Who lost the battle of marathon?

Answer 1

The Persian infantry at Marathon was mostly composed of lightly armoured troops, who couldn't stand up to the armoured warriors of the Athenian infantry. However the Athenians had few cavalry, and the strong Persian cavalry evened up the equation.

The Athenians stayed in the hills for 10 days so that the Persian cavalry couldn't get at them. Then they saw the cavalry being embarked on the ships, so freed of that threat, they rushed down and defeated the hapless Persian infantry. However the cavalry got away, being rowed around Cape Sunion to get into Athens while its army was preoccupied at Marathon.

Fortunately for the Athenians they woke up to what was happening, and ran back over the hills just in time to intercept the Persian cavalry as it landed in front of the city. Frustrated, the Persian force returned home.

Answer 2

Their plan was to hold the Athenian army at Marathon and send their cavalry by sea to capture Athens in the absence of its army. Their problem was that their infantry could not stand up to Greek armoured warriors unless it was supported by cavalry.

The Persian objective was to capture the city and place it under control of the ousted Athenian tyrant Hippias to rule it under Persian oversight.

The Persian amphibious expeditionary force landed at the plain of Marathon with the intent to attract the Athenian army to face them, and when they had, to send their cavalry by sea around the coast to Athens, gallop up to the city, and capture it in the absence of the Athenian army still facing off at Marathon, with Hippias' supportes in the city opening the gates to let them in. The Athenian army would then be caught in the open between the Persian infantry at Marathon and the Persians holding the city.

A cunning plot, as Broderick would say, but the Athenians woke up to it too soon for it to work.

It went awry when the Athenian army, staying in the hills above Marathon plain to avoid the superior Persian cavalry, and waiting for reinforcement from the Spartans, saw the Persian cavalry being loaded onto ships. Seizing the opportunity, they ran down and surprised and quickly routed the inferior Persian infantry.

As they were resting after this victory, the penny dropped that the cavalry was being shipped around to the city which was undefended. So the Athenian infantry and light infantry, numbering 18,000, tired as they were from the battle, ran back the 26 miles to the city and formed up in front of the walls as the Persian cavalry was being disembarked. Frustrated, the Persians went home.

This was the origin of today's Marathon - not a runner called Pheidippides (who was already dead from his run to Sparta to summon them), but 18,000, already tired out from battle, but desperate to save their city. Today's pampered Marathon athletes got it pretty easy by comparison.

Answer 3

The Athenian and Plataean armies waited in the hills around the Plain of Marathon for reinforcements coming from Sparta. Then they saw the Persian cavalry being loaded onto ships, and ran down and defeated the inferior unarmoured Persian infantry, no longer protected by its cavalry.

Answer 4

The Persians faced a number of disadvantages in their battle with the Greeks at Marathon, some caused by themselves. As they had reached Greece by sea, they were without many of their decisive offensive weapons, namely their horsemen. In addition to that they:1. Had light infantry, and without the support of their horsemen this was a disadvantage;

2. This would have not been decisive except for the fact that the Greeks had heavy infantry;

3. The Greeks benefited by having their flanks protected by Greek militia in the surrounding hillsides;

4. The small contingent of Persian cavalry could not help against the Greek militia due to the terrain;

5. The Persian archers could not stop the charge of the Greek heavy infantry;

6. Hand to hand combat between the archers and the Greek infantry dispersed the archers, and with their flanks reinforced, the Greek center was weakened;

7. The stronger Greek forces at the ends of the Greek lines were able to reach the Persian light infantry and engaged them in hand to hand combat;

8. A new line of Persian archers was able to prevent the weakened Greek center from reaching the center of the Persian light infantry;

9. Nevertheless, the Persian light infantry was not trained for "shock" actions and the hand to hand fighting on either end on the Persian line folded under the Greek pressure;

10. As the Persians fled to their ships, the Greeks had to reorganize in order to reach the Persians in good order;

11. Once the three mile pursuit reached the seacoast, most of the Persians were safely afloat, however, the Greeks did manage to capture seven Persian vessels.

The result of the failed Persian efforts at Marathon were attributed to the fact that heavy infantry was more than a match for light infantry. The Persian cavalry, too small in number were unable to create any flanking maneuvers, and the hillside terrain controlled by Greek militia added to the Persian cavalry's inability to outflank the slower heavy infantry of the Greeks. And, it can also be said that surely the Persians did not bring to the battle enough archers. Fighting in a foreign land, and without their normal power, this placed the Persians at a severe disadvantage.

Answer 5

One fundamental reason the Persians lost the Battle of Marathon was that they failed to have their full compliment of cavalry forces ready to fight when they landed in Greece. The Persians only had bowmen and when the Greek heavy infantry charged the Persian lines, the bowmen were unprepared, under armed and helpless.

Answer 6

well the Greeks lost 192 troops and the Persians lost 6400 troops i think wait until somebody improves this answer

Answer 7

Persians lost against the Athenians in the battle of Marathon.