The Battle of Marathon

MP3 Audio CD. When Darius the Great ordered his huge armies to march through Greece with the intention of annexing additional territories to the Persian state, he never would have imagined that a few small city states would be able to mount any kind of viable defense against his attack. Yet that is precisely what happened when an old but extremely crafty Athenian named Miltiades led his small army to overrun the Persian invaders as they touched down on the coast of Marathon in 490 BC.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote an epic poem about the battle of Marathon in 1820, when she was only 14 years of age. The young author proved to be extremely good at creating a detailed outline of the battle and mixing in elements of Greek mythology in a way that very few skilled poets would have been capable of at the time.

Barrett?s account of the events, through the poem The Battle of Marathon, has been compared by many to the works of great poems such as Milton or Vikram Seth, even though they are considered some of the most distinguished classics in the history of literature.

Anyone at least partially familiar with ancient history knows the story of the battle, and is aware of the events as they unfolded on their own specific timeline. However, Barrett uses her prose to take the entire battle to brand new heights and create an addictive, powerful atmosphere that will basically not allow you to put the book down until you?ve finished reading the entire poem.

Even experts in ancient Greek history who are quite familiar with the battle consider that regular readers would not really need to have any kind of a background while reading Barrett?s poem. Her work will elegantly tell you everything you need to know, and present the essence of the battle itself, along with its meaning, in a most inspiring way.