Question 1

True or false: The word 'marathon' comes from a Greek messenger who ran to Athens and died after delivering victory news.

Accepted Answer

True. Legend says Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens, announced victory, then collapsed. This inspired the modern race.

Question 2

True or false: Athenian hoplites outnumbered the Persian army at Marathon by nearly two to one.

Accepted Answer

False. Athenians had about 10,000 soldiers; Persians had around 25,000. Greece was heavily outnumbered.

Question 3

True or false: The Battle of Marathon was won by a small force of Spartans arriving just in time.

Accepted Answer

False. Spartans arrived after the battle, delayed by a religious festival. Athens and Plataea fought alone.

Question 4

True or false: The Greeks used a secret weapon of flaming pigs to break the Persian cavalry charge at Marathon.

Accepted Answer

False. Flaming pigs were used in later ancient warfare, but not at Marathon. This is a popular internet myth.

Question 5

True or false: The Persian navy deliberately beached their ships at Marathon to trap the Athenian army on the plain.

Accepted Answer

False. Persians beached ships to disembark troops, but this wasn't a trap. They planned to sail to Athens after defeating the army.

Question 6

True or false: After the battle, a Greek soldier ran 26 miles to Sparta to request reinforcements, not to Athens.

Accepted Answer

True. Pheidippides actually ran from Athens to Sparta (about 150 miles) to ask for help before the battle. The Athens run was later.

Question 7

True or false: The Persian commander at Marathon, Datis, had previously destroyed the Greek city of Eretria.

Accepted Answer

True. Before Marathon, Datis sacked Eretria and enslaved its people. This was part of Darius I's campaign against Greece.

Question 8

True or false: The Athenian general Miltiades had once fought alongside the Persians before leading the Greeks at Marathon.

Accepted Answer

True. Miltiades was a former tyrant in the Persian-controlled Chersonese and had served in Persian campaigns before defecting.

The Battle of Marathon Trivia Questions