Greeks could have attacked before the Persians but a lot of the evidence points to the Persians attacking first, the Persians were most likely to have fought when they got off their boats and when they encountered in the valley, but, the Greeks were to have probably ran away into the valley than to have been chased.
Athens and its ally Plataia defeated the Persian expeditionary force sent out by King Darius at Marathon in 490 BCE.
We don't seem to know. There was sufficient time for them to fight a 'long drawn out battle' (Herodotos), fight over the departing Persian ships, and then reform and run in full armour the 26 miles over the hills to Athens in time to form up in front of the city to meet the Persian fleet which had rowed around the peninsula to land the cavalry to attack Athens with the expectation that the pro-Persian party inside would open the gates for them. So it musta started pretty early. And try running the marathon loaded down with armour , shield and weapons, after already running a mile into battle in the first place and fighting for several hours. A tough lot. Today's marathon runners get it easy.
100metres The very first one from the Battle of Marathon to Athens was 26 miles 365 feet. The guy that ran it ran that, got to athens, said "We won!" and died ^^
The allied powers won this battle this was a subsidiary attack of the battle of somme. This was also the first battle tanks were used.
Athens' right wing was led by Callimachus. Athens' left wing was covered by the Plataeans. Athens' center was led by Themistocles and Aristides.The Greek idea was to attack first and to cross the distance from the slopes to the Persians as fast as possible in order to beat the Persian cavalry and archers to it . ~ see related link below .
490 BC When a runner took a message to Athens with the news that the Greeks had won a battle against the Persians at Marathon
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 .
Darius the Great's commander Datis came to grief at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC (First Persian invasion of Greece) .
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.
Athens and its ally Plataia defeated the Persian expeditionary force sent out by King Darius at Marathon in 490 BCE.
The Battle of Marathon was the first attempt , and first defeat , by Persian forces to subjugate Greece . The Persians were defeated by the Athenians at Marathon , Greece .
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.
Marathon - it was the Athenians.
Marathon 490 BCE. Plataea 479 BCE.
Because the Persians didn't have patience and sent the horsemen in first and the strongest in the boat leaving their weakest variable to Greek attack. The Greeks won even though they were outnumbered, because of the general's mistake of not waiting for the Greeks to come to the Persian forces.
It was the first Greek victory in the 50-year war, occurring in the 9th year of the war. It turned the balance - the Greeks realised that the Persians were beatable, and went on to a series of victories.
Their punitive expedition against Eretreia and Athens losing the battle of Marathon to the Athenian and Plataean armies.