This title follows the campaigns of Marathon, one of the epic stories of the ancient world. When the Ionian Revolt broke out in 499 BC, Athens angered the Persians by sending assistance to the Greeks of Asia. Having crushed the revolt, the Persian king, Darius, decided to punish Athens and landed his forces at Marathon some 26 miles from the city. Nine thousand Athenians and their allies marched to meet him, advancing onto the plain and driving the Persians back to their ships amid heavy fighting. Darius reputedly lost 6400 men to the Greeks 192 in a conclusive Greek victory, and a Greek runner was dispatched to Athens with the news of the victory in what became the first Marathon run.

Author Biography

Nicholas Sekunda was born in 1953. After studying Ancient History and Archaeology at Manchester University, he went on to take his Ph.D. in 1981. He has taken part in archaeological excavations in Poland, Iran and Greece, participated in a research project on ancient Persian warfare for the British institute of Persian Studies. He has published numerous books and academic articles, and is currently teaching at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology in Torun, Poland.