Miltiades

Miltiades (mĭltī`ədēz), d. 489 B.C., Athenian general who commanded at Marathon. He succeeded his uncle as ruler (c.524 B.C.) of an Athenian dependency in the Gallipoli Peninsula. He accompanied (c.513) Darius in the Persian expedition into Scythia. Later he took part in the revolt of Ionian Greece against the Persians (499–493) and afterward fled to Athens. His experience and ability made him a powerful figure and he was elected to the board of generals to oppose the impending Persian invasion (see Persian Wars). When the enemy arrived at Marathon (490), Miltiades went there to protect Athens from the land side. After a few days' delay the Persians began the march toward Athens, and Miltiades attacked. He had an infantry that was greatly outnumbered, but the Greek spears and armor outweighed Persian arms. The Athenian center gave way and the wings enveloped the Persians, vanquishing them. The Persians retreated to their ships and set out at once by sea to attack Athens, the army being absent. Perhaps the chief glory of Miltiades was that he brought his army, which had been fighting all day, in a 20-mi (32-km) race back to Athens; in the morning when the Persian fleet arrived off Athens, Miltiades and his army were ready. After the battle Miltiades was given a fleet. In 489, he made an unsuccessful attack on Paros. His enemies took advantage of the failure and had him fined. He died of a wound soon after.

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Miltiades

?540--?489 bc, Athenian general, who defeated the Persians at Marathon (490)

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Miltiades 

Born circa 550 B.C.; died 489 B.C. Athenian statesman and general.

Miltiades came from the aristocratic family of the Philaidae. He was the father of the Athenian general Cimon. Between 523 and 513, Miltiades was exiled by the tyrant Hippias to Chersonesus Thracica, where he became tyrant, inheriting the position of his brother Stesagoras. Miltiades brought Lemnos and other Cycladic islands under Athenian rule. He supported the Greeks in Asia Minor in their struggle against Persia between 500 and 494. When the uprising was suppressed, he fled to Athens, where he was tried as a former tyrant but was acquitted. In 490, Miltiades was elected strategus and commanded the Athenian troops in the battle of Marathon. He then participated in the expedition of 489 against the islands that had broken away from Athens. For his unsuccessful military operation on Paros Island, he was sentenced to pay a fine that was above his financial means. Miltiades died in prison or, according to some versions, from wounds at an earlier date.