Page "Battle of Marathon" Paragraph 22

The first theory is that the Persian cavalry left Marathon for an unspecified reason, and that the Greeks moved to take advantage of this by attacking.

This theory is based on the absence of any mention of cavalry in Herodotus ' account of the battle, and an entry in the Suda dictionary.

The entry χωρίς ἰππεῖς (" without cavalry ") is explained thus: The cavalry left.

When Datis surrendered and was ready for retreat, the Ionians climbed the trees and gave the Athenians the signal that the cavalry had left.

And when Miltiades realized that, he attacked and thus won.

From there comes the above-mentioned quote, which is used when someone breaks ranks before battle.

There are many variations of this theory, but perhaps the most prevalent is that the cavalry was re-embarked on the ships, and was to be sent by sea to attack ( undefended ) Athens in the rear, whilst the rest of the Persians pinned down the Athenian army at Marathon.

This theory therefore utilises Herodotus ' suggestion that after Marathon, the Persian army re-embarked and tried to sail around Cape Sounion to attack Athens directly ; however, according to the first theory this attempt would have occurred before the battle ( and indeed have triggered the battle ).