The First Clash: The Miraculous Greek Victory at Marathon and Its Impact on Western Civilization by Lacey Jim

Author:Lacey, Jim [Lacey, Jim]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780553908121
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2011-03-29T04:00:00+00:00

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Total 353 ships

The small number of ships from some of the Ionian cities was probably the result of having to keep a large number of their men at home to guard each city’s walls. Still, the Milesians, who were the most immediately threatened by the Persian army, knew that the decisive battle would occur at sea and managed to spare enough men from the walls to man eighty ships. With the Carians out of the fight, the Greeks did not attempt to place an army in the field, and each city saw to its own defense. All of their hopes therefore rested on the fleet, which made camp at the island of Lade (off the coast of Miletus) and waited.

The Persians came, but dealing with the Carians had taught them a lesson that would pay dividends for another two centuries—there were always a significant number of Greeks whom they could buy off. Fearful of the large Greek fleet that had decisively defeated them in their last encounter at Cyprus, the Persian force did not strike immediately. Rather, they had the deposed Ionian tyrants make contact with the forces of their respective cities and promise lenient terms if they were to desert the rebel cause. This carrot was offered alongside the threat of a gruesome stick in the event they fought on: “We shall lead you into captivity as slaves, and we shall turn your sons into eunuchs and drag your virgin daughters away to Bactria and give over your lands to others.”

While the Persians waited for their bribes and threats to do their insidious work, they kept a close eye on the Greek fleet as it practiced its maneuvers. At first, they must have been impressed as the Greeks toiled long hours every day, but shortly the training regimen let up. If we are to believe Herodotus, the Greek crews, men who spent their lives at hard toil, wearied of practice and refused to train. They further claimed that it was wrong for them to follow the orders of the appointed commander, Dionysius of Phocaea, when he had brought only three ships to join them in the coming battle.

What are we to make of this? It is unlikely that the Ionians simply got tired of drilling, as Herodotus claims. To judge what was going on, one must look at matters from their viewpoint. After half a decade of war, they were further away from winning independence than ever. Now, despite having inflicted tremendous blows on the enemy’s armies and fleets, the Persians had not become disheartened and given up the fight. Instead, they had patiently rebuilt their forces and come on stronger than ever. The Greeks were making one more supreme effort in the knowledge that defeat meant ruin, but with equal certainty that victory meant they would probably confront an even stronger Persian force the following year. Moreover, by this time the Persian army was probably besieging Miletus and controlled the shores. The task of feeding over

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