improve: Battle of Marathon

battles/battle-of-marathon.md

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 <!-- factbase:8dbea7 -->
 # Battle of Marathon
 
-# Battle of Marathon
-
 ## Overview
 The Battle of Marathon (490 BCE) was a decisive Greek victory over the Persian Empire during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It demonstrated that the Persians could be defeated and became a symbol of Greek resistance. @t[=490 BCE]
 
+## Context
+King Darius I of Persia (r. 522–486 BCE) launched the invasion in retaliation for Athenian and Eretrian support of the Ionian Revolt (499–493 BCE), which had included the burning of Sardis. In 491 BCE Darius sent envoys demanding Greek submission; Athens and Sparta executed the envoys and pledged mutual defense. A Persian fleet of ~600 ships landed at Eretria (which it sacked) before crossing to Marathon, chosen for its flat terrain suitable for cavalry. [^3]
+
 ## Key Facts
-- Date: September 490 BCE @t[=490 BCE]
+- Date: ~11–12 September 490 BCE @t[=490 BCE]
 - Location: Plain of Marathon, ~40 km northeast of Athens
 - Belligerents: Athens and Plataea vs. Persian Empire
-- Commanders: Miltiades (Athens), Datis and Artaphernes (Persia)
+- Commanders: Callimachus (Athenian polemarch, overall command; killed in battle), Miltiades (Athenian strategos, tactical command), Arimnestos (Plataea); Datis and Artaphernes (Persia)
 - Result: Decisive Greek victory [^1]
 
 ## The Battle
-- ~10,000 Athenians and ~1,000 Plataeans vs. ~25,000 Persians (estimates vary)
-- Miltiades strengthened the flanks at the expense of the center
-- Greek wings enveloped the Persian center in a double envelopment
-- Persian losses: ~6,400; Greek losses: ~192
+- ~9,000–10,000 Athenians and ~1,000 Plataeans vs. ~20,000–25,000 Persians (estimates vary) [^1][^2]
+- Greeks thinned their center to four ranks deep and strengthened the flanks to match the Persian line width (~1,500 m front)
+- The Persian cavalry was conspicuously absent from the engagement — possibly embarked for a flanking move on Athens, or unable to deploy effectively on the terrain [^3]
+- Greek wings enveloped the Persian center in a double envelopment; the Persian flanks broke and fled toward the ships across marshy ground
+- Fierce fighting at the ships; Callimachus was killed in this phase; the Greeks captured seven Persian vessels [^3]
+- Persian losses: ~6,400; Greek losses: ~192 (the Greek figure is likely an undercount) [^1]
+
+## Aftermath
+- After the battle, the Persian fleet sailed around Cape Sounion toward Athens; the Greek army force-marched back and arrived in time to deter a landing — the Persians withdrew to Asia [^3]
+- ~2,000 Spartans arrived after the battle; delayed by the sacred Karneia festival and possibly a Messenian revolt [^1][^3]
+- The Athenian dead were cremated and buried on the battlefield in the *soros* (burial mound), still visible today; a commemorative trophy column was erected (fragments in the Archaeological Museum of Marathon) [^3]
+- Annual sacrifice of 500 goats to Artemis Agrotera was performed at the site for ~400 years [^3]
+- Victory commemorated at Delphi with a bronze sculptural group by Phidias (including Apollo, Artemis, and Miltiades) and a Treasury of the Athenians; a colossal bronze Athena was erected on the Athenian Acropolis [^3]
+
+## Scholarly Notes
+- **Date**: The conventional date of 12 September 490 BCE (established by August Boeckh using the Athenian calendar) has been challenged. Olson et al. (2004) argue the battle occurred on 12 August 490 BCE, based on recalculation using the Spartan calendar for the Karneia festival. [^4]
+- **Pheidippides**: Herodotus describes a runner named Pheidippides sent *before* the battle to request Spartan aid — a run of ~240 km to Sparta. The story of a messenger running from Marathon to Athens *after* the battle to announce victory first appears in Plutarch (~1st century CE) and Lucian (~2nd century CE), over 500 years after the event. The modern marathon race (42.195 km) was established at the 1896 Athens Olympics to commemorate this later tradition. [^1][^2][^3]
 
 ## Legacy
-- Pheidippides' legendary run from Marathon to Athens (~40 km) inspired the modern marathon race [^2]
-- Athenian burial mound (*soros*) still visible at Marathon
-- Boosted Athenian confidence and democratic identity
+- First Greek land victory over Persia; proved the Persian army was not invincible
+- Boosted Athenian democratic identity and confidence; veterans wore a bull-of-Marathon device on their shields [^3]
+- Preceded the larger Persian invasion of 480 BCE (Thermopylae, Salamis, Plataea)
 
 ---
-[^1]: Herodotus, *Histories* 6.102–117
-[^2]: Krentz, P. *The Battle of Marathon* (Yale, 2010)
----
-
-## Review Queue
-
-<!-- factbase:review -->
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Date: September 490 BCE" - when was this true?
-> 490 BCE event. Attested by Herodotus, *Histories* 6.102-117 (~430 BCE) [^1]; modern confirmation in Krentz (2010) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Location: Plain of Marathon, ~40 km northeast of Athens" - when was this true?
-> 490 BCE event. Attested by Herodotus, *Histories* 6.102 (~430 BCE) [^1]; confirmed in Krentz (2010) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Belligerents: Athens and Plataea vs. Persian Empire" - when was this true?
-> 490 BCE event. Attested by Herodotus, *Histories* 6.108 (~430 BCE) [^1].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 13: "Commanders: Miltiades (Athens), Datis and Artaphernes (Persia)" - when was this true?
-> 490 BCE event. Attested by Herodotus, *Histories* 6.103, 6.94 (~430 BCE) [^1].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 14: "Result: Decisive Greek victory [^1]" - when was this true?
-> 490 BCE event. Attested by Herodotus, *Histories* 6.113-117 (~430 BCE) [^1]; modern analysis in Krentz (2010) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "~10,000 Athenians and ~1,000 Plataeans vs. ~25,000 Persians (estimates vary)" - when was this true?
-> 490 BCE event. Troop estimates from Herodotus, *Histories* 6.103-109 (~430 BCE) [^1]; modern range analysis in Krentz (2010) [^2]. Ancient and modern estimates vary.
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Miltiades strengthened the flanks at the expense of the center" - when was this true?
-> 490 BCE event. Attested by Herodotus, *Histories* 6.111 (~430 BCE) [^1].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Greek wings enveloped the Persian center in a double envelopment" - when was this true?
-> 490 BCE event. Attested by Herodotus, *Histories* 6.113 (~430 BCE) [^1].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 20: "Persian losses: ~6,400; Greek losses: ~192" - when was this true?
-> 490 BCE event. Casualty figures from Herodotus, *Histories* 6.117 (~430 BCE) [^1].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 23: "Pheidippides' legendary run from Marathon to Athens (~40 km) inspired the mod..." - when was this true?
-> The run tradition derives from later sources (Plutarch, ~75 CE; Lucian, ~2nd century CE). Herodotus describes Pheidippides' run to Sparta, not Athens. Modern marathon race established 1896 CE. Krentz (2010) [^2] discusses the tradition.
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: "Athenian burial mound (*soros*) still visible at Marathon" - when was this true?
-> The mound dates to ~490 BCE. Its continued visibility confirmed by Krentz (2010) [^2] and ongoing archaeological surveys at the Marathon site.
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 25: "Boosted Athenian confidence and democratic identity" - when was this true?
-> Scholarly interpretation of post-490 BCE Athenian culture. Attested by Herodotus, *Histories* (~430 BCE) [^1]; modern analysis in Krentz (2010) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Date: September 490 BCE" - what is the source?
-> Herodotus Histories 6.102-117 [^1] and Krentz (2010) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 11: "Location: Plain of Marathon, ~40 km northeast of Athens" - what is the source?
-> Herodotus Histories 6.102-117 [^1] and Krentz (2010) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 12: "Belligerents: Athens and Plataea vs. Persian Empire" - what is the source?
-> Herodotus Histories 6.102-117 [^1] and Krentz (2010) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 13: "Commanders: Miltiades (Athens), Datis and Artaphernes (Persia)" - what is the source?
-> Herodotus Histories 6.102-117 [^1] and Krentz (2010) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 17: "~10,000 Athenians and ~1,000 Plataeans vs. ~25,000 Persians (estimates vary)" - what is the source?
-> Herodotus Histories 6.102-117 [^1] and Krentz (2010) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 18: "Miltiades strengthened the flanks at the expense of the center" - what is the source?
-> Herodotus Histories 6.102-117 [^1] and Krentz (2010) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 19: "Greek wings enveloped the Persian center in a double envelopment" - what is the source?
-> Herodotus Histories 6.102-117 [^1] and Krentz (2010) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 20: "Persian losses: ~6,400; Greek losses: ~192" - what is the source?
-> Herodotus Histories 6.102-117 [^1] and Krentz (2010) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 24: "Athenian burial mound (*soros*) still visible at Marathon" - what is the source?
-> Herodotus Histories 6.102-117 [^1] and Krentz (2010) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 25: "Boosted Athenian confidence and democratic identity" - what is the source?
-> Herodotus Histories 6.102-117 [^1] and Krentz (2010) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[stale]` Line 23: "Pheidippides' legendary run from Marathon to Athens (~40 km) inspired the mod..." - Krentz source from 2010 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
-> Still accurate. Krentz (2010) remains a standard reference. The underlying historical facts are well-established.
+[^1]: Herodotus, *Histories* 6.94–117 (~430 BCE)
+[^2]: Krentz, P. *The Battle of Marathon* (Yale University Press, 2010)
+[^3]: Cartwright, M. "Battle of Marathon." *World History Encyclopedia*, 19 May 2013. https://www.worldhistory.org/marathon/
+[^4]: Olson, D. W. et al. "Battle of Marathon date revised." *Nature News*, 19 July 2004. https://doi.org/10.1038/news040719-1