History Daily - The Battle of Marathon

Episode Date: September 12, 2025

September 12, 490 BCE. A greatly outnumbered Greek force defeats the Persian Army in the Battle of Marathon, preserving Greek independence from the mighty Persian Empire. This episode originally aired in 2022. Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more.History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.

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Towsin'emps, Pover.P.5. KautaX. Don't jay-kydista. It's a bright, sunny day in 494 BC on the shores of Ionia, a region of ancient Greece on the west coast of modern Turkey. The military general Dionysius stands with his back to the ocean,

the waves lapping at the heels of his leather sandals. Before him, a raid in bronze-plated armor and plumed helmets is a force of approximately 50,000 Greek soldiers. At the blast of a horn, Dionysius turns and squints toward the horizon. Around 600 Persian warships are ranged across the ocean, their black sails billowing, thousands of oars churning the water until it froths white. Dionysius turns back to address his frightened troops with a rallying cry. O men of Ionia, our affairs stand on a razor's edge, whether we are to be free men or whether

we are to be slaves. Sturred by their commander's words, the Greeks charged down the beach towards their own ships moored in shallow waters. Moments later, the Greek fleet sets sail. advancing to meet the Persians head on. Dionysius stands at the prow of his ship, watching the enemy armada draw closer. Then the sky darkens as a shower of Persian arrows blot out the midday sun.

The Greeks raised their shields as the arrows rained down upon them. Once the onslaught is over, the Greeks return fire. Hurling javelins through the air and maneuvering their ships through the Persian lines. By now, ships of the two fleets are just feet apart. Dionysius can see the vanguard of the Persian ships is merely the beginning, hundreds more stretched beyond, filling the ocean with black sails. The Greeks are hopelessly outnumbered, worse than Dionysius thought, but it's too late to turn back down. There's a chorus of sickening crunches as the two fleets collide. The curves spike prows of the Persian ships act like

battering rams, puncturing the Greek ships and flooding them with seawater. Greek sailors begin leaping from their vessels, hurling themselves into the water, which is now thick with blood and corpses. Dionysius realizes he has little choice. He grits his teeth and abandons his sinking ship. Many decades ago, the Greek city states of Ionia were conquered by the mighty Persian empire. But only five years ago, the Ionians rose up in revolt against their Persian overlords. During their uprising, the Ionians received support from independent Greek city states who feared the growing strength of the Persian Empire and resented its encroachment into Greek lands. But the Persians eventually crushed the revolt. During the Battle of Laid, as this sea battle will

come to be known, the Ionian forces are vanquished, and the Persian king of kings, Darius the Great, reestablishes his control over the region. But Darius will not be satisfied with just Ionia. Instead, he will set out to conquer the whole of Greece. Soon Darius will send an army into the Greek mainland, forcing another Greek force to assemble and defend their independence at the Battle of Marathon on September 12, 490 BC. From Noisor and Airship, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is History Daily. History is made every day. On this podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is September 12th, 490 BC, the Battle of Marathon.

It's the spring of 492B.C. in modern-day Iran, two years before the Greeks battle for their independence at Marathon. Inside his royal palace in the Persian capital of Persepolis, Darius the Great sits on his throne deep in thought. Darius presides over the world's largest and strongest empire. His territory stretched from modern-day India in the east to the northern shores of Africa in the west. His military is the greatest ever assembled, and his lavish wealth elevates Darius beyond the realm of men and into the pantheon of the gods. And yet, in spite of everything he has, the king is discontent.

Two years ago, Dariah sent an army to crush the rebellion against Persian rule in Ionia. But his army found themselves up against more than just the Ionians. During the uprising and independent Greek city state, Athens, joined Ionia to overthrow the Persian regime. Athens is one of the most powerful Greek city states, and it recently adopted a new form of government called democracy, rule of the people in Greek. Democracy is directly opposed to the Persian model of tyranny, the rule of one absolute power.

And the Athenians wanted to stop the spread of Persian tyranny, so they joined the Ionians in their uprising. They also enlisted the help of their ally, the Greek city of Eritrea. Despite the coalition forces gathered against him, Darius quashed the rebellion and reasserted authority over Ionia. But re-establishing control isn't enough for Dior. Darius. He wants to exact revenge on the cities that dare oppose him, Athens and Eritrea. Darius strokes his long black beard, thoughts of conquest racing through his mind. But suddenly

the squeak of sandals on marble makes Darius look up. It's his son-in-law, a military commander named Mardonius. Mardonius kneels before the king of kings and murmurs, You summoned me, my lord. Darius motions for Mardonius to stand. He orders his son-in-law to lead a military expedition into the Greek mainland to punish Athens and Eritrea for their participation in the Ionian revolt. Along the way, he is to bring under the heel of the Persian Empire as many new domains as possible. Mardonius nods, then turn swiftly to leave the palace and commence his mission. Within a few months after embarking from Persia, Mardonius' campaign becomes an emphatic success. Supported by a naval contingent, his ground army marches through modern-day

Turkey before entering the independent region of Thrace. Quickly, the Thracian resistance crumbles, and Mardonius conquers that territory for Persia. Next, the Persians take Macedonia to the west, before sailing south to the Greek island of Thaisos, laying claim to that as well. Now Mardonius embarks on the central objective of his campaign, an invasion of the Greek mainland. But as he approaches the coast of northern Greece, the weather threatens his plans.

Mardonius stands on the deck of his ship, watching as the skies overhead darken with storm clouds, and soon forks of jagged lightning flash across the sky. Growing waves crash against the rocky headland and explosions of foaming spray, and the Persian ships lurch as they struggle across the storm-tossed sea. And while Mardonius and his crew reach land, many others do not. The squall wipes out up to 300 Persian ships, claiming the lives of almost 20,000. thousand men. And their misfortune doesn't end there. A few nights later, while camping in the shadow of Mount Athos and northern Greece, a local barbarian tribe attacks the Persian encampment,

injuring Mardonius and killing many more. Having lost more than half his fleet and a significant proportion of his manpower, Mardonius abandons his campaign. He and his forces return to Persepolis, where Mardonius knows he must face the wrath of his father-in-law, King Darius. But to Mardonius' surprise and relief, Darius is satisfied with the campaign. Mardonius has successfully secured a land approach to Greece by conquering Thrace and Macedonia. Darius believes that this show of military strength will be enough to force the remaining independent Greek cities to submit to Persian dominance. And soon Darius dispatches Persian emissaries to these Greek cities, ordering them to pay

tribute and accept Persian authority. Most of the cities acquiesce, afraid of the king's pearses' afraid of the king's power and wrath. In the states of Corinth, Rhodes, Thebes, and Syracuse, the city officials bow their heads in submission to Persia. But two cities refuse, Athens and Eritrea. When Darius learns of these cities and transigence, he will grow incensed and dispense with diplomacy. If Athens and Eritrea continue to disrespect the Persian Empire, then Darius will be left with no other choice. He will assemble the greatest army the world has ever seen. and white baritria and Athens from the face of the earth.

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The young girl wanders through the streets, her face covered in blood and soot. All around her are mutilated bodies, temples reduced to ash, and piles of rubble where houses once stood. The girl limps across the scorch earth in a daze, wondering if anybody else survived the attack, or if she is the only one. Six days ago, a Persian fleet landed on the shores of Ubeah, carrying a force of around 26,000 highly trained soldiers. The two generals in charge of this point.

Persian army. Dates and Artophanes were sent by Darius the Great with simple instructions, make the people of Eritrea regret their participation in the Ionian revolt. It did not take long for the Persian siege engines to overpower the Greek defenses. The invading soldiers marauded the streets, wielding curved swords and shooting flaming arrows. They raised temples to the ground, slaughtered civilians and abducted women and children to be sold into slavery. By the end of the six-day siege, the first objective of their invasion was complete. Eritrea was completely destroyed. Now the Persians have only one city left to burn, Athens.

An army of 10,000 soldiers is marching south to do just that. But as news of Eritrea's destruction reaches Athens, the city mobilizes. Scouts are sent to follow the Persian fleet's course along the coastline. And when they land at the plain of Marathon, a grassy field 26 miles north of Athens, the Athenian army sets off to defend their independence in the face of a foreign invasion. Today, the Athenian general Miltaiades rides at the vanguard. For several years, Miltaiades served as a vassal of the Persian Empire in Asia, but eventually fell out with King Darius and returned home to Athens,

bringing with him an in-depth knowledge of Persian military tactics. Miltides knows how tough and disciplined the enemy forces are. If the Athenians are going to triumph, they will need the gods on their side. The Athenians set up camp in the hills north of Marathon, while the Persians situate themselves along the Pebble Beach. From this vantage point, Miltaiades assesses the enemy's numbers and contemplates tactics.

The Persians outnumber the Athenians by more than two to one. Any attempt to launch a direct assault across the plane would result in catastrophic losses at the hands of Persian archers, but retreating would be even more disastrous. It would invite the Persian. to lay siege to Athens, which the city could not withstand. So for the next eight days, the two armies are locked in a tense standoff, with neither side willing to expose themselves in a direct assault across the plane.

In the meantime, the Athenians request reinforcements from their ally Sparta. The Spartans are famous for their military brilliance, and their aid would be invaluable. But Sparta is more than 300 miles away, and the only way to ask for their assistance is by sending a fleet-footed messenger to cover that vast distance, and time is of the essence. A messenger named Fidipides sets off running. Remarkably, he makes the journey in just 36 hours, but his efforts are in vain. The Spartans are in the midst of a religious carnival when the message arrives, and they refuse to abandon their worship and the aid of their ally. They send Fidipides back to Marathon, empty-handed. Following this bad news, some of the Greek generals will lose their nerve.

Many begin seriously contemplating retreat or surrender. Even the commander of the Athenian army, a general named Callimachus, will waver, unsure of how to proceed. Until one night, Miltaiades will visit Calimachus in his tent. There he will urge the commander against retreat. And after tense discussion, Miltaiades will leave the commander with these parting words. With you it rests, Calimachus, either to bring Athens to slavery, or by securing her freedom, to be remembered by all future generations.

For never since the time that the Athenians became a people, were they in so great a danger as now. Miltai's words will prove persuasive, and soon Kalimachus will make the decision against retreat, deciding instead to stay and fight. The idea of joyousnessed from Antigroamst. We're not able to do things, because they are very much they're not quite.

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across the plain of Marathon, where the Persian army advances through a haze of dust and heat. The Athenian general Miltaiades strides to the edge of the camp, and with trepidation surveys the battlefield. A seemingly endless wave of cavalry, archers, and infantry sweep across the sun-parched ground. But Miltaiades' eyes are drawn by a smaller unit of foot soldiers, an elite Persian infantry division known as the Immortals. Miltieties mutters a prayer to the gods as he reflects on his own audacious strategy. Militides has deliberately weakened the midsection of his army and overloaded the flanks. The plan is for his hoplites, heavily armed infantry, to hold the center, while two wings of cavalry fan out and encircle the enemy. It is a bold gamut. If the

Persians break through the Athenian center, they could route the cavalry from behind, but Miltanis believes this is their best and only chance at victory. Suddenly a battle horn sounds and a phalanx of Athenian hoplites creeps across the plain, spears bristling from behind a wall of shields. The Persian vanguard crashes into the Greek forward line, and the deafening thunder of war fills the morning air. Miltai's gallops around the flank, praying the center will hold long enough for his cavalry to get into position. And when he reaches his intended location, he can see that the hoplites are about to be overwhelmed by the sheer mass of Persian soldiers. But they've held out long enough. Miltides raises his sword, lets out an animal roar, and with his cavalry, charges into the vulnerable Persian flank.

The enemy troops devolve into chaos, and the blindsided Persians soon flee back to their ships. The Battle of Marathon will end in a stunning underdog victory for the Athenians. Miltieties will be heralded as the savior of Greece and the hero of independence. But another legend will arise from the Battle of Marathon, thanks to the Athenian's speedy messenger, Fidipides. In the second century A.D., the great poet Lucian will describe Fidipides as a messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens to declare Athenian victory over the Persians, a distance of just more than 26 miles.

Almost 2,000 years later, Lucian's account will inspire a poem by the English writer Robert Browning. This poem, Fidipides, will in turn catch the eye of a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Couboton, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, Kubartan will introduce a race just over 26 miles long in honor of the journey of Phi Dipides, and thus the Marathon will be born. But the modern marathon is just one of many important legacies

of the Battle of Marathon, which was fought and won to secure Athenian independence on September 12, 490 BC. Next on History Daily, September 15th, 1954, While shooting the movie The Seven Year Itch in New York City, Maryland Monroe's iconic subway great scene is filmed. From Noiser and Airship,

this is History Daily, hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham, audio editing by Molly Bond, sound design by Derek Barrens, music by Lindsay Graham. This episode is written and researched by Joe Viner. Executive producers are Stephen Walters for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.

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