Maki
Ad Honorem
- Jan 2017
- 3,735
- Republika Srpska
Alright, so I was reading the book From Cyrus to Alexander and in it the author makes a claim that the goal of Darius' invasion of Greece was not the conquest of Greece, but rather a probing into Greece in order to find out whether or not the Greeks would be unified to fight the Persians, whether there are any pro-Persian elements in Athens. And Persia succeeded in this. They probed into Greece and confirmed their suspicions that not all of Greece would rise against Persians. It is also said that the battle of Marathon, while a defeat, was not really devastating and that it was Athenian propaganda that transformed Marathon into this great battle. We should also keep in mind that Darius was able to subjugate Macedon and establish dominance in the Aegean by conquering the islands there. The Persians also exacted some revenge for the events of the Ionian Revolt by sacking Eretria.
So, given all this, should we consider this first invasion a Persian success or at least should we stop considering it a Greek victory?
So, given all this, should we consider this first invasion a Persian success or at least should we stop considering it a Greek victory?