490 BC
Battle of Marathon
The setting
Plain of Marathon, ~40 km NE of Athens, Attica, Greece
Coastal alluvial plain hemmed by mountains and the Great Marsh, bounded by the bay where the Persian fleet beached.
Reveal the outcome
Recorded sideAthens and Plataea
Recorded resultvictory
Decisive Athenian victory that ended the first Persian invasion of Greece
How the atlas explains it
Miltiades deliberately thinned his center and reinforced both wings. The strong Greek wings routed the Persian flanks while the weaker center gave ground, then the wings wheeled inward to envelop the Persian center. Closing the last stretch at a run minimized exposure to Persian archery, and heavily armored hoplites dominated lighter Persian infantry in the melee.
What followed
First major Greek land victory over Persia; shattered the myth of Persian invincibility and gave Athens enormous confidence ahead of the 480 BC invasion.