Marathon, Battle of (490 BCE)

Abstract The Battle of Marathon was fought between the hoplite‐based army of the Athenians, along with their Plataean allies, against a much larger and more mixed force of soldiers from the Persian Empire. The stunning and unlikely victory achieved by the Athenians became a central part of their self‐identity in the following centuries. In modern times, a legend concerned with the aftermath of the battle is more famous than the battle itself; the Athenian soldier Pheidippides supposedly ran the 26 miles between the plain of Marathon and the city of Athens, and died at once having delivered news of the victory.