25. Winning an Upset Victory at Marathon
Faced with the Persians’ numerical superiority at Marathon, the Athenians, who had ten generals and a rotating command system by which each held command for a day, wavered. For over a week, they simply watched the Persians from heights overlooking the plain, until Miltiades’ turn to take command. He convinced a closely divided war council to give battle. Descending from the heights, Miltiades assembled the army with reinforced flanks and a weakened center, and advanced. Once they got within Persian archery range, Miltiades ordered his men to charge at a full run.
They rapidly closed the distance, and smashed into the more lightly armed Persians. The Athenians’ reinforced flanks pushed back their opposition. They then wheeled inwards to attack the Persian center, which panicked, broke, and fled in a rout to the safety of their beached ships. It was a stunning victory, with the Athenians and their allies losing about 200 dead to the Persians’ 6400.
