20. Within a year of saving Athens, this warrior would die in an Athenian jail
The heavily armed and armored Athenian hoplites under Miltiades’ command rapidly closed the distance to their enemy, and smashed into the more lightly armed Persians. The Athenians’ reinforced flanks pushed back their opposition, which transformed the Persian line into a bulge surrounded on three sides by Miltiades’ men. The Athenians in the reinforced flanks then wheeled inwards to attack the Persian center, which panicked, broke, and fled in a rout to their beached ships. It was a stunning victory, with the Athenians and their allies losing about 200 dead to the Persians’ 6400.
Miltiades returned to Athens in glory, but it did not last. The following year, he led a strong expedition against some Greek islands that had supported the Persians, but bungled it badly, and suffered a severe leg wound. The defeat of such a warrior of renown seemed so absurd to the Athenians, that they figured only deliberate treachery could explain it. His fellow citizens, whom he had so recently saved, tried him on treason charges. He was convicted and sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to a heavy fine. He was sent to prison, where he died when his leg wound became infected.
