03-30-2005, 01:59 PM
Thanks for your message.<br>
First of all I must confess that as a Greek I am ashamed that illegal built tourist resorts and the public works for Athems 2004 Olympics have destroyed that holy ground. It has changed substantialy for the worse. I hope the image I sent you will help. It depicts the place as it was at the time of the battle. The marshes were dried at 1880 A.D. to make land for cultivation. The river Kffisos went under ground at the late Medieval times. Nobody planed vinyards after 1907 A.D. The Greeks camped on the mount at the base of the map for fear of cavalry. The place is called Agrieliki (mount of wild olives). They formed at the basis of the mountain and charged<br>
with their left flank protected from the marshes and their right flank protected by the vineyards. Psiloi in the vineyards could cause serious problem for the Persians.<br>
I was possible for the Persians to post cavalry piquets to protect their stocade but as you said in you message.perhaps not more than 60. My opinion is possibly light cavalry (Arahosians with javelins). Piquet duty in hevy armor is not practical. Knights would have been some Skythian nobles but Herodotus claimed they fought on foot at the center of the Persian army. I asume that their horses must have been sent on the ships.<br>
Also Persian knights appar first time at the Persian civil war between Cyrus and Artaxerxis later. No evidence that existed at the time<br>
of Marathon. Since there was not the king present we must rule out the "immortals" too.<br>
My opinion on the deployment is 50000 Asiatic combatants with 60 of them light horse on the flank. 20000 would be the Persian and the Skythians holding the center and the rest would be warbands with an asortment of weapons. Their leaders could be armored but not engouh to make an impact and their lines would be haphazard.<br>
Psiloi throwing sling stones and javelines would keep the archers occupied. Their aim was not to close on the sparabara..<br>
Miltiades Athenian commander in chief who had followed Darios on his campaign against the Skythians knew the strngths and weakneses of the Persian army.<br>
He counted that the pooly motivated levies at the flanks did not have nerve and would flee if hard pressed. so "flanks would be barely 100 men front, which is pretty thin for a wing" could have been his risk wich paid off! Partial explanation for the mess in the center was the fact that its oveconfident commander general Stisilaos with 30 hoplites plunged in the Persian lines and were cut off surrounfed and killed (Falanx rule number one: Do NOT brake the lines!!!). It was possibly, the assistance of the psiloi that helped the line until the Athenian flanks.turned on the suprised Persians and Skythians. Psiloi wouldn´t come to grips if the can avoid it but they would dely the the Persian just long enough.<br>
<br>
I hope I helped<br>
<img src="http://CDocuments and Settings123DesktopMarathon490BC" style="border:0;"/><br>
I cant attach the image. Give me email and I will sent it <p></p><i></i>
First of all I must confess that as a Greek I am ashamed that illegal built tourist resorts and the public works for Athems 2004 Olympics have destroyed that holy ground. It has changed substantialy for the worse. I hope the image I sent you will help. It depicts the place as it was at the time of the battle. The marshes were dried at 1880 A.D. to make land for cultivation. The river Kffisos went under ground at the late Medieval times. Nobody planed vinyards after 1907 A.D. The Greeks camped on the mount at the base of the map for fear of cavalry. The place is called Agrieliki (mount of wild olives). They formed at the basis of the mountain and charged<br>
with their left flank protected from the marshes and their right flank protected by the vineyards. Psiloi in the vineyards could cause serious problem for the Persians.<br>
I was possible for the Persians to post cavalry piquets to protect their stocade but as you said in you message.perhaps not more than 60. My opinion is possibly light cavalry (Arahosians with javelins). Piquet duty in hevy armor is not practical. Knights would have been some Skythian nobles but Herodotus claimed they fought on foot at the center of the Persian army. I asume that their horses must have been sent on the ships.<br>
Also Persian knights appar first time at the Persian civil war between Cyrus and Artaxerxis later. No evidence that existed at the time<br>
of Marathon. Since there was not the king present we must rule out the "immortals" too.<br>
My opinion on the deployment is 50000 Asiatic combatants with 60 of them light horse on the flank. 20000 would be the Persian and the Skythians holding the center and the rest would be warbands with an asortment of weapons. Their leaders could be armored but not engouh to make an impact and their lines would be haphazard.<br>
Psiloi throwing sling stones and javelines would keep the archers occupied. Their aim was not to close on the sparabara..<br>
Miltiades Athenian commander in chief who had followed Darios on his campaign against the Skythians knew the strngths and weakneses of the Persian army.<br>
He counted that the pooly motivated levies at the flanks did not have nerve and would flee if hard pressed. so "flanks would be barely 100 men front, which is pretty thin for a wing" could have been his risk wich paid off! Partial explanation for the mess in the center was the fact that its oveconfident commander general Stisilaos with 30 hoplites plunged in the Persian lines and were cut off surrounfed and killed (Falanx rule number one: Do NOT brake the lines!!!). It was possibly, the assistance of the psiloi that helped the line until the Athenian flanks.turned on the suprised Persians and Skythians. Psiloi wouldn´t come to grips if the can avoid it but they would dely the the Persian just long enough.<br>
<br>
I hope I helped<br>
<img src="http://CDocuments and Settings123DesktopMarathon490BC" style="border:0;"/><br>
I cant attach the image. Give me email and I will sent it <p></p><i></i>
