The Greco-Persian Wars - PART II: The Aegean Campaigns and the Battle of Marathon (492-490 BC)

In the last episode of this series, we covered the rise of the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great and its expansion into Anatolia and the eastern Aegean, including the predominantly Greek-speaking region of Ionia. Though much of Ionia prospered under their new overlords, in 499 BC, the Ionians revolted with their help of their allies, including the city-states of Athens and Eritrea. By 493 BC, what become known as the Ionian Revolt had been crushed, and order restored to the western fringes of the Persian Empire. However, the empire’s king, Darius I, vowed to punish Athens and Eretria for their involvement in the uprising. The Great King of Persia sent several of his most trusted commanders to subdue both city-states and any others who opposed him, resulting in the first major armed encounter in Europe between the Greeks and Persians on the plains of Marathon.

Drawing on historical sources and the latest archaeological research, this series will explore everything from the causes of the conflict to its key figures, the various phases of leading up to this epic encounter and its aftermath.

Contents:

00:00 Recap and Introduction
01:45 The Northern Aegean Campaigns of Mardonius
05:10 Looking to the West
08:18 Athens and Eretria
09:49 How many Men and Ships?
14:30 Island Hopping Around the Aegean
16:33 Euboea and Eretria
19:23 Onward to Athens
22:21 Decisions
27:07 War it is!
29:33 The Battle of Marathon
35:44 Counting the Dead
38:57 If not by Land, then by Sea!
40:00 Aftermath of Marathon
44:41 Thank You and Patrons

Special thanks to Farya Faraji for the following musical compositions featured throughout the program:

"The Apadana's Shadows"
"Mater"
"In Sappho's Mind"
"Aíma"
"Apranik's Charge"
"March of Achaemenes"
"Legends of Sparta"
"The Riding Angaros"
"Shirin and Khosrow"

Check out more of his work that spans across many countries, cultures and time periods:
   / @faryafaraji  

You can also find them on the albums:

Songs of Old Iran Vols. I & II
Voices of the Ancients Vols. I & II

Additional Music:

Epidemic Sound

"Genie's Bane"
"Interstate 895"
"One with the Tribe"
"Pepper Seeds"
"Keeping up with the Tarahumaras"
"Blood in Water"
"The Golden Spiral"
"The Sewers"
"Deer Hunt"
"Zero Remorse"

Also thanks to Malay Archer for helping with some of the machinimas using the Total War: Rome 2 Divide et Impera, Cyrus the Great campaign

Check out more of his work here:

   / @malayarcher  

Related Videos:

The Greco-Persian Wars - PART I: The Rise of Persia and the Ionian Revolt (550-493 BC)
   • The Greco-Persian Wars - PART I: The Rise ...  

Darius the Great: The Life and Times of the Great King of Persia in his Own Words
   • Darius the Great: The Life and Times of th...  

Cyrus the Great and the Birth of the Achaemenid Persian Empire
   • Cyrus the Great and the Birth of the Achae...  

History of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, Part I (550-486 BC; Cyrus the Great - Darius the Great)
   • History of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, ...  

Sources and Suggested Reading:

The Landmark Herodotus - Herodotus, Edited by Robert B. Strassler, translated by Andrea L. Purvis
The Histories (Penguin Classics) - Herodotus, Edited by John M. Marincola, translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt
The Greco-Persian Wars - Peter Green
The Persian War in Herodotus and Other Ancient Voices - William Shepherd
The Battle of Marathon - Peter Krentz
Battles and Battlefields of Ancient Greece: A Guide to their History, Topography and Archaeology - C. Jacob Butera and Matthew A. Sears
First Clash: The Miraculous Victory at Marathon and its Impact on Western Civilization - Jim Lacey
From Cyrus the Alexander – Pierre Briant
The Greco-Persian Wars: A Short History with Documents - Erik Jensen
Thermopylae: The Battle that Changed the World - Paul Cartledge
Ancient Persia: A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire, 550–330 BCE - Matt Waters
The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period - Amélie Kuhrt
Plutarch's Lives - Plutarch, translated by John Dryden
Library of History - Diodorus Siculus
A History of Greece: 1300-30 BC - Victor Parker
Ancient Greece: A Political, Social and Cultural History - Edited by Sarah B. Pomeroy
The Complete History of Ancient Greece - Edited by Don Nardo
A History of Ancient Persia - The Achaemenid Empire (Blackwell History of the Ancient World) - Maria Brosius
History of the Persian Empire - A.T. Olmstead
The Iranian Expanse – Matthew P. Canepa
The Persians - Jim Hicks

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