Who’s who of the First Persian War 490BC

Provide details about who each individual is, their position and any part they played in the First Persian War, making
specific references to instances. Cite your sources so that you can easily refer to them in essays.

Mardonius The leading Persian general in the wars and was Darius the firsts nephew. He is seen
responsible for the wars, as Herodotus tells us he encouraged Xerxes to invade Greece
Datis Datis was the general leading the Persian Army against the Greeks at the Battle of
Marathon. He was also a Median noble. His expedition was co-led with Artaphernes,
Darius’s nephew. He removed the calvary and some foot soldiers to try and take Athens
but ended up fumbling the win at Marathon.
Darius the Great He was the great leader of the Persian empire at the time of the Persian wars. He led
military campaigns to punish the polis’ of Athens and Eretria. He reigned from 522BCE
to 486BCE. He declared war against the Greeks and expanded his land and military
powers
Aristagoras He can be seen as the main reason behind the Ionian revolt, after trying to reclaim
Naxos, and rallying the Greeks to free themselves from Persian rule.
Miltiades The Athenian general at the battle of Marathon, his tactic of rearranging the phalanx
and being able to make it back to Athens in time to stop the Persians from advancing
secured them the win at Marathon.
Callimachus The supervising general of Miltiades, helping with strategies and commanding the
Greek troops. He was killed on the battlefield from Persians. He was the deciding vote
to attack the Persians at the battle of Marathon
Pheidippides He was the runner for the Greeks who ran from Athens to Sparta, then to Marathon,
then back to Athens, dying from exhaustion once making it back to Athens to celebrate
the Greek win.
Hippias Hippias was responsible for convincing King Darius to invade the Athenians. He was
once the tyrant of the Athenians and advised King Darius