Athens asks Persia for their help on an attack Spartans are planning against the Athenians. Persians agree to help the Athenians only if they agree to “earth and water”, and they agree, not realizing what they really are asking for is the land of Athens. So Persia is now happy to think they own more land, however Athens think the Persians are just going to help, not take over.
As it turns out, Persians were not necessary because Spartans attacked too fast and the Athenians battled them on their own and won. Athens then tells the Persians the agreement is null and void thinking everything is fine. Persian ruler is outraged and now plans to march the city of Athens and burn it down.The first battle between Persia and Athens is the Battle of Marathon. However despite that the Athenians are outnumbered two to one they have much better tools for war. They have the hoplan which is a large circular shield made of wood and bronze and designed for the arm to go through in a steady way to create a great blockade for when the enemy tries to push through; and the Persians tried but they just couldn’t break though this bronze wall they made.
They also wore metal/bronze jackets and had powerful spears. All their weapons and gear outweighed that of the Persians, which allowed them to win the Battle of Marathon.After Athens killed so many people, Persians had to release the heavy infantry, called the “immortals” because they are considered unbeatable. Persians still couldn’t break the wall so they got on their ships and retreated.
They left Marathon and traveled directly to Athens. At this time, some guy ran 26 miles from Marathon to Athens and screams “Nike!” meaning retreat. The Athenians line the wall of the coast of Athens so that when Persians arrived to Athens they had to turn their boats around and leave.It’s a great story in history.
Athenians were well-rounded people so they thought logically as to what helps win a battle. Number wasn’t an issue. Persians trained for war all day everyday starting at the age of seven but lacked the heavy armor so it was easy to kill them. That’s why the Persians lost 6000 soldiers and the Athenians only lost 192.
When the Parthenon was built, it was to represent their found and kept democracy. The frieze is engraved with the 192 soldiers lost which really makes it an amazing building because it represents so much for the city of Athens.
