Athens and its ally Plataia defeated the Persian expeditionary force sent out by King Darius at Marathon in 490 BCE.
The Battle of Marathon .
Marathon was a plain, not a city. It was owned by Athens. They fought a battle against a Persian amphibious punitive expedition sent by Persia in 490 BCE.
It was the other way round - the Athenians and Eretrians burnt the Persian provincial capital of Sardis in 498 BCE, which caused the Persians to try to suppress them, frustrated by their loss at Marathon.
The Greeks did
Because the Persian Army wanted to defeat the Greek city-states that supported the uprisings in Ionia, part of modern-day Turkey, against the Persian Empire.
The battle of Marathon began in 490 BC. The battle took place between the Persian Empire and the Greeks. Eventually, the Greeks won the war.
The Battle of Marathon .
Marathon was a plain, not a city. It was owned by Athens. They fought a battle against a Persian amphibious punitive expedition sent by Persia in 490 BCE.
The Battle of Marathon took place during the first Persian invasion of Greece, circa 490 BC. It was a decisive victory for the Greeks and essentially ended the Persian invasion.
The Battle of Marathon was a turning point during the first Persian invasion of Greece. The Persians vastly outnumbered the Greeks on the battlefield, but the Greeks were able to defeat them. The Greeks charged the Persian troops with a thin weaker line, while the Greeks' left and right flanks consisted of stronger troops who quickly surrounded the Persian troops and attacked them on both sides. It was a crushing defeat for the Persians, and the battle convinced the Greeks that while the Persian Empire had vast armies and archers, it was possible to defeat them.
The battle of Marathon was a result of the Persians under King Darius the First to punish the Greeks for supporting the Ionian Revolt where Sardis had been burned after capture . The battle was essentially where the Greeks defeated a Persian punitive expedition that failed .
The Greeks allowed the center to give way thus exposing the Persian flanks to a concerted Greek assault causing the collapse of Persian forces who then sought to escape by sea - the Greeks then slaughtered the Persian forces attempting to escape . Look to the related link below which has an excellent representation of what occurred at the seminal battle of Marathon .
It was not the Greeks, it was Athens and its ally Plataia. The Athenians waited on the edge of the Plain of Marathon for reinforcement from Sparta. Then saw the superior Persian cavalry being embarked on ships and ran down and defeated the unsupported inferior Persian infantry.
Darius the Great's commander Datis came to grief at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC (First Persian invasion of Greece) .
Not surprising at all. The Athenian armoured infantry was superior to the Persian infantry. The Greeks attacked the Persians infantry in the absence of their cavalry.
It was the other way round - the Athenians and Eretrians burnt the Persian provincial capital of Sardis in 498 BCE, which caused the Persians to try to suppress them, frustrated by their loss at Marathon.
The Greeks did