Page "Battle of Marathon" Paragraph 28

According to Herodotus, the fleet sent by Darius consisted of 600 triremes.

Herodotus does not estimate the size of the Persian army, only saying that they were a " large infantry that was well packed ".

Among ancient sources, the poet Simonides, another near-contemporary, says the campaign force numbered 200, 000 ; while a later writer, the Roman Cornelius Nepos estimates 200, 000 infantry and 10, 000 cavalry, of which only 100, 000 fought in the battle, while the rest were loaded into the fleet that was rounding Cape Sounion ; Plutarch and Pausanias both independently give 300, 000, as does the Suda dictionary.

Plato and Lysias give 500, 000 ; and Justinus 600, 000.