• Home

The Complete Pilgrim - Religious Travel Sites

Howard Kramer's, The Complete Pilgrim, Religious Travel Site

  • AMERICAN RELIGIOUS SITES
  • CHRISTIAN SITES
  • JEWISH SITES
  • CATHOLIC SITES
  • INDIAN/HINDU SITES
  • HOLIDAY SITES
  • CASTLES
  • BATTLEFIELDS
  • MOUNTAINS
  • NATURE
  • WILDLIFE SITES
  • PHOTO GALLERIES
  • ARCHIVES
  • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

BATTLE OF MARATHON & BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE (BATTLEFIELDS)

December 7, 2015 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Marathon & Thermopylae, Greece (490 & 480 BC)

The battles of Marathon and Thermopylae are two of the most famous engagements of antiquity fought in Greece.  Pivotal battles in the First and Second Persian Invasions of Greece respectively, the first is remembered for the 26-mile Marathon races which are still run to the present day; and the second for the valiant last stand of the renowned three hundred Spartans against overwhelming forces.  Both battles helped to secure the independence of the tiny but free Greek city-states and the nascent democracies which had newly emerged in places like Athens.

History

The massive expansion of the Persian Empire which absorbed much of the Middle East in the 6th century BC finally arrived on the doorstep of Greece in 492 BC.  Under the Emperor Darius I, Persian armies marched on Athens and its allies in retailation to Athenian support for rebels in Asia Minor.  Most Greek city states took a neutral position except Sparta, who though opposed to the Persians did not actively support Athens, which was effectively left to fend for itself.

In 490 BC a Persian force of over a hundred thousand men (the exact figure is disputed) arrived in the province of Attica, with the intention of utterly destroying Athens.  Approximately ten thousand Athenians and auxiliaries from Plataea marched out to meet them at Marathon.  Thanks to the brilliant leadership of Militiades and bad maneuvering by the Persian cavalry, the Greeks managed to envelop and crush the finest divisions of the Persian army and forcing the remainder to flee.  News of this tremendous and unexpected victory was brought to Athens by one Pheidippides, who ran 26 miles to inform the city.

Forced to withdraw from Greece, the Persians retired to Asia Minor to lick their wounds.  Ten years later, they returned with a vengeance, this time under Xerxes I, son of Darius.  The Persian army was much larger, some sources indicating more than a million strong.  However, the Greek response was also greater.  The initial focus was on a delaying tactic both on land and at sea.  A force of perhaps over ten thousand Greeks from a number of city states marched out to guard the coastal road near Thermopylae.  Of these troops the most famous by far were the three hundred Spartans personally led by the Spartan king Leonides.

For three days the Greeks fought heroically, using the terrain and superior tactics to maximum effect.  Tens of thousands of Persians fell, with little success against the defenders.  On the third day of the battle, the Greeks were betrayed when a local man showed the Persians a secret pass which led behind Greek lines.  Unable to hold the pass further, the bulk of the Greek army retreated south.  The pass was held by a rearguard consisting of the three hundred Spartans and perhaps as many as a thousand other troops.  These were annihilated, though at great cost to the Persians.  Although a defeat, Thermopylae became a rallying cry for the Greeks, who drove out the Persians the following year.

Visiting

The battlefields of Marathon and Thermopylae are both fairly accessible and yet off the beaten path for most visitors to Greece.  From a tourism standpoint they are both fairly pristine despite their historical importance, with little in the way of ruins at either location.  The field of Marathon is famous for the still-extant Marathon Tomb, a burial mound which once bore the names of those Greekes killed in the battle.  Artifacts of the battle are kept at the nearby Marathon Museum.  The field of Thermopylae is perhaps more interesting to see, certainly more dramatic from a topography standpoint.  The highlight of the Thermopylae battlefield is an ancient commemorative statue of Leonides who still guards the pass.

The battlefields of Marathon and Thermopylae, while ninety miles from each other, can be and often are combined into a daytrip.  Marathon is not suprisingly 26 miles north of Athens, while Thermopylae is approximately one-hundred miles northwest of Athens and close to Delphi.  Both are open sites.  There is no cost of admission to either location.  Web: www.visitgreece.gr (official tourism website of Greece)

Filed Under: Battlefield Tagged With: Greece

Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

THE COMPLETE AMERICAN PILGRIM – NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

THE COMPLETE PILGRIM

Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

Site of the Week

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

Wittenberg, Germany The … [Read More...]

Friends of TCP Spotlight

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

by Glory Ali The City of Brotherly Love offers tons to see and do and get this, it’s FREE. That’s right you heard it right it’s FREE. Click here for complete article  

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

by Mary Neuhauser President Trump recently announced his intentions to move the United States Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thereby recognizing Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel. The purpose of this article is to give you a brief overview of what this decision means and why it matters. Click here for […]

Photo of the Week

BASILICA OF ST. DENIS

Last month, I visited one of the most fascinating churches I have ever been to, the almost completely ignored Basilica of St. Denis in the northern suburbs of Paris.  Almost every French monarch is buried here, and almost nobody goes here.  Here are some pics I took:

Basilica of St. Denis

Tomb of Clovis

Tomb of Clovis

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Royal Tombs

Royal Tombs

The Crypt

The Crypt

 

 

 

 

Follow us!

Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

Contact Us

Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

Return to top of page
Copyright © 2025 The Complete Pilgrim, LLC || Marietta, GA 30068 || Legal Disclaimers

Website by: Kristina McInerny, Notes From Kris, Inc.