ABSTRACT
To punish the Athenians, the Persians launched an attack against the city in 490 b.c.e. The Athenians sent for help from the neighboring city-state of Sparta, but the Spartans refused to deploy their impressive military power during a religious festival. In addition, Miltiades, the leader of the Athenian armies, had previously served in the Persian army and was familiar with its tactics. He marched
to the Plain of Marathon, where his army met the Persians in a battle recorded in detail by the Greek historian Herodotus. The Athenians routed the Persian forces; more 6,000 Persian soldiers died in the battle, compared with only 192 Greeks. Had the Greeks lost, classical Greece would have become part of the Persian Empire. In winning, the Athenians proved that Persia, the preeminent world power at the time, was no longer invincible.
