THE PERSIAN WARS.--FROM THE IONIC REVOLT TO THE BATTLE OF MARATHON,
B.C. 500-490.
The Grecian cities on the coast of Asia Minor were the neighbours of an
Asiatic power which finally reduced them to subjection. This was the
kingdom of Lydia, of which Sardis was the capital. Croesus, the last
and most powerful of the Lydian kings, who ascended the throne B.C.
560, conquered in succession all the Grecian cities on the coast. His
rule, however, was not oppressive, and he permitted the cities to
regulate their own affairs. He spoke the Greek language, welcomed
Greek guests, and reverenced the Greek oracles, which he enriched with
the most munificent offerings. He extended his dominions in Asia Minor
as far as the river Halys, and he formed a close alliance with
Astyages, king of the Medes, who were then the ruling race in Asia.
Everything seemed to betoken uninterrupted prosperity, when a people
hitherto almost unknown suddenly became masters of the whole of western
Asia.
The Persians were of the same race as the Medes and spoke a dialect of
the same language. They inhabited the mountainous region south of
Media, which slopes gradually down to the low grounds on the coast of
the Persian gulf. While the Medes became enervated by the corrupting
influences to which they were exposed, the Persians preserved in their
native mountains their simple and warlike habits. They were a brave
and hardy nation, clothed in skins, drinking only water, and ignorant
of the commonest luxuries of life. Cyrus led these fierce warriors
from their mountain fastnesses, defeated the Medes in battle, took
Astyages prisoner, and deprived him of his throne. The other nations
included in the Median empire submitted to the conqueror, and the
sovereignty of Upper Asia thus passed from the Medes to the Persians.
The accession of Cyrus to the empire is placed in B.C. 559. A few
years afterwards Cyrus turned his arms against the Lydians, took
Sardis, and deprived Croesus of his throne (B.C. 546). The fall of
Croesus was followed by the subjection of the Greek cities in Asia to
the Persian yoke. They offered a brave but ineffectual resistance, and
were taken one after the other by Harpagus the Persian general. Even
the islands of Lesbos and Chios sent in their submission to Harpagus,
although the Persians then possessed no fleet to force them to
obedience. Samos, on the other hand, maintained its independence, and
appears soon afterwards one of the most powerful of the Grecian states.
During the reign of Cambyses (B.C. 529-521), the son and successor of
Cyrus, the Greek cities of Asia remained obedient to their Persian
governors. It was during this reign that Polycrates, tyrant of Samos,
became the master of the Grecian seas. The ambition and good fortune
of this enterprising tyrant were alike remarkable. He possessed a
hundred ships of war, with which he conquered several of the islands;
and he aspired to nothing less than the dominion of Ionia, as well as
of the islands in the AEgean. The Lacedaemonians, who had invaded the
island at the invitation of the Samian exiles, for the purpose of
overthrowing his government, were obliged to retire, after besieging
his city in vain for forty days. Everything which he undertook seemed
to prosper; but his uninterrupted good fortune at length excited the
alarm of his ally Amasis, the king of Egypt. According to the tale
related by Herodotus, the Egyptian king, convinced that such amazing
good fortune would sooner or later incur the envy of the gods, wrote to
Polycrates, advising him to throw away one of his most valuable
possessions and thus inflict some injury upon himself. Thinking the
advice to be good, Polycrates threw into the sea a favourite ring of
matchless price and beauty; but unfortunately it was found a few days
afterwards in the belly of a fine fish which a fisherman had sent him
as a present. Amasis now foresaw that the ruin of Polycrates was
inevitable, and sent a herald to Samos to renounce his alliance. The
gloomy anticipations of the Egyptian monarch proved well founded. In
the midst of all his prosperity Polycrates fell by a most ignominious
fate. Oroetes, the satrap of Sardis, had for some unknown cause
conceived a deadly hatred against the Samian despot. By a cunning
stratagem the satrap allured him to the mainland, where he was
immediately arrested and hanged upon a cross (B.C. 522).
The reign of Darius, the third king of Persia. (B.C. 521-485), is
memorable in Grecian history. In his invasion of Scythia, his fleet,
which was furnished by the Asiatic Greeks, was ordered to sail up the
Danube and throw a bridge of boats across the river. The King himself,
with his land forces, marched through Thrace; and, crossing the bridge,
placed it under the care of the Greeks, telling them that, if he did
not return within sixty days, they might break it down, and sail home.
He then left them, and penetrated into the Scythian territory. The
sixty days had already passed away, and there was yet no sign of the
Persian army; but shortly afterwards the Greeks were astonished by the
appearance of a body of Scythians, who informed them that Darius was in
full retreat, pursued by the whole Scythian nation, and that his only
hope of safety depended upon that bridge. They urged the Greeks to
seize this opportunity of destroying the Persian army, and of
recovering their own liberty, by breaking down the bridge. Their
exhortations were warmly seconded by the Athenian Miltiades, the tyrant
of the Thracian Chersonesus, and the future conqueror of Marathon. The
other rulers of the Ionian cities were at first disposed to follow his
suggestion; but as soon as Histiaeus of Miletus reminded them that
their sovereignty depended upon the support of the Persian king, and
that his ruin would involve their own, they changed their minds and
resolved to await the Persians. After enduring great privations and
sufferings Darius and his army at length reached the Danube and crossed
the bridge in safety. Thus the selfishness of these Grecian despots
threw away the most favourable opportunity that ever presented itself
of delivering their native cities from the Persian yoke. To reward the
services of Histiaeus, Darius gave him the town of Myrainus, near the
Strymon. Darius, on his return to Asia, left Megabazus in Europe with
an army of 80,000 men to complete the subjugation of Thrace and of the
Greek cities upon the Hellespont. Megabazus not only subdued the
Thracians, but crossed the Strymon, conquered the Paeonians, and
penetrated as far as the frontiers of Macedonia. He then sent heralds
into the latter country to demand earth and water, the customary
symbols of submission. These were immediately granted by Amyntas, the
reigning monarch (B.C. 510); and thus the Persian dominions were
extended to the borders of Thessaly. Megabazus, on his return to
Sardis, where Darius awaited him, informed the Persian monarch that
Histiaeus was collecting the elements of a power which might hereafter
prove formidable to the Persian sovereignty, since Myrcinus commanded
the navigation of the Strymon, and consequently the commerce with the
interior of Thrace. Darius, perceiving that the apprehensions of his
general were not without foundation, summoned Histiaeus to his
presence, and, under the pretext that he could not bear to be deprived
of the company of his friend, carried him with the rest of the court to
Susa. This apparently trivial circumstance was attended with important
consequences to the Persian empire and to the whole Grecian race.
For the next few years everything remained quiet in the Greek cities of
Asia; but about B.C. 502 a revolution in Naxos, one of the islands in
the AEgean Sea, first disturbed the general repose, and occasioned the
war between Greece and Asia. The aristocratical exiles, who had been
driven out of Naxos by a rising of the people, applied for aid to
Aristagoras, the tyrant of Miletus and the son-in-law of Histiaeus.
Aristagoras readily promised his assistance, knowing that, if they were
restored by his means, he should become master of the island. He
obtained the co-operation of Artaphernes, the satrap of western Asia by
holding out to him the prospect of annexing not only Naxos, but all the
islands of the AEgean sea, to the Persian empire. He offered at the
same time to defray the expense of the armament. Artaphernes placed at
his disposal a fleet of 200 ships under the command of Megabates, a
Persian of high rank; but Aristagoras having affronted the Persian
admiral, the latter revenged himself by privately informing the Naxians
of the object of the expedition, which had hitherto been kept a secret.
When the Persian fleet reached Naxos they experienced a vigorous
resistance; and at the end of four months they were compelled to
abandon the enterprise and return to Miletus. Aristagoras was now
threatened with utter ruin. Having deceived Artaphernes, and incurred
the enmity of Megabates, he could expect no favour from the Persian
government, and might be called upon at any moment to defray the
expenses of the armament. In these difficulties he began to think of
exciting a revolt of his countrymen; and while revolving the project he
received a message from his father-in-law, Histiaeus, urging him to
this very step. Afraid of trusting any one with so dangerous a
message, Histiaeus had shaved the head of a trusty slave, branded upon
it the necessary words, and as soon as the hair had grown again sent
him off to Miletus. His only motive for urging the Ionians to revolt
was the desire of escaping from captivity at Susa, thinking that Darius
would set him at liberty in order to put down an insurrection of his
countrymen. The message from Histiaeus fixed the wavering resolution
of Aristagoras. He forthwith called together the leading citizens of
Miletus, laid before them the project of revolt, and asked them for
advice. They all approved of the scheme, with the exception of
Hecataeus, one of the earliest Greek historians. Aristagoras laid down
the supreme power in Miletus, and nominally resigned to the people the
management of their own affairs. A democratical form of government was
established in the other Greek cities of Asia, which thereupon openly
revolted from Persia (B.C. 500).
Aristagoras now resolved to cross over to Greece, in order to solicit
assistance. The Spartans, to whom he first applied, refused to take
any part in the war; but at Athens he met with a very different
reception. The Athenians sympathised with the Ionians as their kinsmen
and colonists, and were incensed against the satrap Artaphernes, who
had recently commanded them to recall Hippias. Accordingly they voted
to send a squadron of twenty ships to the assistance of the Ionians;
and in the following year (B.C. 499) this fleet, accompanied by five
ships from Eretria in Euboea, crossed the AEgean. The troops landed at
Ephesus, and, being reinforced by a strong body, of Ionians, marched
upon Sardis. Artaphernes was taken unprepared; and not having
sufficient troops to man the walls, he retired into the citadel,
leaving the town a prey to the invaders. Accordingly they entered it
unopposed; and while engaged in pillage, one of the soldiers set fire
to a house. As most of the houses were built of wickerwork and
thatched with straw, the flames rapidly spread, and in a short time the
whole city was in flames. The Greeks, on their return to the coast,
were overtaken by a large Persian force and defeated with great
slaughter. The Athenians hastened on board their ships and sailed home.
When Darius heard of the burning of Sardis, he burst into a paroxysm of
rage. It was against the obscure strangers who had dared to burn one
of his capitals that his wrath was chiefly directed. "The Athenians!"
he exclaimed, "who are they?" Upon being informed he took his bow,
shot an arrow high into the air, saying, "Grant me, Jove, to take
vengeance upon the Athenians!" And he charged one of his attendants to
remind him thrice every day at dinner "Sire, remember the Athenians."
Meantime the insurrection spread to the Greek cities in Cyprus, as well
as to those on the Hellespont and the Propontis, and seemed to promise
permanent independence to the Asiatic Greeks; but they were no match
for the whole power of the Persian empire, which was soon brought
against them. Cyprus was subdued, and siege laid to the cities upon
the coast of Asia. Aristagoras now began to despair, and basely
deserted his countrymen, whom he had led into peril. Collecting a large
body of Milesians, he set sail for the Thracian coast, where he was
slain under the walls of a town to which he had laid siege. Soon after
his departure, his father-in-law, Histiaeus came down to the coast.
The artful Greek not only succeeded in removing the suspicions which
Darius first entertained respecting him, but he persuaded the king to
send him into Ionia, in order to assist the Persian generals in
suppressing the rebellion. Artaphernes, however, was not so easily
deceived as his master, and plainly accused Histiaeus of treachery when
the latter arrived at Sardis. "I will tell you how the facts stand"
said Artaphernes to Histiaeus; "it was you who made the shoe, and
Aristagoras has put it on." Finding himself unsafe at Sardis, he
escaped to the island of Chios; but he was regarded with suspicion by
all parties. At length he obtained eight galleys from Lesbos, with
which he sailed towards Byzantium, and carried on piracies as well
against the Grecian as the barbarian vessels. This unprincipled
adventurer met with a traitor's death. Having landed on the coast of
Mysia, he was surprised by a Persian force and made prisoner. Being
carried to Sardis, Artaphernes at once caused him to be crucified, and
sent his head to Darius, who ordered it to be honourably buried,
condemning the ignominious execution of the man who had once saved the
life of the Great King.
In the sixth year of the revolt (B.C. 495), when several Grecian cities
had already been taken by the Persians, Artaphernes laid siege to
Miletus by sea and by land. A naval engagement took place at Lade a
small island off Miletus, which decided the fate of the war. The
Samians deserted at the commencement of the battle, and the Ionian
fleet was completely defeated. Miletus was soon afterwards taken, and
was treated with signal severity. Most of the males were slain; and the
few who escaped the sword were carried with the women and children into
captivity (B.C. 494). The other Greek cities in Asia and the
neighbouring islands were treated with the same cruelty. The islands
of Chios, Lesbos, and Tenedos were swept of their inhabitants; and the
Persian fleet sailed up to the Hellespont and Propontis, carrying with
it fire and sword. The Athenian Miltiades only escaped falling into
the power of the Persians by a rapid flight to Athens.
The subjugation of Ionia was now complete. This was the third time
that the Asiatic Greeks had been conquered by a foreign power: first
by the Lydian Croesus; secondly by the generals of Cyrus; and lastly by
those of Darius. It was from the last that they suffered most, and
they never fully recovered their former prosperity.
Darius was now at liberty to take vengeance upon the Athenians. He
appointed Mardonius to succeed Artaphernes as satrap in western Asia,
and he placed under his command a large armament, with injunctions to
bring to Susa those Athenians and Eretrians who had insulted the
authority of the Great King. Mardonius, after crossing the Hellespont,
commenced his march through Thrace and Macedonia, subduing, as he went
along, the tribes which had not yet submitted to the Persian power. He
ordered the fleet to double the promontory of Mount Athos, and join the
land forces at the head of the gulf of Therma; but one of the
hurricanes which frequently blow off this dangerous coast overtook the
Persian fleet, destroyed 300 vessels and drowned or dashed upon the
rocks 20,000 men. Meantime the land forces of Mardonius had suffered
so much from an attack made upon them by a Thracian tribe, that he
could not proceed farther. He led his army back across the Hellespont,
and returned to the Persian court covered with shame and grief (B.C.
492).
The failure of this expedition did not shake the resolution of Darius.
He began to make preparations for another attempt on a still larger
scale, and meantime sent heralds to most of the Grecian states to
demand from each earth and water as the symbol of submission. Such
terror had the Persians inspired by their recent conquest of Ionia,
that a large number of the Grecian cities at once complied with the
demand; but the Athenians cast the herald into a deep pit, and the
Spartans threw him into a well bidding him take earth and water from
thence.
In the spring of B.C. 490 a large army and fleet were assembled in
Cilicia, and the command was given to Datis, a Median, and Artaphernes,
son of the satrap of Sardis of that name. Warned by the recent
disaster of Mardonius in doubling the promontory of Mount Athos, they
resolved to sail straight across the AEgean to Euboea, subduing on
their way the Cyclades. These islands yielded a ready submission; and
it was not till Datis and Artaphernes reached Euboea that they
encountered any resistance. Eretria defended itself gallantly for six
days, and repulsed the Persians with loss; but on the seventh the gates
were opened to the besiegers by the treachery of two of its leading
citizens. The city was razed to the ground, and the inhabitants were
put in chains. From Eretria the Persians crossed over to Attica, and
landed on the ever memorable plain of Marathon, a spot which had been
pointed out to them by the despot Hippias, who accompanied the army.
As soon as the news of the fall of Eretria reached Athens, a courier
had been sent to Sparta to solicit assistance. This was promised; but
the superstition of the Spartans prevented them from setting out
immediately, since it wanted a few days to the full moon, and it was
contrary to their religious customs to commence a march during this
interval. Meantime the Athenians had marched to Marathon, and were
encamped upon the mountains which surrounded the plain. They were
commanded, according to the regular custom, by ten generals, one for
each tribe, and by the Polemarch, or third Archon, who down to this
time continued to be a colleague of the generals. Among these the most
distinguished was Miltiades, who, though but lately a tyrant in the
Chersonesus, had shown such energy and ability, that the Athenians had
elected him one of their commanders upon the approach of the Persian
fleet. Upon learning the answer which the courier brought from Sparta,
the ten generals were divided in opinion. Five of them were opposed to
an immediate engagement with the overwhelming number of Persians, and
urged the importance of waiting for the arrival of the Lacedaemonian
succours. Miltiades and the remaining four contended that not a moment
should be lost in fighting the Persians, not only in order to avail
themselves of the present enthusiasm of the people, but still more to
prevent treachery from spreading among their ranks. Callimachus, the
Polemarch, yielded to the arguments of Miltiades, and gave his vote for
the battle. The ten generals commanded their army in rotation, each
for one day; but they now agreed to surrender to Miltiades their days
of command, in order to invest the whole power in a single person.
While the Athenians were preparing for battle, they received unexpected
assistance from the little town or Plataea, in Boeotia. Grateful to
the Athenians for the assistance which they had rendered them against
the Thebans, the whole force of Plataea, amounting to 1000 heavy-armed
men, marched to the assistance of their allies and joined them at
Marathon. The Athenian army numbered only 10,000 hoplites, or
heavy-armed soldiers: there were no archers or cavalry, and only some
slaves as light-armed attendants. Of the number of the Persian army we
have no trustworthy account, but the lowest estimate makes it consist
of 110,000 men.
The plain of Marathon lies on the eastern coast of Attica, at the
distance of twenty-two miles from Athens by the shortest road. It is in
the form of a crescent, the horns of which consist of two promontories
running into the sea, and forming a semicircular bay. This plain is
about six miles in length, and in its widest or central part about two
in breadth. On the day of battle the Persian army was drawn up along
the plain about a mile from the sea, and their fleet was ranged behind
them on the beach. The Athenians occupied the rising ground above the
plain, and extended from one side of the plain to the other. This
arrangement was necessary in order to protect their flanks by the
mountains on each side, and to prevent the cavalry from passing round
to attack them in rear. But so large a breadth of ground could not be
occupied with a small a number of men without weakening some portion of
the line. Miltiades, therefore, drew up the troops in the centre in
shallow files, and resolved to rely for success upon the stronger and
deeper masses of his wings. The right wing, which was the post of
honour in a Grecian army, was commanded by the Polemarch Callimachus;
the hoplites were arranged in the order of their tribes, so that the
members of the same tribe fought by each other's side; and at the
extreme left stood the Plataeans.
Miltiades, anxious to come to close quarters as speedily as possible,
ordered his soldiers to advance at a running step over the mile of
ground which separated them from the foe. Both the Athenian wings were
successful, and drove the enemy before them towards the shore and the
marshes. But the Athenian centre was broken by the Persians, and
compelled to take to flight. Miltiades thereupon recalled his wings
from pursuit, and charged the Persian centre. The latter could not
withstand this combined attack. The rout now became general along the
whole Persian line; and they fled to their ships, pursued by the
Athenians.
The Persians lost 6400 men in this memorable engagement: of the
Athenians only 192 fell. The aged tyrant Hippias is said to have
perished in the battle, and the brave Polemarch Callimachus was also
one of the slain. The Persians embarked and sailed away to Asia.
Their departure was hailed at Athens with one unanimous burst of
heartfelt joy. Marathon became a magic word at Athens. The Athenian
people in succeeding ages always looked back upon this day as the most
glorious in their annals, and never tired of hearing its praises
sounded by their orators and poets. And they had reason to be proud of
it. It was the first time that the Greeks had ever defeated the
Persians in the field. It was the exploit of the Athenians alone. It
had saved not only Athens but all Greece. If the Persians had
conquered at Marathon, Greece must, in all likelihood, have become a
Persian province; the destinies of the world would have been changed;
and oriental despotism might still have brooded over the fairest
countries of Europe.
The one hundred and ninety-two Athenians who had perished in the battle
were buried on the field, and over their remains a tumulus or mound was
erected, which may still be seen about half a mile from the sea.
Shortly after the battle Miltiades requested of the Athenians a fleet
of seventy ships, without telling them the object of his expedition,
but only promising to enrich the state. Such unbounded confidence did
the Athenians repose in the hero of Marathon, that they at once
complied with his demand. This confidence Miltiades abused. In order
to gratify a private animosity against one of the leading citizens of
Paros, he sailed to this island and laid siege to the town. The
citizens repelled all his attacks; and having received a dangerous
injury on his thigh, he was compelled to raise the siege and return to
Athens. Loud was the indignation against Miltiades on his return. He
was accused by Xanthippus, the father of Pericles, of having deceived
the people, and was brought to trial. His wound had already begun to
show symptoms of gangrene. He was carried into court on a couch, and
there lay before the assembled judges, while his friends pleaded on his
behalf. They could offer no excuse for his recent conduct, but they
reminded the Athenians of the services he had rendered, and, begged
them to spare the victor of Marathon. The judges were not insensible
to this appeal; and instead of condemning him to death as the accuser
had demanded, they commuted the penalty to a fine of fifty talents.
Miltiades was unable immediately to raise this sum and died soon
afterwards of his wound. The fine was subsequently paid by his son
Cimon. The melancholy end of Miltiades must not blind us to his
offence. He had grossly abused the public confidence, and deserved his
punishment. The Athenians did not forget his services at Marathon, and
it was their gratitude towards him which alone saved him from death.
Soon after the battle of Marathon a war broke out between Athens and
AEgina. This war is of great importance in Grecian history, since to
it the Athenians were indebted for their navy, which enabled them to
save Greece at Salamis as they had already done at Marathon. AEgina
was one of the chief maritime powers in Greece; and accordingly
Themistocles urged the Athenians to build and equip a large and
powerful fleet, without which it was impossible for them to humble
their rival. There was at this time a large surplus in the public
treasury, arising from the produce of the silver-mines at Laurium. It
had been recently proposed to distribute this surplus among the
Athenian citizens; but Themistocles persuaded them to sacrifice their
private advantage to the public good, and to appropriate the money to
building a fleet of 200 ships.
The two leading citizens of Athens at this period were Themistocles and
Aristides. These two eminent men formed a striking contrast to each
other. Themistocles possessed abilities of the most extraordinary
kind; but they were marred by a want of honesty. Aristides was
inferior to Themistocles in ability, but was incomparably superior to
him in honesty and integrity. His uprightness and justice were so
universally acknowledged that he received the surname of the "Just."
Themistocles was the leader of the democratical, and Aristides of the
conservative party at Athens. After three or four years of bitter
rivalry, the two chiefs appealed to the ostracism, and Aristides was
banished (B.C. 483). We are told that an unlettered countryman gave
his vote against Aristides at the ostracism, because he was tired of
hearing him always called the Just.