Miltiades – Hero of Marathon :Miltiades – Hero of Marathon


Role :Role The leadership of Miltiades was crucial for the Greek victory over the Persians in 490 BC.


But who was he? :But who was he? Miltiades the Younger lived from around 550BC to 489 BC. In his life, he was a tyrant, a Persian vassal, an anti-Persian rebel, an Athenian general, a war hero, and a convicted Athenian criminal.


Early life :Early life He was born into a wealthy, influential, noble Athenian family. When his uncle, a pro-Persian tyrant, died, he succeeded him as tyrant of the Chersonese (the peninsula north of Troy)


The Tyrant! :The Tyrant! He made himself the tyrant of the Greek colonies on the Chersonese around 516 BC, forcibly seizing it from his rivals and imprisoning them.


The Persian ally :The Persian ally He became a vassal of Darius I of Persia, joining Darius' expedition against the Scythians around 513 BC.


The Rebel :The Rebel He joined the Ionian Revolt of 499 BC against Persian rule, establishing friendly relations with Athens and capturing the islands of Lemnos and Imbros


The Exile :The Exile In 492 BC Miltiades fled to Athens to escape a retaliatory Persian invasion. His son Metiochos was captured by the Persians and made a lifelong prisoner.


The Traitor :The Traitor Thanks to his past relationship with the Persians, he arrived in Athens with intimate knowledge of Persian ways and military tactics…


The Athenian General :The Athenian General He was elected to serve as one of the 10 generals (strategoi) for 490 BC


The Strategist :The Strategist When Darius landed at Marathon in 490 BC: Miltiades convinced the polemarch, Callimachus, to confront the Persians at Marathon and not wait for them to attack. Callimachus, recognising Miltiades' experience in Persian military tactics, effectively gave him the command of the army.


The Hero! :The Hero! The Greeks won the Battle of Marathon, in large part thanks to Miltiades. The tactics devised by Miltiades which led to success included:


(i) seizing the opportune moment to strike while the Persian cavalry was absent :(i) seizing the opportune moment to strike while the Persian cavalry was absent


(ii) the deployment of troops: strong wings and weaker centre :(ii) the deployment of troops: strong wings and weaker centre


(iii) advancing at the run :(iii) advancing at the run


The Loser :The Loser The following year, 489 BC, Miltiades led an Athenian expedition of seventy ships against the Greek-inhabited islands that were deemed to have supported the Persians. The expedition was not a success. The fleet attacked Paros, which had been conquered by the Persians, but failed to take the island. Miltiades suffered a bad leg wound during the campaign and became incapacitated.


The Criminal :The Criminal His failure prompted an outcry on his return to Athens, enabling his political rivals to exploit his fall from grace. Charged with treason, he was sentenced to death, but the sentence was converted to a fine of fifty talents. This was a huge and unaffordable sum by the standards of the time…


The Dead Guy :The Dead Guy …so, he was sent to prison where he died, probably of gangrene from his wound.


The Father :The Father His son,Cimon was a major Athenian figure of the 470s and 460s BC.


490-480BC :490-480BC Darius intended to invade Greece again but events at home, an uprising in Egypt in 487 and his death in 486 BC delayed a Persian invasion. Xerxes, his son, came to the throne and prepared to avenge his father's defeat.


Slide 21:It was at this time that Themistocles rose to power in Athens. He is credited as the builder of the Athenian navy. In 483 BC he persuaded the Athenians to build 200 ships. He also persuaded the Assembly to fortify the peninsula of Piraeus. Xerxes was spending this time preparing for the invasion.