The Battle of Marathon
Mike Vecchio
3 March 2011
HIST 2023
Review of Peter Krentz, The battle of Marathon
The Battle of Marathon was arguably one of the most important battles in Greek history. In his book, Peter Krentz critically analyzes every specific aspect of this battle from the events that lead up to it, the battle itself and the aftermath. Krentz debunks the most important aspects of the fight including the weight of the common hoplites armor, the topography of the plain of marathon, and Miltiades strategy that lead to the great upset of the Persian army. The Persian army up to this point had never been matched or defeated in battle. The Athenians great charge on the Persian army at the battle of marathon is what Krentz argues won them the battle. While many scholars believe that this charge was impossible for common Greek soldiers to do physically, Krentz attempts to argue otherwise with scientific, archeological and historical evidence. Krentz goes into tremendous detail about Athens relation with other city states such as Sparta and the Persian Empire to show the history leading up to the battle of marathon and essentially how it came to be. He lingers on the fact that the Persian Empire was the most dominant force in the world at that time and follows their quest for the expansion of their empire. While this is very central to the plot of how and why the battle of marathon was to be fought in the first place, I believe what Krentz is really trying to create is a credible aspect to his and Herodotus’ theory. But what Krentz’s is really trying to accomplish or convey is the fact that Herodotus was correct about the Athenians mile-long charge to meet the Persians in battle, Miltiades military strategy to remove the deadly Persian cavalry from the fight and overall an Athenian victory. Krentz is trying to bring credibility to Herodotus’ telling through his own professional analysis. Perhaps one of the most important arguments Krentz makes is that, contrary to what
3 March 2011
HIST 2023
Review of Peter Krentz, The battle of Marathon
The Battle of Marathon was arguably one of the most important battles in Greek history. In his book, Peter Krentz critically analyzes every specific aspect of this battle from the events that lead up to it, the battle itself and the aftermath. Krentz debunks the most important aspects of the fight including the weight of the common hoplites armor, the topography of the plain of marathon, and Miltiades strategy that lead to the great upset of the Persian army. The Persian army up to this point had never been matched or defeated in battle. The Athenians great charge on the Persian army at the battle of marathon is what Krentz argues won them the battle. While many scholars believe that this charge was impossible for common Greek soldiers to do physically, Krentz attempts to argue otherwise with scientific, archeological and historical evidence. Krentz goes into tremendous detail about Athens relation with other city states such as Sparta and the Persian Empire to show the history leading up to the battle of marathon and essentially how it came to be. He lingers on the fact that the Persian Empire was the most dominant force in the world at that time and follows their quest for the expansion of their empire. While this is very central to the plot of how and why the battle of marathon was to be fought in the first place, I believe what Krentz is really trying to create is a credible aspect to his and Herodotus’ theory. But what Krentz’s is really trying to accomplish or convey is the fact that Herodotus was correct about the Athenians mile-long charge to meet the Persians in battle, Miltiades military strategy to remove the deadly Persian cavalry from the fight and overall an Athenian victory. Krentz is trying to bring credibility to Herodotus’ telling through his own professional analysis. Perhaps one of the most important arguments Krentz makes is that, contrary to what