killing many of the Persians, and wounding Mardonius.[45] Despite his injury, Mardonius made sure that the Brygians were defeated and subjugated, before leading his army back to the Hellespont; the remnants of the navy also retreated to Asia.[45] Although this campaign ended ingloriously, the land approaches to Greece had been secured, and the Greeks had no doubt been made aware of Darius's intentions for them.[46]
491 BC: Diplomacy
Perhaps reasoning that the expedition of the previous year may have made his plans for Greece obvious, and weakened the resolve of the Greek cities, Darius turned to diplomacy in 491 BC. He sent ambassadors to all the Greek city states, asking for "earth and water", a traditional token of submission.[47] The vast majority of cities did as asked, fearing the wrath of Darius. In Athens, however, the ambassadors were put on trial and then executed; in Sparta, they were simply thrown down a well.[46] This firmly and finally drew the battle-lines for the coming conflict; Sparta and Athens, despite their recent enmity, would together fight the Persians.[46]
However, Sparta was then thrown into disarray by internal machinations. The citizens of
490 BC: Datis and Artaphernes' campaign
Taking advantage of the chaos in Sparta, which effectively left Athens isolated, Darius decided to launch an amphibious expedition to finally punish Athens and Eretria.[52] An army was assembled in Susa, and marched into Cilicia, where a fleet had been gathered.[52] Command of the expedition was given to Datis the Mede and Artaphernes, son of the satrap Artaphernes.
Size of the Persian force
According to Herodotus, the fleet sent by Darius consisted of 600 triremes.
Herodotus does not estimate the size of the Persian army, only saying that they formed a "great and well-furnished army".[63] Among other ancient sources, the poet Simonides, a near-contemporary, says the campaign force numbered 200,000, while a later writer, the Roman Cornelius Nepos estimates 200,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry.[64] Plutarch and Pausanias both independently give 300,000, as does the Suda dictionary;[65][66][67] Plato and Lysias assert 500,000; and Justin 600,000.[68][69][70]
Modern historians generally dismiss these numbers as exaggerations.[62] One approach to estimate the number of troops is to calculate the number of marines carried by 600 triremes. Herodotus tells us that each trireme in the second invasion of Greece carried 30 extra marines, in addition to a probable 14 standard marines.[71] Thus, 600 triremes could easily have carried 18,000–26,000 infantry.[62][72] Numbers proposed for the Persian infantry are in the range 18,000–100,000.[60][61][73][74][75] However, the consensus is around 25,000.[62][74]
The Persian infantry used in the invasion was probably a heterogeneous group drawn from across the empire. However, according to Herodotus, there was at least a general conformity in the type of armour and style of fighting.
They fought a long time at Marathon. In the center of the line the foreigners prevailed, where the Persians and Sacae were arrayed. The foreigners prevailed there and broke through in pursuit inland, but on each wing the Athenians and Plataeans prevailed. In victory they let the routed foreigners flee, and brought the wings together to fight those who had broken through the center. The Athenians prevailed, then followed the fleeing Persians and struck them down. When they reached the sea they demanded fire and laid hold of the Persian ships.
— Herodotus VI.113.[80]
Estimates for the cavalry are usually in the 1,000–3,000 range.[62][81] The Persian cavalry was usually provided by the ethnic Persians, Bactrians, Medes, Cissians, and Saka; most of these probably fought as lightly armed missile cavalry.[76][82] The fleet must have had at least some proportion of transport ships, since the cavalry was carried by ship; whilst Herodotus claims the cavalry was carried in the triremes, this is improbable. Lazenby estimates 30–40 transport ships would be required to carry 1,000 cavalry.[62]
Lindos
Once assembled, the Persian force sailed from Cilicia firstly to the island of Rhodes. A Lindian Temple Chronicle records that Datis besieged the city of Lindos, but was unsuccessful.[83]
Naxos
The fleet then moved north along the Ionian coast towards
The Cyclades
Moving on, the Persian fleet approached Delos, whereupon the Delians also fled from their homes.[86] Having demonstrated Persian power at Naxos, Datis now intended to show clemency to the other islands, if they submitted to him.[84] He sent a herald to the Delians, proclaiming:
"Holy men, why have you fled away, and so misjudged my intent? It is my own desire, and the king's command to me, to do no harm to the land where the two gods were born, neither to the land itself nor to its inhabitants. So return now to your homes and dwell on your island."[86]
Datis then burned 300 talents of frankincense on the altar of Apollo on Delos, to show his respect for one of the gods of the island. The fleet then proceeded to island-hop across the rest of Aegean on its way to Eretria, taking hostages and troops from each island.[84]
Karystos
The Persians finally arrived off the southern tip of Euboea, at Karystos. The citizens of Karystos refused to give hostages to the Persians, so they were besieged, and their land ravaged, until they submitted to the Persians.[87]
Siege of Eretria
The task force then sailed around Euboea to the first major target, Eretria.[88] According to Herodotus, the Eretrians were divided amongst themselves as to the best course of action; whether to flee to the highlands, or undergo a siege, or to submit to the Persians.[88] In the event, the majority decision was to remain in the city.[89] The Eretrians made no attempt to stop the Persians landing, or advancing, and thus allowed themselves to be besieged.[89] For six days the Persians attacked the walls, with losses on both sides;[89] however, on the seventh day two reputable Eretrians opened the gates and betrayed the city to the Persians.[89] The city was razed, and temples and shrines were looted and burned. Furthermore, according to Darius's commands, the Persians enslaved all the remaining townspeople.[89]
Battle of Marathon
The Persian fleet next headed south down the coast of Attica, landing at the bay of Marathon, roughly forty kilometres (25 mi) from Athens, on the advice of Hippias, son of the former tyrant of Athens, Peisistratus.[90] The Athenians, joined by a small force from Plataea, marched to Marathon, and succeeded in blocking the two exits from the plain of Marathon.[91] At the same time, Athens' greatest runner, Pheidippides (or Philippides) was sent to Sparta to request that the Spartan army march to Athens' aid.[91] Pheidippides arrived during the festival of Carneia, a sacrosanct period of peace, and was informed that the Spartan army could not march to war until the full moon rose; Athens could not expect reinforcement for at least ten days.[92] They decided to hold out at Marathon for the time being, and they were reinforced by a contingent of hoplites from Plataea.[91]
Stalemate ensued for five days, before the Athenians (for reasons that are not completely clear) decided to attack the Persians.[93] Despite the numerical advantage of the Persians, the hoplites proved devastatingly effective, routing the Persians wings before turning in on the centre of the Persian line; the remnants of the Persian army left the battle and fled to their ships.[77] Herodotus records that 6,400 Persian bodies were counted on the battlefield;[94] the Athenians lost just 192 men[94] and the Plataeans 11.[95]
In the immediate aftermath of the battle, Herodotus says that the Persian fleet sailed around Cape Sunium to attack Athens directly,[96] although some modern historians place this attempt just before the battle.[97] Either way, the Athenians evidently realised that their city was still under threat, and marched as quickly as possible back to Athens.[98] The Athenians arrived in time to prevent the Persians from securing a landing, and seeing that the opportunity was lost, the Persians turned about and returned to Asia.[98] On the next day, the Spartan army arrived, having covered the 220 kilometers (140 mi) in only three days. The Spartans toured the battlefield at Marathon, and agreed that the Athenians had won a great victory.[99]
Aftermath
The defeat at Marathon ended for the time being the Persian invasion of Greece. However, Thrace and the Cycladic islands had been resubjugated into the Persian empire, and Macedon reduced to a subordinate kingdom part of the empire; since the late 6th century BC they had been vassals of the Persians, but remained having a broad scope of autonomy.[20] Darius was still fully intent on conquering Greece, to secure the western part of his empire.[100] Moreover, Athens remained unpunished for its role in the Ionian Revolt, and both Athens and Sparta were unpunished for their treatment of the Persian ambassadors.[101]
Darius therefore began raising a huge new army with which he meant to completely subjugate Greece; however, in 486 BC, his Egyptian subjects revolted, indefinitely postponing any Greek expedition.[101] Darius then died whilst preparing to march on Egypt, and the throne of Persia passed to his son Xerxes I.[102] Xerxes crushed the Egyptian revolt, and very quickly restarted the preparations for the invasion of Greece.[103] This expedition was finally ready by 480 BC, and the second Persian invasion of Greece thereby began, under the command of Xerxes himself.[104]
Significance
For the Persians, the two expeditions to Greece had been largely successful; new territories had been added to their empire and Eretria had been punished.[101] It was only a minor setback that the invasion had met defeat at Marathon; that defeat barely dented the enormous resources of the Persian empire.[105] Yet, for the Greeks, it was an enormously significant victory. It was the first time that Greeks had beaten the Persians, and showed them that the Persians were not invincible, and that resistance, rather than subjugation, was possible.[106]
The victory at Marathon was a defining moment for the young Athenian democracy, showing what might be achieved through unity and self-belief; indeed, the battle effectively marks the start of a 'golden age' for Athens.[107] This was also applicable to Greece as a whole; "their victory endowed the Greeks with a faith in their destiny that was to endure for three centuries, during which western culture was born".[7][108] John Stuart Mill's famous opinion was that "the Battle of Marathon, even as an event in British history, is more important than the Battle of Hastings".[109]
Militarily, a major lesson for the Greeks was the potential of the hoplite phalanx. This style had developed during internecine warfare amongst the Greeks; since each city-state fought in the same way, the advantages and disadvantages of the hoplite phalanx had not been obvious.[110] Marathon was the first time a phalanx faced more lightly armed troops, and revealed how devastating the hoplites could be in battle.[110] The phalanx formation was still vulnerable to cavalry (the cause of much caution by the Greek forces at the Battle of Plataea), but used in the right circumstances, it was now shown to be a potentially devastating weapon.[111] The Persians seem to have more-or-less disregarded the military lessons of Marathon. The composition of infantry for the second invasion seems to have been the same as during the first, despite the availability of hoplites and other heavy infantry in Persian-ruled lands.[112] Having won battles against hoplites previously, the Persians may simply have regarded Marathon as an aberration.[112]
See also
References
- ISBN 9781575061207.
- ^ Krentz, Peter, The Battle of Marathon (Yale Library of Military History), Yale Univ Press, (2010) p. 98
- ^ Roisman & Worthington 2011, p. 343.
- ^ The Darius Seal.
- ^ Darius' seal: photo - Livius.
- ^ Cicero, On the Laws I, 5
- ^ a b c d Holland, pp. xvi–xvii.
- ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, e.g. I, 22
- ^ a b Finley, p. 15.
- ^ Holland, p. xxiv.
- ^ David Pipes. "Herodotus: Father of History, Father of Lies". Archived from the original on January 27, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
- ^ a b Holland, p. 377.
- ^ Fehling, pp. 1–277.
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica
- ^ Note to Herodotus IX, 81
- ^ a b Holland, pp. 47–55
- ^ a b Holland, pp. 58–62
- ^ Holland, p. 203
- ^ Howe & Reames 2008, p. 239.
- ^ a b c Roisman & Worthington 2011, pp. 135–138, 342–345.
- ^ Fine, p. 276
- ^ a b Holland, pp. 171–178
- ^ Herodotus V, 105
- ^ a b c Holland, pp. 154–157
- ^ Herodotus V, 97
- ^ a b c d e f Holland, pp. 157–161
- ^ a b Herodotus V, 65
- ^ Herodotus V, 96
- ^ a b Holland, pp. 131–132
- ^ a b c Holland, pp. 133–136
- ^ Holland, pp. 136–138
- ^ a b c Holland, p. 142
- ^ a b Herodotus V, 96
- ^ Herodotus V, 98
- ^ Herodotus V, 99
- ^ Holland, p. 160
- ^ Holland, p. 168
- ^ Holland, p. 176
- ^ Herodotus VI, 31
- ^ Herodotus VI, 33
- ^ Holland, pp. 177–178
- ^ a b c d e Herodotus VI, 43
- ^ a b c d Herodotus VI, 44
- ^ Holland, p. 153
- ^ a b Herodotus VI, 45
- ^ a b c Holland, pp. 178–179
- ^ Herodotus VI 48
- ^ a b c d e Holland, pp. 179–181
- ^ Herodotus VI, 49
- ^ Herodotus VI, 73
- ^ Herodotus VI, 74
- ^ a b Holland, pp. 181–183
- ^ The Achaemenid Empire in South Asia and Recent Excavations in Akra in Northwest Pakistan Peter Magee, Cameron Petrie, Robert Knox, Farid Khan, Ken Thomas pp. 713–714
- ^ NAQŠ-E ROSTAM – Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- ^ List of ethnicities with corresponding drawing
- ^ Lecoq, Pierre. Les inscriptions de la perse achemenide (1997) (in French). pp. 221–222.
- ^ DNe inscription
- ^ Herodotus VI, 95
- ^ Herodotus VII, 97
- ^ a b Stecchini, Livio. "The Persian Wars". Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- ^ a b Green, p. 90
- ^ a b c d e f Lazenby, p. 46
- ^ Herodotus VI 95
- ^ Cornelius Nepos, Miltiades, 4
- ^ Plutarch, Moralia, 305B
- ^ Pausanias IV, 22
- ^ Suda dictionary, entry Hippias
- ^ Plato, Menexenus, 240A
- ^ Lysias, Funeral Oration, 21
- ^ Justinus II, 9
- ^ Herodotus VII, 184
- ^ Kampouris (2000)
- ^ Davis, pp. 9–13
- ^ a b Holland, p. 390
- ^ Lloyd, p. 164
- ^ a b c d e f g Lazenby, pp. 23–29
- ^ a b Holland, pp. 195–197
- ^ Holland, pp. 17–18
- ^ Herodotus VI, 113
- ^ Perseus Under Philologic: Hdt.6.113. Archived from the original on 2018-12-24. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
- ^ Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Έθνους (History of the Greek nation volume Β), Athens 1971
- ^ Lazenby, p. 232
- ^ Lind. Chron. D 1–59 in Higbie (2003)
- ^ a b c d Holland, pp. 183–186
- ^ a b Herodotus VI, 96
- ^ a b Herodotus VI, 97
- ^ Herodotus VI, 99
- ^ a b Herodotus VI, 100
- ^ a b c d e Herodotus VI, 101
- ^ Herodotus VI, 102
- ^ a b c Holland, pp. 187–190
- ^ Herodotus VI, 105
- ^ Lazenby, pp. 59–62
- ^ a b Herodotus VI, 117
- ^ Siegel, Janice (August 2, 2005). "Dr. J's Illustrated Persian Wars". Archived from the original on December 5, 2006. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- ^ Herodotus VI, 115
- ^ Holland, pp. 191–194
- ^ a b Herodotus VI, 116
- ^ Herodotus VI, 120
- ^ Holland, p. 177
- ^ a b c Holland, pp. 202–203
- ^ Holland, pp. 206–208
- ^ Holland, pp. 208–211
- ^ Holland, pp. 240–244
- ^ Holland, p. 200
- ^ Holland, p. 201
- ^ Holland, p. 138
- ^ Fuller, pp. 11–32
- ^ Powell et al., 2001
- ^ a b Holland, pp. 194–197
- ^ Holland, pp. 344–352
- ^ a b Lazenby, p. 28
Bibliography
Ancient sources
- Herodotus, The Histories
- Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War
- Diodorus Siculus, Library
- Lysias, Funeral Oration
- Plato, Menexenus
- Xenophon, Anabasis
- Cornelius Nepos, Lives of the Eminent Commanders (Miltiades)
- Plutarch, Parallel Lives (Aristides, Themistocles), On the Malice of Herodotus
- Pausanias, Description of Greece
- Pompeius Trogus
- Photius, Bibliotheca or Myriobiblon: Epitome of Persica by Ctesias
- Suda lexicon
Modern sources
- ISBN 0-520-20313-5.
- Holland, Tom (2006). Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West. Abacus. ISBN 0-385-51311-9.
- Lazenby, JF. The Defence of Greece 490–479 BC. Aris & Phillips Ltd., 1993 (ISBN 0-85668-591-7)
- Lloyd, Alan. Marathon:The Crucial Battle That Created Western Democracy. Souvenir Press, 2004. (ISBN 0-285-63688-X)
- Davis, Paul. 100 Decisive Battles. Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 1-57607-075-1
- Higbie, C. The Lindian Chronicle and the Greek Creation of their Past. Oxford University Press, 2003.
- Powell J., Blakeley D.W., Powell, T. Biographical Dictionary of Literary Influences: The Nineteenth Century, 1800–1914. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. ISBN 978-0-313-30422-4
- Fuller, J.F.C. A Military History of the Western World. Funk & Wagnalls, 1954.
- Fine, JVA. The Ancient Greeks: A Critical History. Harvard University Press, 1983 (ISBN 0-674-03314-0).
- Fehling, D. Herodotus and His "Sources": Citation, Invention, and Narrative Art. Translated by J.G. Howie. Leeds: Francis Cairns, 1989.
- Finley, Moses (1972). "Introduction". Thucydides – History of the Peloponnesian War (translated by Rex Warner). Penguin. ISBN 0-14-044039-9.
- Howe, Timothy; Reames, Jeanne (2008). Macedonian Legacies: Studies in Ancient Macedonian History and Culture in Honor of Eugene N. Borza. Regina Books. ISBN 978-1-930-05356-4.
- Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Έθνους (History of the Greek nation volume Β), Athens 1971
- Kampouris, M. (2000). Η Μάχη του Μαραθώνα, το λυκαυγές της κλασσικής Ελλάδος (The battle of Marathon, the dawn of classical Greece). Πόλεμος και ιστορία (War and History magazine), no. 26, January 2000, Communications Editions, Athens.
- Stecchini, Livio. "The Persian Wars". Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- Roisman, Joseph; Worthington, Ian (2011). A Companion to Ancient Macedonia. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-1-44-435163-7.
External links
- The Persian Wars at History of Iran on Iran Chamber Society (archived 24 November 2010)
- Article in Greek about Salamis, includes Marathon and Xerxes' campaign (archived 20 October 2007)