The Battle of Marathon: Part 3 - The Greeks and the Beginnings of War

When you think about ancient classes of warriors of hundreds or thousands of years ago you'll typically find yourself with some variety of picture in your mind - stereotypical depictions of lone samurai or knights clad in gleaming, beautiful armour - and when you read about the actual style, visually or otherwise, you might find yourself rather disappointed. Knights back in the day don't look as closely to my Diablo III characters as much as I would hope, and I'm getting the sneaking suspicion that Samurai Jack might be fictional. Athens and Sparta in their prime, however, live up to all the hype and all the excitement that you see in movies. In fact, in the latest, mediocre 300 movie where the Athenians are depicted as simple farmer folk who can't fight all that well (but are still inexplicably jacked beyond belief) actually sells them short a little. Sparta on the other hand is just as battle hardened and fear inspiring as everything you've heard.

But anyways - time for historical fact. There will be plenty of time (and one should always make time) for 300 later.

A statue of an Athenian, the richer,
weaker version of a Spartan. Still
pretty tough to beat though.

Athens came to flourish not as a warrior state (well, not entirely), nor as a farming one. The soil wasn't particularly great around the area so they had to make a living through other means, and those means just happened to be trade. They became exceedingly wealthy, although still far, far, far less wealthy than Persia out east through means of being the go-between from all the other Greek cities. A lot of people, 300: Rise of an Empire included, depict them as militarily weak due to this very reason - but that's simply not the case. They still fought with fair regularity, at one point holding off the advance of Sparta itself. At the time of Marathon they still had generals that had fought in previous wars that provided a sense of calm and a veteran backing to their military force. In addition to all this, they were the founders of democracy; that doesn't just mean they can feel a pompous sense of superiority (although it totally does mean that) but it would also mean that they very well might fight harder. A soldier that is fighting for himself and his people rather than for a tyrant or king is going to be more inclined to put it all on the line.

So what about Sparta? I said earlier they live up to their high modern standards of the pinnacle of warrior-hood, and the reason being they had to make everything about war out of necessity of keeping their lifestyle. Some time ago they grew to dominate the surrounding people, not quite enslaving them, but... pretty darn close. They gave them terrible enough conditions (making them send their resources up the line, high taxes, that sort of stuff) that the lowers - called Helots - may very well revolt. If they're to revolt, then Sparta had better make sure they won. The best deterrent to revolt is to get so, so, so ridiculously good at warfare that no one dare try to fight them. The result was a Spartan society that didn't have to worry about farming, and focus entirely on becoming a living, breathing force of military power. The problem is they couldn't really venture out a conquerin' because the moment the bulk of the military wandered off, the Helots would revolt. Essentially, Sparta was so tough that the toughest nails would say they were as tough as Spartans. But to convince them to leave their door, no matter how high the stakes, is another matter altogether. 

Spartans made of bronze are actually
softer than the real life version.

So that's what's going on back home in Greece when they get word that Ionia is revolting over the high taxes and ruined economy that Persia has caused. Athens moves to help, but Sparta, taking a look at some shifty-eyed half-slaves, decides to stay home and work out a little more. The Athenians, to their credit, went and burned down Sardis, the former capital of the Lydians turned Persian city, but had to bid a hasty retreat after confronting too strong of a Persian force. After they leave, Ionia, the Greek-owned city states south of Lydia and across the water from Greece, falls to Persian might. In addition to that, Athens just poked the bear that clawed them. 

Persia at this time is essentially an unstoppable war machine. They're taking territory left right and centre, created the greatest empire the world had known at that time, and were poised to attack mainland Greece. Their army was so strong that the cities of Greece didn't fight, but instead just rolled right over and agreed to join Persia out of fear of, you know, the whole death and destruction thing that happens when you don't immediately surrender to a ridiculously giant army. Well, I guess I should say most Greek cities turned.

Sparta and Athens are making a stand.

Famous Historical Figures Say the Darndest Things!

1. "For after they had completed the conquest of the cities, they picked out the most handsome boys and castrated them, making them eunuchs instead of males. And they dragged off the most beautiful virgins to the King. After they had carried out these threats, they also set fire to the cities and to their sanctuaries, too." This. This right here is why they surrendered to the Persians.
2. "The Spartan's life is so unendurable that it is no wonder he throws it away lightly in battle." An Athenian said this about the Spartan way of growing up, notoriously a brutal way of living that makes you pretty well unbreakable.