Overview

A gripping account of the pivotal battle that changed Greek military history 2,500 years ago How did the city-state of Athens defeat the invaders from Persia, the first world empire, on the plain of Marathon in 490 BCE? Clever scholars skeptical of our earliest surviving source, Herodotus, have produced one ingenious theory after another. In this stimulating new book, bound to provoke controversy, Peter Krentz argues that Herodotus was right after all. Beginning his analysis with the Athenians’ first formal contact with the Persians in 507 BCE, Krentz weaves together ancient evidence with travelers’ descriptions, archaeological discoveries, geological surveys, and the experiences of modern reenactors and soldiers to tell his story. Krentz argues that before Marathon the Athenian army fought in a much less organized way than the standard view of the hoplite phalanx suggests: as an irregularly armed mob rather than a disciplined formation of identically equipped infantry. At Marathon the Athenians equipped all their fighters, including archers and horsemen, as hoplites for the first time. Because their equipment weighed only half as much as is usually thought, the Athenians and their Plataean allies could charge almost a mile at a run, as Herodotus says they did. Krentz improves on this account in Herodotus by showing why the Athenians wanted to do such a risky thing.

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Reviews

Before Marathon was a race it was a battle, one of history''s greatest. Peter Krentz tells its true story in a brilliant blend of scholarship and common sense. His reconstruction is painstaking and often magical. From the force of Persian arrows to the weight of Greek armor, Krentz makes Marathon fresh and real. --Barry Strauss, author of The Battle of Salamis --Barry Strauss

'Historians, topographers, reenactors, and general readers alike will all be indebted to cutting-edge military historian Peter Krentz's original, insightful, witty, provocative, and brilliantly illustrated account of one of the world's most significant battles ever. 'Marathon' is now not only a magic word but also a magical exercise in ancient historiography.' (Paul Cartledge, University of Cambridge) 'Important new evidence, rigorous research and clear-headed analysis are combined to great effect in this original and persuasive study. The best book yet on the fateful events at Marathon.' (Hans van Wees, author of Greek Warfare: Myths and Realities)

Author Information

Peter Krentz is W. R. Grey Professor of Classics and History, Davidson College, where he has taught Greek and Roman history since 1979.

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