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Battle of Marathon
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For the poem, see The Battle of Marathon: A Poem.
Battle of Marathon
Part of the Greco-Persian Wars

The plain of Marathon today
Date
August/September (Metageitnion), 490 BC
Location
Marathon, Greece
38°07′05″N 23°58′42″E / 38.11806°N 23.97833°E / 38.11806; 23.97833Coordinates: 38°07′05″N 23°58′42″E / 38.11806°N 23.97833°E / 38.11806; 23.97833
Result
Greek victory
Persian forces driven out of Greece for 10 years.[1]
Belligerents
Athens,
Plataea Persian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Miltiades
Callimachus †
Aristides the Just
Xanthippus (Pericles' father)
Themistokles
Stesilaos †
Arimnestos[2] Datis
Artaphernes
Hippias (deposed Athenian tyrant)
Strength
9,000–10,000 Athenians,
1,000 Plataeans 25,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry (modern estimates)[1] (the latter was not engaged)
100,000+ armed oarsmen and sailors (arranged as reserve troops they saw little action, mostly defending the ships)
600 triremes
50+ horse-carriers
200+ supply ships
Casualties and losses
192 Athenians,
11 Plataeans (Herodotus)
1,000–3,000 dead (modern estimates)[3] 6,400 dead
7 ships destroyed (Herodotus)
4,000–5,000 dead (modern estimates)[3]
Location of the Battle of Marathon
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v
t
e
First Persian invasion
of Greece
Lindos
Naxos
Karystos
Eretria
Marathon
The Battle of Marathon (Greek: Μάχη τοῦ Μαραθῶνος, Machē tou Marathōnos) took place in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. The battle was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece. The Greek army decisively defeated the more numerous Persians, marking a turning point in the Greco-Persian Wars.
The first Persian invasion was a response to Athenian involvement in the Ionian Revolt, when Athens and Eretria had sent a force to support the cities of Ionia in their attempt to overthrow Persian rule. The Athenians and Eretrians had succeeded in capturing and burning Sardis, but they were then forced to retreat with heavy losses. In response to this raid, Darius swore to burn down Athens and Eretria. According to Herodotus, Darius had his bow brought to him and then shot an arrow "upwards towards heaven", saying as he did so: "Zeus, that it may be granted me to take vengeance upon the Athenians!". Herodotus further writes that Darius charged one of his servants to say "Master, remember the Athenians" three times before dinner each day.[4]
At the time of the battle, Sparta and Athens were the two largest city-states in Greece. Once the Ionian revolt was finally crushed by the Persian victory at the Battle of Lade in 494 BC, Darius began plans to subjugate Greece. In 490 BC, he sent a naval task force under Datis and Artaphernes across the Aegean, to subjugate the Cyclades, and then to make punitive attacks on Athens and Eretria. Reaching Euboea in mid-summer after a successful campaign in the Aegean, the Persians proceeded to besiege and capture Eretria. The Persian force then sailed for Attica, landing in the bay near the town of Marathon. The Athenians, joined by a small force from Plataea, marched to Marathon, and succeeded in blocking the two exits from the plain of Marathon. The Athenians also sent a message asking for support to the Spartans. When the messenger arrived in Sparta, the Spartans were involved in a religious festival and gave this as a reason for not coming to aid of the Athenians.
The Athenians and their allies chose a location for the battle, with marshes and mountainous terrain, that prevented the Persian cavalry from joining the Persian infantry. Miltiades, the Athenian general, ordered a general attack against the Persian forces, composed primarily of missile troops. He reinforced his flanks, luring the Persians' best fighters into his center. The inward wheeling flanks enveloped the Persians, routing them. The Persian army broke in panic towards their ships, and large numbers were slaughtered. The defeat at Marathon marked the end of the first Persian invasion of Greece, and the Persian force retreated to Asia. Darius then began raising a huge new army with which he meant to completely subjugate Greece; however, in 486 BC, his Egyptian subjects revolted, indefinitely postponing any Greek expedition. After Darius died, his son Xerxes I restarted the preparations for a second invasion of Greece, which finally began in 480 BC.
The Battle of Marathon was a watershed in the Greco-Persian wars, showing the Greeks that the Persians could be beaten; the eventual Greek triumph in these wars can be seen to begin at Marathon. The battle also showed the Greeks that they were able to win battles without the Spartans, as they had heavily relied on Sparta previously. This victory was largely due to the Athenians, and Marathon raised Greek esteem of them. Since the following two hundred years saw the rise of the Classical Greek civilization, which has been enduringly influential in western society, the Battle of Marathon is often seen as a pivotal moment in Mediterranean and European history.
Contents
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1 Sources
2 Background
3 Prelude
3.1 Date of the battle
4 Opposing forces
4.1 Athenians
4.2 Persians
5 Strategic and tactical considerations
6 Battle
7 Conclusions
8 Aftermath
9 Significance
10 Legacy
10.1 Legends associated with the battle
10.2 Marathon run
11 See also
12 Notes
13 References
13.1 Ancient sources
13.2 Modern studies
13.3 Historiography
14 External links
Sources[edit]
Main article: Herodotus
The main source for the Greco-Persian Wars is the Greek historian Herodotus. Herodotus, who has been called the "Father of History",[5] was born in 484 BC in Halicarnassus, Asia Minor (then under Persian overlordship). He wrote his Enquiries (Greek – Historia; English – (The) Histories) around 440–430 BC, trying to trace the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars, which would still have been relatively recent history (the wars finally ended in 450 BC).[6] Herodotus's approach was entirely novel, and at least in Western society, he does seem to have invented "history" as we know it.[6] As Holland has it: "For the first time, a chronicler set himself to trace the origins of a conflict not to a past so remote so as to be utterly fabulous, nor to the whims and wishes of some god, nor to a people's claim to manifest destiny, but rather explanations he could verify personally."[6]
Some subsequent ancient historians, despite following in his footsteps, criticised Herodotus, starting with Thucydides.[7][8] Nevertheless, Thucydides chose to begin his history where Herodotus left off (at the Siege of Sestos), and may therefore have felt that Herodotus's history was accurate enough not to need re-writing or correcting.[8] Plutarch criticised Herodotus in his essay On the malice of Herodotus, describing Herodotus as "Philobarbaros" (barbarian-lover), for not being pro-Greek enough, which suggests that Herodotus might actually have done a reasonable job of being even-handed.[9] A negative view of Herodotus was passed on to Renaissance Europe, though he remained well read.[10] However, since the 19th century his reputation has been dramatically rehabilitated by archaeological finds which have repeatedly confirmed his version of events.[11] The prevailing modern view is that Herodotus generally did a remarkable job in his Historia, but that some of his specific details (particularly troop numbers and dates) should be viewed with skepticism.[11] Nevertheless, there are still some historians who believe Herodotus made up much of his story.[12]
The Sicilian historian Diodorus Siculus, writing in the 1st century BC in his Bibliotheca Historica, also provides an account of the Greco-Persian wars, partially derived from the earlier Greek historian Ephorus. This account is fairly consistent with Herodotus's.[13] The Greco-Persian wars are also described in less detail by a number of other ancient historians including Plutarch, Ctesias of Cnidus, and are alluded by other authors, such as the playwright Aeschylus. Archaeological evidence, such as the Serpent Column, also supports some of Herodotus's specific claims.[14]
Background[edit]
Main articles: Greco-Persian Wars, Ionian Revolt, and First Persian invasion of Greece
A map showing the Greek world at the time of the battle
The first Persian invasion of Greece had its immediate roots in the Ionian Revolt, the earliest phase of the Greco-Persian Wars. However, it was also the result of the longer-term interaction between the Greeks and Persians. In 500 BC the Persian Empire was still relatively young and highly expansionistic, but prone to revolts amongst its subject peoples.[15][16][17] Moreover, the Persian King Darius was a usurper, and had spent considerable time extinguishing revolts against his rule.[15] Even before the Ionian Revolt, Darius had begun to expand the empire into Europe, subjugating Thrace, and forcing Macedon to become a vassal of Persia.[18] Attempts at further expansion into the politically fractious world of ancient Greece may have been inevitable.[16] However, the Ionian Revolt had directly threatened the integrity of the Persian empire, and the states of mainland Greece remained a potential menace to its future stability.[19] Darius thus resolved to subjugate and pacify Greece and the Aegean, and to punish those involved in the Ionian Revolt.[19][20]
The Ionian Revolt had begun with an unsuccessful expedition against Naxos, a joint venture between the Persian satrap Artaphernes and the Milesian tyrant Aristagoras.[21] In the aftermath, Artaphernes decided to remove Aristagoras from power, but before he could do so, Aristagoras abdicated, and declared Miletus a democracy.[21] The other Ionian cities followed suit, ejecting their Persian-appointed tyrants, and declaring themselves democracies.[21][22] Aristagoras then appealed to the states of mainland Greece for support, but only Athens and Eretria offered to send troops.[23]
The involvement of Athens in the Ionian Revolt arose from a complex set of circumstances, beginning with the establishment of the Athenian Democracy in the late 6th century BC.[23]
In 510 BC, with the aid of Cleomenes I, King of Sparta, the Athenian people had expelled Hippias, the tyrant ruler of Athens.[24] With Hippias's father Peisistratus, the family had ruled for 36 out of the previous 50 years and fully intended to continue Hippias's rule.[24] Hippias fled to Sardis to the court of the Persian satrap, Artaphernes and promised control of Athens to the Persians if they were to help restore him.[25] In the meantime, Cleomenes helped install a pro-Spartan tyranny under Isagoras in Athens, in opposition to Cleisthenes, the leader of the traditionally powerful Alcmaeonidae family, who considered themselves the natural heirs to the rule of Athens.[26] Cleisthenes, however, found himself being politically defeated by a coalition led by Isagoras and decided to change the rules of the game by appealing to the demos (the people), in effect making them a new faction in the political arena. This tactic succeeded, but the Spartan King, Cleomenes I, returned at the request of Isagoras and so Cleisthenes, the Alcmaeonids and other prominent Athenian families were exiled from Athens. When Isagoras attempted to create a narrow oligarchic government, the Athenian people, in a spontaneous and unprecedented move, expelled Cleomenes and Isagoras.[27] Cleisthenes was thus restored to Athens (507 BC), and at breakneck speed began to reform the state with the aim of securing his position. The result was not actually a democracy or a real civic state, but he enabled the development of a fully democratic government, which would emerge in the next generation as the demos realized its power.[28] The new-found freedom and self-governance of the Athenians meant that they were thereafter exceptionally hostile to the return of the tyranny of Hippias, or any form of outside subjugation, by Sparta, Persia, or anyone else.[27]
Darius I of Persia, as imagined by a Greek painter, 4th century BC
Cleomenes was not pleased with events, and marched on Athens with the Spartan army.[29] Cleomenes's attempts to restore Isagoras to Athens ended in a debacle, but fearing the worst, the Athenians had by this point already sent an embassy to Artaphernes in Sardis, to request aid from the Persian empire.[30] Artaphernes requested that the Athenians give him an 'earth and water', a traditional token of submission, to which the Athenian ambassadors acquiesced.[30] They were, however, severely censured for this when they returned to Athens.[30] At some later point Cleomenes instigated a plot to restore Hippias to the rule of Athens. This failed and Hippias again fled to Sardis and tried to persuade the Persians to subjugate Athens.[31] The Athenians dispatched ambassadors to Artaphernes to dissuade him from taking action, but Artaphernes merely instructed the Athenians to take Hippias back as tyrant.[23] The Athenians indignantly declined, and instead resolved to open war with Persia.[31] Having thus become the enemy of Persia, Athens was already in a position to support the Ionian cities when they began their revolt.[23] The fact that the Ionian democracies were inspired by the example the Athenians had set no doubt further persuaded the Athenians to support the Ionian Revolt, especially since the cities of Ionia were originally Athenian colonies.[23]
The Athenians and Eretrians sent a task force of 25 triremes to Asia Minor to aid the revolt.[32] Whilst there, the Greek army surprised and outmaneuvered Artaphernes, marching to Sardis and burning the lower city.[33] This was, however, as much as the Greeks achieved, and they were then repelled and pursued back to the coast by Persian horsemen, losing many men in the process. Despite the fact that their actions were ultimately fruitless, the Eretrians and in particular the Athenians had earned Darius's lasting enmity, and he vowed to punish both cities.[34] The Persian naval victory at the Battle of Lade (494 BC) all but ended the Ionian Revolt, and by 493 BC, the last hold-outs were vanquished by the Persian fleet.[35] The revolt was used as an opportunity by Darius to extend the empire's border to the islands of the eastern Aegean[36] and the Propontis, which had not been part of the Persian dominions before.[37] The pacification of Ionia allowed the Persians to begin planning their next moves; to extinguish the threat to the empire from Greece and to punish Athens and Eretria.[38]
In 492 BC, after the Ionian Revolt had finally been crushed, Darius dispatched an expedition to Greece under the command of his son-in-law, Mardonius. Mardonius re-subjugated Thrace and made Macedonia a fully subordinate part of the Persians; they had been vassals of the Persians since the late 6th century BC, but retained their general autonomy.[39] Not long after however, his fleet became wrecked by a violent storm, which brought a premature end to the campaign.[40] However, in 490 BC, following the successes of the previous campaign, Darius decided to send a maritime expedition led by Artaphernes, (son of the satrap to whom Hippias had fled) and Datis, a Median admiral. Mardonius had been injured in the prior campaign and had fallen out of favor. The expedition was intended to bring the Cyclades into the Persian empire, to punish Naxos (which had resisted a Persian assault in 499 BC) and then to head to Greece to force Eretria and Athens to submit to Darius or be destroyed.[41] After island-hopping across the Aegean, including successfully attacking Naxos, the Persian task force arrived off Euboea in mid summer. The Persians then proceeded to besiege, capture and burn Eretria. They then headed south down the coast of Attica, en route to complete the final objective of the campaign—punish Athens.
Prelude[edit]
Initial disposition of forces at Marathon
A picture reconstructing the beached Persian ships at Marathon before the battle
The Persians sailed down the coast of Attica, and landed at the bay of Marathon, roughly 25 miles (40 km) from Athens, on the advice of the exiled Athenian tyrant Hippias (who had accompanied the expedition).[42] Under the guidance of Miltiades, the Athenian general with the greatest experience of fighting the Persians, the Athenian army marched quickly to block the two exits from the plain of Marathon, and prevent the Persians moving inland.[43][44] At the same time, Athens's greatest runner, Pheidippides (or Philippides in some accounts) had been sent to Sparta to request that the Spartan army march to the aid of Athens.[45] Pheidippides arrived during the festival of Carneia, a sacrosanct period of peace, and was informed that the Spartan army could not march to war until the full moon rose; Athens could not expect reinforcement for at least ten days.[43] The Athenians would have to hold out at Marathon for the time being, although they were reinforced by the full muster of 1,000 hoplites from the small city of Plataea; a gesture which did much to steady the nerves of the Athenians,[43] and won unending Athenian gratitude to Plataea.
For approximately five days the armies therefore confronted each other across the plain of Marathon in stalemate.[43] The flanks of the Athenian camp were protected either by a grove of trees, or an abbatis of stakes (depending on the exact reading).[46][47] Since every day brought the arrival of the Spartans closer, the delay worked in favor of the Athenians.[43] There were ten Athenian strategoi (generals) at Marathon, elected by each of the ten tribes that the Athenians were divided into; Miltiades was one of these.[48] In addition, in overall charge, was the War-Archon (polemarch), Callimachus, who had been elected by the whole citizen body.[49] Herodotus suggests that command rotated between the strategoi, each taking in turn a day to command the army.[50] He further suggests that each strategos, on his day in command, instead deferred to Miltiades.[50] In Herodotus's account, Miltiades is keen to attack the Persians (despite knowing that the Spartans are coming to aid the Athenians), but strangely, chooses to wait until his actual day of command to attack.[50] This passage is undoubtedly problematic; the Athenians had little to gain by attacking before the Spartans arrived,[51] and there is no real evidence of this rotating generalship.[52] There does, however, seem to have been a delay between the Athenian arrival at Marathon, and the battle; Herodotus, who evidently believed that Miltiades was eager to attack, may have made a mistake whilst seeking to explain this delay.[52]
As is discussed below, the reason for the delay was probably simply that neither the Athenians nor the Persians were willing to risk battle initially.[51][53] This then raises the question of why the battle occurred when it did. Herodotus explicitly tells us that the Greeks attacked the Persians (and the other sources confirm this), but it is not clear why they did this before the arrival of the Spartans.[51] There are two main theories to explain this.[51]
The first theory is that the Persian cavalry left Marathon for an unspecified reason, and that the Greeks moved to take advantage of this by attacking. This theory is based on the absence of any mention of cavalry in Herodotus' account of the battle, and an entry in the Suda dictionary.[51] The entry χωρίς ἰππεῖς ("without cavalry") is explained thus:
The cavalry left. When Datis surrendered and was ready for retreat, the Ionians climbed the trees and gave the Athenians the signal that the cavalry had left. And when Miltiades realized that, he attacked and thus won. From there comes the above-mentioned quote, which is used when someone breaks ranks before battle.[54]
There are many variations of this theory, but perhaps the most prevalent is that the cavalry were completing the time-consuming process of re-embarking on the ships, and were to be sent by sea to attack (undefended) Athens in the rear, whilst the rest of the Persians pinned down the Athenian army at Marathon.[43] This theory therefore utilises Herodotus' suggestion that after Marathon, the Persian army began to re-embark, intending to sail around Cape Sounion to attack Athens directly.[55] Thus, this re-embarcation would have occurred before the battle (and indeed have triggered the battle).[53]
The second theory is simply that the battle occurred because the Persians finally moved to attack the Athenians.[51] Although this theory has the Persians moving to the strategic offensive, this can be reconciled with the traditional account of the Athenians attacking the Persians by assuming that, seeing the Persians advancing, the Athenians took the tactical offensive, and attacked them.[51] Obviously, it cannot be firmly established which theory (if either) is correct. However, both theories imply that there was some kind of Persian activity which occurred on or about the fifth day which ultimately triggered the battle.[51] It is also possible that both theories are correct: when the Persians sent the cavalry by ship to attack Athens, they simultaneously sent their infantry to attack at Marathon, triggering the Greek counterattack.
Date of the battle[edit]
Herodotus mentions for several events a date in the lunisolar calendar, of which each Greek city-state used a variant. Astronomical computation allows us to derive an absolute date in the proleptic Julian calendar which is much used by historians as the chronological frame. Philipp August Böckh in 1855 concluded that the battle took place on September 12, 490 BC in the Julian calendar, and this is the conventionally accepted date.[56] However, this depends on when exactly the Spartans held their festival and it is possible that the Spartan calendar was one month ahead of that of Athens. In that case the battle took place on August 12, 490 BC.[56]
Opposing forces[edit]
Athenians[edit]
Ancient sculpture of the head of Miltiades, Chief Archon at Athens.
Modern reenactment of the battle (2011)
Herodotus does not give a figure for the size of the Athenian army. However, Cornelius Nepos, Pausanias and Plutarch all give the figure of 9,000 Athenians and 1,000 Plataeans;[57][58][59] while Justin suggests that there were 10,000 Athenians and 1,000 Plataeans.[60] These numbers are highly comparable to the number of troops Herodotus says that the Athenians and Plataeans sent to the Battle of Plataea 11 years later.[61] Pausanias noticed on the monument to the battle the names of former slaves who were freed in exchange for military services.[62] Modern historians generally accept these numbers as reasonable.[43][63] The areas ruled by Athens (Attica) had a population of 315,000 at this time including slaves, which implies the full Athenian army at the times of both Marathon and Plataea numbered about 3% of the population.[64]
Persians[edit]
For a full discussion of the size of the Persian invasion force, see First Persian invasion of Greece § Size of the Persian force.
According to Herodotus, the fleet sent by Darius consisted of 600 triremes.[65] Herodotus does not estimate the size of the Persian army, only saying that they were a "large infantry that was well packed".[66] Among ancient sources, the poet Simonides, another near-contemporary, says the campaign force numbered 200,000; while a later writer, the Roman Cornelius Nepos estimates 200,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry, of which only 100,000 fought in the battle, while the rest were loaded into the fleet that was rounding Cape Sounion;[67] Plutarch and Pausanias both independently give 300,000, as does the Suda dictionary.[59][68][69] Plato and Lysias give 500,000;[70][71] and Justinus 600,000.[72]
Modern historians have proposed wide-ranging numbers for the infantry, from 20,000–100,000 with a consensus of perhaps 25,000;[73][74][75][76] estimates for the cavalry are in the range of 1,000.[77]
Strategic and tactical considerations[edit]
Persian infantry (probably Immortals), shown in a frieze in Darius's palace, Susa in Persia (which is today Iran)
From a strategic point of view, the Athenians had some disadvantages at Marathon. In order to face the Persians in battle, the Athenians had to summon all available hoplites;[43] and even then they were still probably outnumbered at least 2 to 1.[47] Furthermore, raising such a large army had denuded Athens of defenders, and thus any secondary attack in the Athenian rear would cut the army off from the city; and any direct attack on the city could not be defended against.[53] Still further, defeat at Marathon would mean the complete defeat of Athens, since no other Athenian army existed. The Athenian strategy was therefore to keep the Persian army pinned down at Marathon, blocking both exits from the plain, and thus preventing themselves from being outmaneuvered.[43] However, these disadvantages were balanced by some advantages. The Athenians initially had no need to seek battle, since they had managed to confine the Persians to the plain of Marathon. Furthermore, time worked in their favour, as every day brought the arrival of the Spartans closer.[43][51] Having everything to lose by attacking, and much to gain by waiting, the Athenians remained on the defensive in the run up to the battle.[51] Tactically, hoplites were vulnerable to attacks by cavalry, and since the Persians had substantial numbers of cavalry, this made any offensive maneuver by the Athenians even more of a risk, and thus reinforced the defensive strategy of the Athenians.[53]
The Persian strategy, on the other hand, was probably principally determined by tactical considerations. The Persian infantry was evidently lightly armoured, and no match for hoplites in a head-on confrontation (as would be demonstrated at the later battles of Thermopylae and Plataea.[78]) Since the Athenians seem to have taken up a strong defensive position at Marathon, the Persian hesitance was probably a reluctance to attack the Athenians head-on.[53]
Whatever event eventually triggered the battle, it obviously altered the strategic or tactical balance sufficiently to induce the Athenians to attack the Persians. If the first theory is correct (see above), then the absence of cavalry removed the main Athenian tactical disadvantage, and the threat of being outflanked made it imperative to attack.[53] Conversely, if the second theory is correct, then the Athenians were merely reacting to the Persians attacking them.[51] Since the Persian force obviously contained a high proportion of missile troops, a static defensive position would have made little sense for the Athenians;[79] the strength of the hoplite was in the melee, and the sooner that could be brought about, the better, from the Athenian point of view.[78] If the second theory is correct, this raises the further question of why the Persians, having hesitated for several days, then attacked. There may have been several strategic reasons for this; perhaps they were aware (or suspected) that the Athenians were expecting reinforcements.[51] Alternatively, since they may have felt the need to force some kind of victory—they could hardly remain at Marathon indefinitely.[51]
Battle[edit]
"They crashed into the Persian army with tremendous force", illustration by Walter Crane in Mary Macgregor, The Story of Greece Told to Boys and Girls, London: T.C. & E.C. Jack.
The distance between the two armies at the point of battle had narrowed to "a distance not less than 8 stadia" or about 1,500 meters.[80] Miltiades ordered the two tribes forming the center of the Greek formation, the Leontis tribe led by Themistocles and the Antiochis tribe led by Aristides, to be arranged in the depth of four ranks while the rest of the tribes at their flanks were in ranks of eight.[81][82] Some modern commentators have suggested this was a deliberate ploy to encourage a double envelopment of the Persian centre. However, this suggests a level of training that the Greeks are thought not to have possessed.[83] There is little evidence for any such tactical thinking in Greek battles until Leuctra in 371 BC.[84] It is therefore possible that this arrangement was made, perhaps at the last moment, so that the Athenian line was as long as the Persian line, and would not therefore be outflanked.[53][85]
Map showing the armies' main movements during the battle
When the Athenian line was ready, according to one source, the simple signal to advance was given by Miltiades: "At them".[53] Herodotus implies the Athenians ran the whole distance to the Persian lines, a feat under the weight of hoplite armory generally thought to be physically impossible.[86][87] More likely, they marched until they reached the limit of the archers' effectiveness, the "beaten zone" (roughly 200 meters), and then broke into a run towards their enemy.[87] Another possibility is that they ran up to the 200 meter-mark in broken ranks, and then reformed for the march into battle from there. Herodotus suggests that this was the first time a Greek army ran into battle in this way; this was probably because it was the first time that a Greek army had faced an enemy composed primarily of missile troops.[87] All this was evidently much to the surprise of the Persians; "... in their minds they charged the Athenians with madness which must be fatal, seeing that they were few and yet were pressing forwards at a run, having neither cavalry nor archers".[88] Indeed, based on their previous experience of the Greeks, the Persians might be excused for this; Herodotus tells us that the Athenians at Marathon were "first to endure looking at Median dress and men wearing it, for up until then just hearing the name of the Medes caused the Hellenes to panic".[80] Passing through the hail of arrows launched by the Persian army, protected for the most part by their armour, the Greek line finally made contact with the enemy army. The Athenian wings quickly routed the inferior Persian levies on the flanks, before turning inwards to surround the Persian centre, which had been more successful against the thin Greek centre.[89] The battle ended when the Persian centre then broke in panic towards their ships, pursued by the Greeks.[89] Some, unaware of the local terrain, ran towards the swamps where unknown numbers drowned.[62][90] The Athenians pursued the Persians back to their ships, and managed to capture seven ships, though the majority were able to launch successfully.[55][91] Herodotus recounts the story that Cynaegirus, brother of the playwright Aeschylus, who was also among the fighters, charged into the sea, grabbed one Persian trireme, and started pulling it towards shore. A member of the crew saw him, cut off his hand, and Cynaegirus died.[91]
Herodotus records that 6,400 Persian bodies were counted on the battlefield, and it is unknown how many more perished in the swamps.[92] He also reported that the Athenians lost 192 men and the Plataeans 11.[92] Among the dead were the war archon Callimachus and the general Stesilaos.[91]
Conclusions[edit]
There are several explanations of the Greek success. Most scholars believe that the Greeks had better equipment and used superior tactics. According to Herodotus, the Greeks were better equipped. They did not use bronze upper body armour at this time, but that of leather or linen. The phalanx formation proved successful, because the hoplites had a long tradition in hand-to-hand combat, whereas the Persian soldiers were accustomed to a very different kind of conflict. At Marathon, the Athenians thinned their centre in order to make their army equal in length to the Persian army,[93] not as a result of a tactical planning.[94] It seems that the Persian centre tried to return, realizing that their wings had broken, and was caught in the flanks by the victorious Greek wings. Lazenby (1993) believes that the ultimate reason for the Greek success was the courage the Greeks displayed:
Marathon was won because ordinary, amateur soldiers found the courage to break into a trot when the arrows begun to fall, instead of grinding to a halt, and when surprisingly the enemy wings fled, not to take the easy way out and follow them, but to stop and somehow come to the aid of the hard pressured centre.[95]
According to Vic Hurley, the Persian defeat is explained by the "complete failure ... to field a representative army", calling the battle the "most convincing" example of the fact that infantry-bowmen cannot defend any position while stationed in close-quarters and unsupported[96] (i.e. by fortifications, or failing to support them by cavalry and chariots, as was the common Persian tactic).
Aftermath[edit]
Main articles: Greco-Persian Wars and Second Persian invasion of Greece
In the immediate aftermath of the battle, Herodotus says that the Persian fleet sailed around Cape Sounion to attack Athens directly.[55] As has been discussed above, some modern historians place this attempt just before the battle. Either way, the Athenians evidently realised that their city was still under threat, and marched as quickly as possible back to Athens.[97] The two tribes which had been in the centre of the Athenian line stayed to guard the battlefield under the command of Aristides.[98] The Athenians arrived in time to prevent the Persians from securing a landing, and seeing that the opportunity was lost, the Persians turned about and returned to Asia.[97] Connected with this episode, Herodotus recounts a rumour that this manoeuver by the Persians had been planned in conjunction with the Alcmaeonids, the prominent Athenian aristocratic family, and that a "shield-signal" had been given after the battle.[55] Although many interpretations of this have been offered, it is impossible to tell whether this was true, and if so, what exactly the signal meant.[99] On the next day, the Spartan army arrived at Marathon, having covered the 220 kilometers (140 mi) in only three days. The Spartans toured the battlefield at Marathon, and agreed that the Athenians had won a great victory.[100]
Mound (soros) in which the Athenian dead were buried after the Battle of Marathon
The Athenian and Plataean dead of Marathon were buried on the battlefield in two tumuli. On the tomb of the Athenians this epigram composed by Simonides was written:
Ἑλλήνων προμαχοῦντες Ἀθηναῖοι Μαραθῶνι
χρυσοφόρων Μήδων ἐστόρεσαν δύναμιν
Fighting at the forefront of the Greeks, the Athenians at Marathon
laid low the army of the gilded Medes.
In the meanwhile, Darius began raising a huge new army with which he meant to completely subjugate Greece; however, in 486 BC, his Egyptian subjects revolted, indefinitely postponing any Greek expedition.[17] Darius then died whilst preparing to march on Egypt, and the throne of Persia passed to his son Xerxes I.[101] Xerxes crushed the Egyptian revolt, and very quickly restarted the preparations for the invasion of Greece.[102] The epic second Persian invasion of Greece finally began in 480 BC, and the Persians met with initial success at the battles of Thermopylae and Artemisium.[103] However, defeat at the Battle of Salamis would be the turning point in the campaign,[104] and the next year the expedition was ended by the decisive Greek victory at the Battle of Plataea.[105]
Significance[edit]
Greek Corinthian-style helmet and the skull reportedly found inside it from the Battle of Marathon, now residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.
The defeat at Marathon barely touched the vast resources of the Persian empire, yet for the Greeks it was an enormously significant victory. It was the first time the Greeks had beaten the Persians, proving that the Persians were not invincible, and that resistance, rather than subjugation, was possible.[106]
The battle was a defining moment for the young Athenian democracy, showing what might be achieved through unity and self-belief; indeed, the battle effectively marks the start of a "golden age" for Athens.[107] This was also applicable to Greece as a whole; "their victory endowed the Greeks with a faith in their destiny that was to endure for three centuries, during which western culture was born".[6][108] John Stuart Mill's famous opinion was that "the Battle of Marathon, even as an event in British history, is more important than the Battle of Hastings".[109] It seems that the Athenian playwright Aeschylus considered his participation at Marathon to be his greatest achievement in life (rather than his plays) since on his gravestone there was the following epigram:
Αἰσχύλον Εὐφορίωνος Ἀθηναῖον τόδε κεύθει
μνῆμα καταφθίμενον πυροφόροιο Γέλας·
ἀλκὴν δ’ εὐδόκιμον Μαραθώνιον ἄλσος ἂν εἴποι
καὶ βαθυχαιτήεις Μῆδος ἐπιστάμενος
This tomb the dust of Aeschylus doth hide,
Euphorion's son and fruitful Gela's pride.
How tried his valor, Marathon may tell,
And long-haired Medes, who knew it all too well.[110]
Militarily, a major lesson for the Greeks was the potential of the hoplite phalanx. This style had developed during internecine warfare amongst the Greeks; since each city-state fought in the same way, the advantages and disadvantages of the hoplite phalanx had not been obvious.[111] Marathon was the first time a phalanx faced more lightly armed troops, and revealed how effective the hoplites could be in battle.[111] The phalanx formation was still vulnerable to cavalry (the cause of much caution by the Greek forces at the Battle of Plataea), but used in the right circumstances, it was now shown to be a potentially devastating weapon.[112]
Legacy[edit]
Legends associated with the battle[edit]
Statue of Pan, Capitoline Museum, Rome
The most famous legend associated with Marathon is that of the runner Pheidippides (or Philippides) bringing news to Athens of the battle, which is described below.
Pheidippides' run to Sparta to bring aid has other legends associated with it. Herodotus mentions that Pheidippides was visited by the god Pan on his way to Sparta (or perhaps on his return journey).[43] Pan asked why the Athenians did not honor him and the awed Pheidippides promised that they would do so from then on. The god apparently felt that the promise would be kept, so he appeared in battle and at the crucial moment he instilled the Persians with his own brand of fear, the mindless, frenzied fear that bore his name: "panic". After the battle, a sacred precinct was established for Pan in a grotto on the north slope of the Acropolis, and a sacrifice was annually offered.[113]
Similarly, after the victory the festival of the Agroteras Thysia ("sacrifice to the Agrotéra") was held at Agrae near Athens, in honor of Artemis Agrotera ("Artemis the Huntress"). This was in fulfillment of a vow made by the city before the battle, to offer in sacrifice a number of goats equal to that of the Persians slain in the conflict. The number was so great, it was decided to offer 500 goats yearly until the number was filled. Xenophon notes that at his time, 90 years after the battle, goats were still offered yearly.[114][115][116][117]
Plutarch mentions that the Athenians saw the phantom of King Theseus, the mythical hero of Athens, leading the army in full battle gear in the charge against the Persians,[118] and indeed he was depicted in the mural of the Stoa Poikile fighting for the Athenians, along with the twelve Olympian gods and other heroes.[119] Pausanias also tells us that:
They say too that there chanced to be present in the battle a man of rustic appearance and dress. Having slaughtered many of the foreigners with a plough he was seen no more after the engagement. When the Athenians made enquiries at the oracle, the god merely ordered them to honor Echetlaeus ("he of the Plough-tail") as a hero.[62]
Another tale from the conflict is of the dog of Marathon. Aelian relates that one hoplite brought his dog to the Athenian encampment. The dog followed his master to battle and attacked the Persians at his master's side. He also informs us that this dog is depicted in the mural of the Stoa Poikile.[120]
Marathon run[edit]
Main article: Marathon
According to Herodotus, an Athenian runner named Pheidippides was sent to run from Athens to Sparta to ask for assistance before the battle. He ran a distance of over 225 kilometers (140 miles), arriving in Sparta the day after he left.[121] Then, following the battle, the Athenian army marched the 40 kilometers (25 miles) or so back to Athens at a very high pace (considering the quantity of armour, and the fatigue after the battle), in order to head off the Persian force sailing around Cape Sounion. They arrived back in the late afternoon, in time to see the Persian ships turn away from Athens, thus completing the Athenian victory.[122]
Burton Holmes' photograph entitled "1896: Three athletes in training for the marathon at the Olympic Games in Athens".
Later, in popular imagination, these two events became confused with each other, leading to a legendary but inaccurate version of events. This myth has Pheidippides running from Marathon to Athens after the battle, to announce the Greek victory with the word "nenikēkamen!" (Attic: νενικήκαμεν; we've won!), whereupon he promptly died of exhaustion. Most accounts incorrectly attribute this story to Herodotus[citation needed]; actually, the story first appears in Plutarch's On the Glory of Athens in the 1st century AD, who quotes from Heracleides of Pontus's lost work, giving the runner's name as either Thersipus of Erchius or Eucles.[123] Lucian of Samosata (2nd century AD) gives the same story but names the runner Philippides (not Pheidippides).[124] It should be noted that in some medieval codices of Herodotus the name of the runner between Athens and Sparta before the battle is given as Philippides, and this name is also preferred in a few modern editions.[125]
When the idea of a modern Olympics became a reality at the end of the 19th century, the initiators and organizers were looking for a great popularizing event, recalling the ancient glory of Greece.[126] The idea of organizing a "marathon race" came from Michel Bréal, who wanted the event to feature in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. This idea was heavily supported by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, as well as the Greeks.[126] This would echo the legendary version of events, with the competitors running from Marathon to Athens. So popular was this event that it quickly caught on, becoming a fixture at the Olympic games, with major cities staging their own annual events.[126] The distance eventually became fixed at 26 miles 385 yards, or 42.195 km, though for the first years it was variable, being around 25 miles (40 km)—the approximate distance from Marathon to Athens.[126]
See also[edit]
Book: First Persian invasion of Greece
Ancient Greek warfare
Timeline of ancient Greece
Notes[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b 100 Battles, Decisive Battles that Shaped the World, Dougherty, Martin, J., Parragon, p. 12
Jump up ^ "Pausanias, Description of Greece, Boeotia, chapter 4, section 2". www.perseus.tufts.edu.
^ Jump up to: a b Krentz, Peter, The Battle of Marathon (Yale Library of Military History), Yale Univ Press, (2010) p. 98
Jump up ^ Herodotus Book 5: Terpsichore, 105 "...he inquired into who the Athenians were; and when he had been informed, he asked for his bow, and having received it and placed an arrow upon the string, he discharged it upwards towards heaven, and as he shot into the air he said: "Zeus, that it may be granted me to take vengeance upon the Athenians!" Having so said he charged one of his attendants, that when dinner was set before the king he should say always three times: "Master, remember the Athenians.""
Jump up ^ Cicero, On the Laws I, 5
^ Jump up to: a b c d Holland, pp. xvi–xvii.
Jump up ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, e.g., I, 22
^ Jump up to: a b Finley, p. 15.
Jump up ^ Holland, p. xxiv.
Jump up ^ David Pipes. "Herodotus: Father of History, Father of Lies". Archived from the original on January 27, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
^ Jump up to: a b Holland, p. 377.
Jump up ^ Fehling, pp. 1–277.
Jump up ^ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica
Jump up ^ Note to Herodotus IX, 81
^ Jump up to: a b Holland, pp. 47–55
^ Jump up to: a b Holland, pp. 58–62
^ Jump up to: a b Holland, p. 203
Jump up ^ Roisman & Worthington 2011, p. 343.
^ Jump up to: a b Holland, 171–78
Jump up ^ Herodotus V, 105
^ Jump up to: a b c Holland, pp. 154–57
Jump up ^ Herodotus V, 97
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Holland, pp. 157–61
^ Jump up to: a b Herodotus V, 65
Jump up ^ Herodotus V, 96
Jump up ^ Holland, pp. 131–32
^ Jump up to: a b Holland, pp. 133–36
Jump up ^ For a full account and analysis see R.M. Berthold, Dare To Struggle. The History and Society of Greece (2009) pp. 81–94
Jump up ^ Holland, pp. 136–38
^ Jump up to: a b c Holland, p. 142
^ Jump up to: a b Herodotus V, 96
Jump up ^ Herodotus V, 99
Jump up ^ Holland, p. 160
Jump up ^ Holland, p. 168
Jump up ^ Holland, p. 176
Jump up ^ Herodotus VI, 31
Jump up ^ Herodotus VI, 33
Jump up ^ Holland, pp. 177–78
Jump up ^ Roisman & Worthington 2011, pp. 135–38, 342–45.
Jump up ^ Herodotus VI, 44
Jump up ^ Herodotus VI, 94
Jump up ^ Herodotus VI, 102
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k Holland, pp. 187–90
Jump up ^ Cornelius Nepos, Miltiades, IV
Jump up ^ Herodotus VI, 105
Jump up ^ Cornelius Nepos, Miltiades, VI
^ Jump up to: a b Lazenby, p. 56
Jump up ^ Herodotus VI, 103
Jump up ^ Herodotus VI, 109
^ Jump up to: a b c Herodotus VI, 110
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m Lazenby, pp. 59–62
^ Jump up to: a b Lazenby, pp. 57–59
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Holland, pp. 191–95
Jump up ^ Suda, entry Without cavalry
^ Jump up to: a b c d Herodotus VI, 115
^ Jump up to: a b D.W. Olson et al., pp. 34–41
Jump up ^ Cornelius Nepos, Miltiades, V
Jump up ^ Pausanias X, 20
^ Jump up to: a b Plutarch, Moralia, 305 B
Jump up ^ Justin II, 9
Jump up ^ Herodotus IX, 28
^ Jump up to: a b c Pausanias I, 32
Jump up ^ Lazenby, p. 54
Jump up ^ A.W. Gomme. "The Population of Athens in the Fifth and Fourth. Centuries B. C.." 1933
Jump up ^ Herodotus VI, 95
Jump up ^ Herodotus VI, 94
Jump up ^ Cornelius Nepos, Miltiades, IV
Jump up ^ Pausanias IV, 22
Jump up ^ Suda, entry Hippias
Jump up ^ Plato, Menexenus, 240 A
Jump up ^ Lysias, Funeral Oration, 21
Jump up ^ Justinus II, 9
Jump up ^ Davis, pp. 9–13
Jump up ^ Holland, p. 390
Jump up ^ Lloyd, p. 164
Jump up ^ Green, p. 90
Jump up ^ Lazenby, p. 46
^ Jump up to: a b Lazenby, p. 256
Jump up ^ Lazenby, p. 67
^ Jump up to: a b Herodotus VI, 112
Jump up ^ Plutarch, Aristides, V
Jump up ^ Herodotus VI, 111
Jump up ^ Lazenby, p. 250
Jump up ^ Lazenby, p. 258
Jump up ^ Lazenby, p. 64
Jump up ^ Dennis L. Fink, The Battle of Marathon in Scholarship: Research, Theories and Controversies Since 1850, McFarland, 2014 pp. 154–60.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lazenby, pp. 66–69
Jump up ^ Herodotus VI, 110
^ Jump up to: a b Herodotus VI, 113
Jump up ^ Lazenby, p. 71
^ Jump up to: a b c Herodotus VI, 114
^ Jump up to: a b Herodotus VI, 117
Jump up ^ Herod. Histories 6.111,3
Jump up ^ Lazenby 258
Jump up ^ Lazenby p. 258
Jump up ^ Vic Hurley, Arrows Against Steel: The History of the Bow and how it Forever Changed Warfare, Cerberus Books, 2011, ISBN 9780983475613, p. 66
^ Jump up to: a b Herodotus VI, 116
Jump up ^ Holland, p. 218
Jump up ^ Lazenby, pp. 72–73
Jump up ^ Herodotus VI, 120
Jump up ^ Holland, pp. 206–207
Jump up ^ Holland, pp. 208–211
Jump up ^ Lazenby, p. 151
Jump up ^ Lazenby, p. 197
Jump up ^ Holland, pp. 350–55
Jump up ^ Holland, p. 201
Jump up ^ Holland, p. 138
Jump up ^ Fuller, pp. 11–32
Jump up ^ Powell et al., 2001
Jump up ^ Anthologiae Graecae Appendix, vol. 3, Epigramma sepulcrale p. 17
^ Jump up to: a b Holland, pp. 194–97
Jump up ^ Holland, pp. 344–52
Jump up ^ Herodotus VI, 105
Jump up ^ Plutarch, On the Malice of Herodotus, 26
Jump up ^ Xenophon, Anabasis III, 2
Jump up ^ Aelian, Varia Historia II, 25
Jump up ^ Aristophanes, The Knights, 660
Jump up ^ Plutarch, Theseus, 35
Jump up ^ Pausanias I, 15
Jump up ^ Aelian, On the Nature of Animals VII, 38
Jump up ^ Herodotus VI, 105–06
Jump up ^ Holland, p. 198
Jump up ^ Plutarch, Moralia, 347C
Jump up ^ Lucian, III
Jump up ^ Lazenby, p. 52
^ Jump up to: a b c d AIMS. "Marathon History". Retrieved 2008-10-15.
References[edit]
Ancient sources[edit]
Herodotus, The Histories
Thucydides, History of The Peloponnesian Wars
Diodorus Siculus, Library
Lysias, Funeral Oration
Plato, Menexenus
Xenophon Anabasis
Aristotle, The Athenian Constitution
Aristophanes, The Knights
Cornelius Nepos Lives of the Eminent Commanders (Miltiades)
Plutarch Parallel Lives (Aristides, Themistocles, Theseus), On the Malice of Herodotus
Lucian, Mistakes in Greeting
Pausanias, Description of Greece
Claudius Aelianus Various history & On the Nature of Animals
Marcus Junianus Justinus Epitome of the Phillipic History of Pompeius Trogus
Photius, Bibliotheca or Myriobiblon: Epitome of Persica by Ctesias
Suda Dictionary
Modern studies[edit]
Hans W. Giessen, Mythos Marathon. Von Herodot über Bréal bis zur Gegenwart. Verlag Empirische Pädagogik, Landau (= Landauer Schriften zur Kommunikations- und Kulturwissenschaft. Band 17) 2010. ISBN 978-3-941320-46-8.
Green, Peter (1996). The Greco-Persian Wars. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-20313-5.
Holland, Tom (2006). Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West. Abacus. ISBN 0-385-51311-9.
Lacey, Jim. The First Clash: The Miraculous Greek Victory at Marathon and Its Impact on Western Civilization (2011), popular
Lazenby, J.F. The Defence of Greece 490–479 BC. Aris & Phillips Ltd., 1993 (ISBN 0-85668-591-7)
Lloyd, Alan. Marathon: The Crucial Battle That Created Western Democracy. Souvenir Press, 2004. (ISBN 0-285-63688-X)
Davis, Paul. 100 Decisive Battles. Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 1-57607-075-1
Powell J., Blakeley D.W., Powell, T. Biographical Dictionary of Literary Influences: The Nineteenth Century, 1800–1914. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. ISBN 978-0-313-30422-4
Fuller, J.F.C. A Military History of the Western World. Funk & Wagnalls, 1954.
Fehling, D. Herodotus and His "Sources": Citation, Invention, and Narrative Art. Translated by J.G. Howie. Leeds: Francis Cairns, 1989.
Finley, Moses (1972). "Introduction". Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War. Translated by Rex Warner. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-044039-9.
D.W. Olson et al., "The Moon and the Marathon", Sky & Telescope Sep. 2004
Lanning, Michael L. (April 2005). "28". The Battle 100: The Stories Behind History's Most Influential Battles. Sourcebooks. pp. 95–97. ISBN 978-1402202636.
Davis, Paul K. (June 2001). "Marathon". 100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195143669.
Roisman, Joseph; Worthington, Ian (2011). A Companion to Ancient Macedonia. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-1-44-435163-7.
Historiography[edit]
Fink, Dennis L. The Battle of Marathon in Scholarship: Research, Theories and Controversies since 1850 (McFarland, 2014). 240 pp. online review
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battle of Marathon.
The Academic Publishing Wiki has a journal article about this subject:
The struggle for Greece: Marathon and Artemision
The Importance of the Battle of Marathon on The History Notes website
Black-and-white photo-essay of Marathon
Creasy, Edward Shepherd (June 1851). "I. The Battle of Marathon". The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: From Marathon to Waterloo.
Hood, E. The Greek Victory at Marathon, Clio History Journal, 1995.
Battle of Marathon by e-marathon.gr (in Greek)
The Battle of Marathon September 490 BC (in Greek)
The Battle of Marathon September 490 BC, by Major General Dimitris Gedeon, HEAR
Lieutenant Colonel Siegfried, Edward J. (March 2010). Analytical Study of Battle Strategies Used At Marathon (490 BCE) (Strategy Research Project). U.S. Army.
Digital representation of the Battle of Marathon 490 BC
Marathon, the beginning of history A documentary from ET1, 2011 (in Greek)
Doenges, N.A. "The Campaign and Battle of Marathon." Historia vol. 47 (1998): 1–17.
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A Walk to Remember (novel)
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A Walk to Remember
The cover of the first hardback edition of the novel
Author
Nicholas Sparks
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre
Drama, romance
Publisher
Warner Books
Publication date
October 1999
Media type
Print (hardcover, paperback)
Pages
240
ISBN
0-446-60895-5
OCLC
44913996
A Walk to Remember is a novel by American writer Nicholas Sparks, released in October 1999. The novel, set in 1958–1959 in Beaufort, North Carolina, is a story of two teenagers who fall in love with each other despite the disparity of their personalities. A Walk to Remember is adapted in the film of the same name.
Contents
[hide]
1 Writing
2 Plot summary
3 Characters
4 Reception
5 Adaptation
6 See also
7 Bibliography
8 References
9 External links
Writing[edit]
Sparks wrote the manuscripts for A Walk to Remember, his third novel, in the summer of 1999. He wrote it in North Carolina, which is the setting of the novel.[1] Like his first published novel The Notebook, the prologue to A Walk to Remember was written last.[2] The title A Walk to Remember was taken from one of the tail end pages of the novel: "In every way, a walk to remember."[3][4] The novel is written in first-person, and its narrator is a seventeen-year-old boy, living in the 1950s.[1]
The novel was inspired by Sparks' sister,[1][5] Danielle Sparks Lewis, who later died of cancer in June 2000. Although the story is largely fictional, certain parts were based on real experiences.[4] For example, his sister, just like Jamie, was never popular at school and always wore an ugly sweater. And just like Jamie, she always carried the Bible around with her every where she went. And just like Landon and Jamie, never in a thousand years did anyone think someone would ever deeply fall head-over-heels for her. His sister's husband proposed marriage to her despite her sickness. After her death, Sparks said in the eulogy: "...I suppose I wrote this novel not only so that you could get to know my sister, but so that you would know what a wonderful thing it was that her husband once did for her."[5]
Plot summary[edit]
The story starts with a prologue from Landon Carter at age 56.[6] The remainder of the story takes place when Landon is a 17-year-old high school senior.[7] Landon lives in the small, religious town of Beaufort, North Carolina.[8] His father is a genial, charismatic congressman.
His father is not around very much, as he lives in Washington, D.C.[9] Landon is more reclusive, which causes some tension in their relationship. Landon's father pressures him into running for class president.[10] His best friend, Eric Hunter, who is the most popular boy in school, helps him and, to his surprise, Landon wins the election.[11] As student body president, Landon is required to attend the school dance with a date.[11] He asks many girls, but none are available. That night, he looks through his yearbook, trying to find an acceptable date.[12] Since nobody else seems to be available, Landon reluctantly asks Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of Hegbert Sullivan, the Beaufort church minister,[13] who accepts his invitation.[14] While Jamie is very religious and carries a Bible with her wherever she goes, Landon (one of the popular students) is reluctant to go to the dance with someone like her. When Landon is threatened by Lew,[15] Jamie comes to Landon's aid, to his appreciation. At the end of the night, he admits she was the best date possible.[16]
A few days later, Jamie asks Landon to participate in the school's production of The Christmas Angel.[17] While Landon is not very enthusiastic about participating, he agrees to it anyway.[18] Jamie, on the other hand, could not be happier about her new castmate. Landon knows that if his friends learn about his role in the play, he will be teased relentlessly.[19] One day at rehearsal, Jamie asks if Landon will walk her home, after which it becomes routine.[20] A couple of days later, Eric mocks the couple during their walk home and Landon becomes truly embarrassed to be with Jamie.[21] Meanwhile, Landon continues to learn about all the people and organizations Jamie spends her time helping, including an orphanage. Landon and Jamie visit the orphanage one day to discuss a possible showing of The Christmas Angel,[22] but their proposal is quickly rejected by Mr. Jenkins.[23] When Jamie and Landon were waiting to meet Mr. Jenkins, she tells Landon that all she wants in the future is to get married in a church full of people and to have her father walk her down the aisle.[24] While Landon thinks this is a strange wish, he accepts it. In truth, he is beginning to enjoy his time with her.
One day, while they are walking home, Landon yells at Jamie and he tells her that he is not friends with her.[25] The next day at the first show of The Christmas Angel, Jamie enters the stage dressed as the angel,[26] making Landon simply utter his line, "You're beautiful",[27] meaning it for the first time. Following that, Jamie asks Landon if he would go around town and retrieve the jars containing money collected for the orphans' Christmas presents.[28] When Landon collects the jars, there is only $55.73, but when he gives the money to Jamie, there is $247.[29] Jamie buys gifts for the orphanage, and Landon and Jamie spend Christmas Eve there.[30] Jamie's Christmas gift to Landon is her deceased mother's Bible.[31] As they get in the car to go home, Landon realizes his true feelings for her. "All I could do is wonder how I'd ever fallen in love with a girl like Jamie Sullivan".[32] He invites her to his house for Christmas dinner. The next day Landon visits Jamie at her house, where they share their first kiss on her porch.[33] Afterward, Landon asks Hegbert if they can go to Flavin's, a local restaurant, on New Year's Eve. While Hegbert initially refuses, after Landon declares his love for Jamie,[34] Hegbert allows it.[35]
On New Year's Jamie and Landon go to dinner, where they share their first dance.[36] A couple of weeks later, Landon tells Jamie that he is in love with her.[37] To his surprise, Jamie replies by insisting that he cannot be. In response, Landon demands an explanation,[38] and Jamie reveals that she is dying of leukemia.[39]
The following Sunday, Hegbert announces to his congregation that his daughter is dying.[40] Jamie does not return to school the following Monday and that it is eventually learned that she is too ill and will never return to school.[41] While they are having dinner at Landon's house, Jamie tells Landon, "I love you, too", for the first time.[42] A couple weeks later, Eric and Margaret visit Jamie's house, where they apologize for ever being rude to her.[43] Eric gives Jamie the $400 that he collected for the orphanage.[44] Jamie refuses to stay at the hospital, because she wants to die at home. In turn, Landon's father helps to provide Jamie the best equipment and doctors so she can spend the rest of her life at home.[45] This gesture helps to mend the gap between father and son. One day, while sitting next to Jamie while she sleeps, Landon comes up with an idea.[46] He runs to the church to find Hegbert[47] and asks him for permission to marry Jamie. While Hegbert is reluctant,[48] his refusal to deny Landon's request is seen by Landon as approval.[49] Landon runs back to Jamie's side and asks, "Will you marry me?"[50]
Landon and Jamie are married in a church full of people. Although she was weak and was in a wheelchair, she insisted on walking down the aisle so that her father could give her away which was part of her dream.[51] Landon remembers thinking "It was...the most difficult walk anyone ever had to make. In every way, a walk to remember".[52] When they reach the front of the church, Hegbert says, "I can no more give Jamie away than I can give away my heart. But what I can do is let another share in the joy that she has always given me".[53] Hegbert has had to experience so much pain in his life, first losing his wife, now knowing his only child will soon be gone, too. The book ends with Landon 40 years later at age 57. He still loves Jamie and wears her ring.[54] He finishes the story by saying, "I now believe, by the way, that miracles can happen".
Characters[edit]
Jamie Sullivan is the daughter of the Beaufort church minister Hegbert Sullivan. She is very religious, sweet, and kind.
Landon Carter is a son of a rich family, the narrator of the novel.
Hegbert Sullivan is Jamie's father. He is the Beaufort church minister.[55] His wife died shortly after giving birth to Jamie. He is very old with "translucent skin";[56] he is often crabby but his daughter describes him as having "a good sense of humor".[57] He wrote the local play, The Christmas Angel but he maintains a strong dislike for Mr. Carter due to his father's choices.[56][58]
Mrs. Carter is the mother of Landon Carter. "She [is] a nice lady, sweet and gentle."[59]
Mr. Carter is the father of Landon Carter. He is a congressman in North Carolina and is gone nine months out of the year because he lives in Washington D.C.[60][61]
Angela Clark is the first girlfriend of Landon and then begins dating Lew.[62]
Carey Denison is the treasurer at Landon's high school as well as a tuba player. He is unproportional, with short arms, a large stomach, and a squeaky voice.[63]
Lew is Angela Clark's boyfriend, who "[is] twenty years old and [works] as a mechanic" and "always [wears] a white T-shirt with a pack of Camels folded into the sleeve".[11]
Miss Garber is the drama teacher at Landon's high-school. "She [is] big, at least 6'2", with flaming red hair and pale skin that [shows] her freckles well into her forties." Her favorite word is marvelous.[64]
Eric Hunter is Landon's best friend, who does more making fun, than being an actual friend.[10] The popular jock at school, he starts out very crude, but when tragedy strikes his longtime friend, he shows that he is sympathetic.[10][65][66]
Eddie Jones is not well liked by the drama department. He was scheduled to play the main character in the play, but is demoted to the "bum" when Landon steps in.[67] He is extremely apathetic.
Jamie's dead mother is a minor role. Described as "a wispy little thing", she died while giving birth to Jamie, and is greatly missed by Hegbert and Jamie.[13]
Margaret, a cheerleader, is Eric's girlfriend.
Reception[edit]
The novel was published in the fall of October 1999 in hardcover print, and later in paperback edition. It spent nearly six months in the best-seller list on hardcover, and an additional four months on paperback.[1]
The novel received mixed reviews from critics. The Sunday New York Post holds that it "never fails to be interesting, touching, at times riveting ... a book you won't soon forget".[68] African Sun Times echoes the former's comments, saying, "A remarkable love story that, like its predecessors, will touch the hearts of readers everywhere."[68] New York Daily News compliments Sparks, commenting that he "has written a sweet tale of young but everlasting love, and though he's told us to expect both joy and sadness, the tears will still come".[68] Clarissa Cruz of Entertainment Weekly, however, panned the novel, saying, "With its cliche-riddled prose and plot twists that can be predicted after skimming the prologue, Nicholas Sparks' latest, A Walk To Remember, reads more like the script for a bad after-school special than anything approaching literature."[69] Although the novel is number 12 on their list of 1999 Bestsellers Fiction,[70] Publishers Weekly described it as "a forced coming of age story" and "the author's most simple, formulaic, and blatantly melodramatic package to date".[71] Theresea Parks from Publishers Weekly goes on to say how many will be disappointed stating, "Readers may be frusturated with the invariable formula that Sparks seems to regurgitate with regularity".[72] She also writes that it is especially similar to The Notebook in its "corny flashback device that mimics The Notebook".[72] Overall, Publishers Weekly expressed its disappointment.
Adaptation[edit]
A Walk to Remember was adapted in the film of the same name, becoming Sparks' second novel adapted to the big screen after Message in a Bottle in 1999. Sparks sold the film rights to Warner Bros. in December 1998, months before the publication of the novel.[1] The movie was directed by Adam Shankman and produced by Denise DiNovi and Hunt Lowry for Warner Bros.; the film premiered on January 25, 2002.[73]
The film, starring singer and actress Mandy Moore (Jamie) and Shane West (Landon), is set in the late 1990s. Sparks and the producer thought that because the film was suitable for teenagers "because of the message it provided", they had to make the adaptation more contemporary.[73]
See also[edit]
Books portal
1990s portal
United States portal
Novels portal
Love Story (novel)
Bibliography[edit]
Sparks, Nicholas. A Walk to Remember. Warner Books: New York, 1999. ISBN 0-446-52553-7.
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c d e "General Information on A Walk to Remember". Nicholassparks.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
Jump up ^ "Notes on the Writing of A Walk to Remember". Nicholassparks.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
Jump up ^ Sparks, Nicholas (1999). Jamie Raab, ed. A Walk to Remember. United States: Warner Books. p. 237. ISBN 0-446-60895-5.
^ Jump up to: a b "Frequently Asked Questions About A Walk to Remember". Nicholassparks.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-22. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
^ Jump up to: a b "Notes on the Writing of A Walk to Remember". Nicholassparks.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. x
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. xi
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 1
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 9
^ Jump up to: a b c Sparks, p. 28
^ Jump up to: a b c Sparks, p. 32
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 33
^ Jump up to: a b Sparks, p. 16
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 44
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 56
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 61
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 73
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 77
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 83
Jump up ^ sparks, p. 108
Jump up ^ sparks, p. 120
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 88
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 102
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 99
Jump up ^ Sparks, pp. 124–125
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 134
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 135
Jump up ^ Sparks, pp. 140–142
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 145
Jump up ^ Sparks, pp. 147–148
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 153
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 154
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 171
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 180
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 181
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 183
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 188
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 190
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 191
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 193
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 197
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 209
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 211
Jump up ^ Sparks, pp. 212–213
Jump up ^ Sparks, pp. 219–220
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 222
Jump up ^ Sparks, pp. 227–228
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 228
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 229
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 232
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 236
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 237
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 239
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 240
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 16
^ Jump up to: a b Sparks, p. 3
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 116
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 10
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 13
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 9
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 12
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 32
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 34
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 18
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 19
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 114
Jump up ^ Sparks, p. 78
^ Jump up to: a b c "Reviews of A Walk to Remember". Nicholassparks.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-02. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
Jump up ^ Cruz, Clarissa (1999-10-15). "A WALK TO REMEMBER (1999)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 23 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
Jump up ^ Howell, Kevin (2008-03-24). "Bestselling Books of the Year, 1996-2006". Publishers Weekly. Reed Business Information, Inc. Archived from the original on 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
Jump up ^ "Editorial Reviews". Publishers Weekly. Reed Business Information, Inc. 1999. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
^ Jump up to: a b "A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks". Barnes and Nobles.
^ Jump up to: a b "Movie Adaptation". Nicholassparks.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
External links[edit]
Official Nicholas Sparks website
[hide]
v
t
e
Nicholas Sparks
Novels
The Notebook (1996)
Message in a Bottle (1998)
A Walk to Remember (1999)
The Rescue (2000)
A Bend in the Road (2001)
Nights in Rodanthe (2002)
The Guardian (2003)
The Wedding (2003)
True Believer (2005)
At First Sight (2006)
Dear John (2006)
The Choice (2007)
The Lucky One (2008)
The Last Song (2009)
Safe Haven (2010)
The Best of Me (2011)
The Longest Ride (2013)
See Me (2015)
Two by Two (2016)
Non-fiction
Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding (1990)
Three Weeks with My Brother (2004)
Film adaptations
Message in a Bottle (1999)
A Walk to Remember (2002)
The Notebook (2004)
Nights in Rodanthe (2008)
Dear John (2010)
The Last Song (2010)
The Lucky One (2012)
Safe Haven (2013)
The Best of Me (2014)
The Longest Ride (2015)
The Choice (2016)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A_Walk_to_Remember_(novel)&oldid=801362763"
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values: Пам'ятна прогулянка (роман) – Ukrainian

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