Battle of Marathon for Kids - First Persian War

Marathon (First Persian War)

plain of marathon
The plain of Marathon

So the Persians landed at Marathon in the fall of 490 BC. When the Athenians heard that the Persians had landed, the citizens (the free men) met in their assembly to decide what to do. A lot of Athenians were very frightened of the Persians, and some thought they should just surrender before the Persians killed them all. Other Athenians thought they should give up having a democracy and just go back to an oligarchy that would be able to run the war better. But when they voted, the Athenian men decided to keep their democracy, and to fight back against the Persians.

So the Athenians got together their army and marched out to meet the Persians. They would have been safe behind the big stone walls of the city, but maybe they were afraid someone would open the door for the Persians the way it had happened in Eretria.

More about the Battle of Marathon and the First Persian War

To find out more about the Battle of Marathon, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your local library:

Marathon (Battles That Changed the World), by David J. Califf (2002). For teens.

The Battle of Marathon (Battles of the Ancient World), by Don Nardo (1995). For teens. Rather unappealing layout, but the information and writing are good. With appropriate quotations from Herodotus.

Second Persian War
Back to Classical period
Main Greek History page





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