Marathon: the Battle

We spent Wednesday morning getting the Grey Wanderer ship shape and Bristol fashion, and, after the missing luggage arrived after lunch, we boldly set forth for Marathon. More boldly than usual in that, when we loaded the USA maps onto our satnav, we inadvertently erased our European maps. Accordingly we also boldly set forth to find a McDonald's or some other wifi source. Anyhow, we spent some time in the winter necropolis of Marathon, looking for a suitable souvenir for my sister Carole, the marathon runner. Five hardware stores were open, a couple kiosks and the like, but the place was really dead. We took in the Athens Marathon sites in town, then headed out to see the Marathon Battle Trophy and the Tumulus of fallen Athenians.

The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC, when an estimated 20,000 Persians landed, intent on punishing the Athenians for supporting the revolts at Miletus and elsewhere in Asia Minor. It was the Greeks' first Persian War. The two armies glowered at each other for six days, then, spotting a weakness, the 10,000 Athenians attacked the disorganized Persians and routed them. According to Herodotus (we read), 6,400 Persians were killed to 192 Athenians. The rest of the Persians sailed back home. Miltiades, the Greek commander, sent a runner back to Athens to convey the news--thus our modern marathon race--40 km. Unfortunately, he died of exhaustion. Apparently no one even got his name. Some kind of immortality!

Pretty good signage

Reconstructed battle trophy; the site, mentioned by both Plato 
and Aristophanes, was found by an American archaeologist



The Tumulus, on the plain of Marathon, with a mountain back-drop

The Persians no doubt regarded all this as a reconnaissance in force. They came back a few years later with perhaps the largest army assembled in antiquity, sacked and burned Athens and much of the rest of Greece, but finally had to give up and go away after setbacks at sea and on the land. War is as much about communication and supply as about battles.

Anyhow, we camped at the parking lot by the Tumulus; another night of jet-lag adjustment. And still no wifi nor TomTom.