"The leaders of the Greek fighting forces were compelled by the composition and organisation of their forces to make the most strategic use of geography and location".
Discuss this statement with reference to at least two case studies.
In all cases throughout the Persian invasions of Greece from 492-478 BC the Greeks were far outnumbered by their opponents and were forced to rely heavily on whatever advantages they could create for themselves. In most cases this meant that the Greeks were forced to use unprecedented tactics and/or take advantage of their location as best they could. The use of unconventional tactics is ever present in the battle of Marathon where the Athenians fought off an overwhelming Persian force and the clever use of geography is clear in both the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis.
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Marathon.
The battle of Marathon in 490 BC was the first great example of bravery and strategic prowess on the part of the Greeks in a long line of outstanding feats which appeared to defy all odds. The Persian army, led by the current king Darius and numbering twenty to thirty thousand men at arms, landed at Marathon and prepared to march across the southern mountains to Athens. However, the Athenians who had only been democratic for a short time were not prepared to give up their freedom without a fight and, though outnumbered at least two to one, met the Persian invaders with their own ten thousand hoplites. .
Though the Athenian commander, Miltiades, arrived at Marathon to keep the Persians at bay he did not intend to actually attack them until he realised that the Persians were sending a fleet past them to attack an unguarded Athens. When he realised this he was forced to lead an untimely assault on the invaders. Though Marathon was by the sea and behind the Persians were marshes, there was still enough room for the famous Persian Cavalry to be utilized properly; there was definitely ample time for the Persian archers to volley arrows at the Athenians and worst of all the Greeks were badly outnumbered.
