Miltiades

General (554 BC – 489 BC)

The Greek general Miltiades was born in the city of Athens in the year 554 BC. After serving ruler of Thrace he was elected in Athens as one of the 10 generals of the city. Athenians described him as the bravest, most capable tactician and general of them all.

His time to prove it would come a year later, in 490 BC when, following the Ionian Revolt, the Persian army led by King Darius destroyed the city of Eretria and moved towards the city of Athens in hope of conquering the Greeks and seizing control of the west in its entirety. The Persians would cross the bay of Euboea and approach Athens by land through Marathon. Miltiades, who foresaw this as an opportunity to defeat the Persians, persuaded the people and the generals to vote in favor of a battle which would decide the fate of the world. Miltiades narrowly succeeded in persuading general Callimachos into voting in favor and so the decision was made. On September of 490, the 63-year-old Miltiades would lead the Athenians into battle against the vast Persian army.

It is estimated that the Greek army composed of 10.000 Athenians and 1.000 Plataeans while the Persian army is still unknown, estimated roughly by historians to around 300.000 to 600.000 men. When the battle began, Herodotus described it as the most prominent battle of all time. Despite their being outnumbered, the Greeks demolished the Persian army strategically through planning their target of attack and movement, completely attributed to Miltiades. According to historians, Miltiades was the first to use psychological war methods to his soldiers and the enemy as well as the whispering campaign to his soldiers in order to boost their ethics and degrade the ethos of their enemy. Knowing of the weak mentality of his soldiers because of the Spartans’ refusal to help, Miltiades did so by appealing to his soldier’s ideals, such as democracy (even if he himself was against it) and spreading rumors of a divine omen, respectively. Having empowered his men, Miltiades acknowledged the strategic position of their enemy and took advantage of it as no general had did before. The Persians had unknowingly chosen the worst possible place to form an army because they were surrounded by obstacles, having a swamp in front and the sea behind them. Therefore, they would either perish from the front by the Greeks or drown in the sea. This meant there was no capability of retreating. By forming the army in a shape of pliers together with the Plataeans, the Greeks were able to defeat the Persians in a most decisive battle.

Immediately after the Battle of Marathon, the rest of the Persian ships sailed from Sounion to Phaliron for one final blow. In spite of their victory, Miltiades rushed to Athens with the Plataeans to defend the city. As soon as the Persians reached the port, all hope was lost seeing Miltiades again. The attack was called off and the Persian fled in shame. The Athenians counted 192 casualties, the Platnaeans 11 and the Persians 6400 people, 7 ships, and all of their cavalry and belongings.

The outcome of the Battle of Marathon is largely attributed to Miltiades whose tactics and strategic knowledge on the battlefield  prevented the enemy from slaying Greece. His strategic maneuvers would later be imitated throughout history in decisive battles by Hannibal in the Battle of Cannae, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher in Waterloo, Helmuth von Moltke in the Battle of Sedan, Paul von Hindenburg in the Battle of the Masurian Lakes, and General Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Invasion of Normandy, among others.

The greatest triumph of Miltiades was proving for the first time that the Persian Empire could be beaten and that resistance was not only possible but necessary. Miltiades’ victory in the Battle of Marathon marked a defining point in world history: had the battle been lost, the Persians would have conquered Greece and the world entire. Greek thought would seize to exist and therefore western civilization would have never existed.

Bibliography:

1. ”Miltiades”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens. 1946. Print.
2. Volonakis, Ioannis. Ancient Greece’s Greatest Leaders.  Athens: Georgiades, 1997. Print.