PREPARING FOR MARATHON, 490 B.C. To the Athenians belong the
glories of Marathon. They lived where the modern city of Athens now
stands. The ruins of their temples and theaters still attract students
and travelers to Greece. The plain of Marathon lay more than twenty
miles to the northeast, and the roads to it led through mountain
passes. When the Athenians heard that the hosts of the Great King of
Persia were approaching, they sent a runner, Pheidippides by name, to
ask aid of Sparta, a city one hundred and forty miles away, in the
peninsula now called the Morea, where dwelt the sturdiest fighters of
Greece. This runner reached Sparta on the second day, but the Spartans
said it would be against their religious custom to march before the
moon was full. The Athenians saw that they must meet the enemy
alone--one small city against a mighty empire. They called their ten
thousand men together and set out. On the way they were joined by a
thousand more, the whole army of the brave little town of Plataea.

[Illustration: GREEK SOLDIERS IN ARMS From a Greek vase of
about the time of the battle of Marathon]

HOW THE ATHENIANS WERE ARMED. Although the Persians had six times
as many soldiers as the Athenians, they were not so well armed for
hand to hand fighting. Their principal weapon was the bow and arrow,
while the Greeks used the lance and a short sword. The Greek soldier
was protected by his bronze helmet, solid across the forehead and over
the nose; by his breastplate, a leathern or linen tunic covered with
small metal scales, with flaps hanging below his hips; and by greaves
or pieces of metal in front of his knees and shins. He was also
protected by a shield, often long enough to reach from his face to his
knees. According to a strange custom the Athenians were led by ten