Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/115

The Repulse of Persia 71 104. Second Persian Invasion. In the early summer of 490 B.C. a considerable fleet of transports and warships bearing the Persian host sailed across the ^Egean and entered the straits between Euboea and Attica. The Persians landed on the shores of Attica, In the Bay of Marathon (see map, p. 50), intending to march on Athens. All was excitement and confusion among the Greek states. The defeat of the revolting Ionian cities had made a deep impression throughout Greece. Now this Persian foe was camping behind the hills only a few miles northeast of Athens. 105. Miltiades and the Battle of Marathon (490 B.C.). The Persian forces probably numbered about twenty thousand men, but at the utmost the Athenians could not put more than half this number into the field. Fortunately for them, there was among their generals a skilled commander named Miltiades. As the citizen-soldiers of Attica flocked to the city at the call to arms, Miltiades was able to induce the leaders not to await the assault of the Persians at Athens but to march across the peninsula and block the Persian advance among the hills over- looking the eastern coast and commanding the road to the city. Unable to entice the Greeks from the advantageous position they had chosen at Marathon, the Persians at length attempted to force their way along the road toward Athens. The Athenians bravely faced the storm of Persian arrows and managed to attack the enemy in such a manner that the Asiatic army crumbled in confusion. The Persian bows proved less effective than the Greek spears. The invaders were routed and fled to their ships, leaving over six thousand dead upon the field, while the Athenians lost less than two hundred men. When the Persian commander sailed around the Attic peninsula and appeared with his fleet before the port of Athens, he found it unwise to attempt a landing, for the victorious Athenian army was already encamped beside the city. 106. Rise of Themistocles. Among the men who stood in the Athenian ranks at Marathon was Themistocles, the ablest states- man in Greece. He was convinced of the necessity of building up