Strategy, Sun Tzu and the Battle of Marathon

ABSTRACT

On the occasion of the anniversary of 2.500 years since the culmination of the Greco-Persian Wars (499-449 BC), the article attemps to showcase the concurrence of the strategy implemented at the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) by the Greek General Miltiades and the maxims of war established by the great Chinese General and philosopher Sun Tzu (544-496 BC). The aforemontioned battle is selected as a paradigm of the military history of the western world, demonstrating the implementation of the axioms of the great theoritician and practitioner of war. It attempts on overview of bibliography on strategy and more specifically on the precepts of Sun Tzu. It gives a brief account of the planning and conduct of the battle and makes an analysis of their concurrence with the teaching and principles of the Chinese philosopher.

KEYWORDS:

• General Miltiade
• Athenians
• Persians
• and Spartans
• Greek Warfare
• Hellenic World
• Persian Wars and Athens’ Zenith

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

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Michail Ploumis

Michail Ploumis is an officer on active duty with the Greek Army. He graduated from the Greek Army Academy in 1990. He holds a PhD in the area of national defence  economics in Greece from the University of Peloponnese, Department of Economics (2017). He also holds a LL.B (1997), LL.M (2005) from the Faculty of Law of the National and Kapdistrian University of Athens, and a M.S.S. from ths U.S. Army War College (USAWC), Class of 2016. He currently serves as a Lecturer at the Greek Army Academy.