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When Did The Battle Of Marathon Begin
The Battle of Marathon began in the summer of 490 B.C. this was officially the first Persian invasion of Greece. The Greeks and Persians had fought before this, but at a different place, and the Persians never attempted to attack Greece before the Battle of Marathon took place. |
It was the Battle of Ionia that caused the bitterness to become more severe between Greece and Persia. This is when Darius, the king of Persia, swore that he will raise Greece to dust, especially Athens and Eritrea who fought against them in the Battle of Lade. In spite of winning the Battle of Ionia, Darius had a growing feeling of enmity with Greece. He wanted to be known as the most powerful king, and he did not like the fact that Greece was as powerful as Persia.
In the summer of 490 B.C., Darius decided to subjugate Greece, and he sent his naval forces to take over Eritrea and Athens. The Persian army was successful in taking over Eritrea. However, their mission would have been incomplete without taking over Athens. They decided to sail further on the Aegean and landing in Athens. Instead, the Persian army landed at Marathon. They mistook Marathon for Athens and landed there. Athenians, who knew about this, did not launch an attack immediately on the Persian naval forces. For a week the Athenians let the Persians deplete their resources in Marathon, and then sent their hoplites when the Persians were at their weakest. The Persian army was too lightly armed to fight against the mighty hoplites.
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