whatever he took in hand, he was zealous to do the work
thoroughly." So the nearly contemporaneous historian describes
the change of spirit that was seen in the Athenians after their
tyrants were expelled; [Herod. lib. v. c. 87.] and Miltiades
knew that in leading them against the invading army, where they
had Hippias, the foe they most hated, before them, he was
bringing into battle no ordinary men, and could calculate on no
ordinary heroism. As for traitors, he was sure, that whatever
treachery might lurk among some of the higher-born and wealthier
Athenians, the rank and file whom he commanded were ready to do
their utmost in his and their own cause. With regard to future
attacks from Asia, he might reasonably hope that one victory
would inspirit all Greece to combine against common foe; and that
the latent seeds of revolt and disunion in the Persian empire
would soon burst forth and paralyse its energies, so as to leave
Greek independence secure.

With these hopes and risks, Miltiades, on the afternoon of a
September day, 490 B.C., gave the word for the Athenian army to
prepare for battle. There were many local associations connected
with those mountain heights, which were calculated powerfully to
excite the spirits of the men, and of which the commanders well
knew how to avail themselves in their exhortations to their
troops before the encounter. Marathon itself was a region sacred
to; Hercules. Close to them was the fountain of Macaria, who had
in days of yore devoted herself to death for the liberty of her
people. The very plain on which they were to fight was the scene
of the exploits of their national hero, Theseus; and there, too,
as old legends told, the Athenians and the Heraclidae had routed
the invader, Eurystheus. These traditions were not mere cloudy