Battle of Marathon between Persians and Greeks: The Persians land in Attica but are defeated by the Athenians in the Battle of Marathon, led by Militiades, who deploys his largest troops on the flanks, leaving a small group in the center as a target for the Persian archers, who are then powerless in close combat when they attack the flanks. News of the victory is brought to Athens by the hoplite Pheidippides, who runs 42 kilometers. Pheidippides runs the entire distance without stopping; after shouting the announcement of Athenian victory over the Persians, “Nike, Nike” (“Victory, victory”), the herald collapses to the ground, exhausted by the effort.
