Hello everyone , mark here with a teaser of what's happening over on Patreon . Every month , a new bonus episode is released on Patreon for members to show my appreciation of the support they are extending to the show .
These bonus episodes have allowed me to head back through the series , episodes where I take topics that were covered briefly and then explore them in a little more detail . These bonus episodes haven't taken anything away from my initial vision of the series , but have allowed me to supplement it with topics in isolation .
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If you are interested in supporting the series , please consider heading over to the Casting Thorentian Grease Patreon page where you can get access to these bonus episodes plus other benefits . Hello everyone , and welcome back to another bonus episode here on Patreon where we are continuing our look at some of the questions that still hang over the Battle of Marathon .
So far , we have explored the questions around the dispositions of the Athenians and the Persians on the day of battle at the Bay of Marathon .
This saw us look at two of the most popular theories that have emerged , one seeking to explain events through the very limited account by Herodotus , taking what he says literally , while the other attempts to make more sense of the battlefield and take into the account the experienced nature of the Persian army in campaigning .
In trying to answer this question , we also had the task of trying to locate the most likely position that both sides would have established their camps at , with our conclusions resting on what made sense from a geographical sense and taking into account the objectives of each side .
After dealing with these questions , we then moved on to the questions surrounding the depth of Greek tactics on the battlefield . Had this tactical approach begun with the arrival of the Greeks at Marathon and their establishment of their camp ? We then tried to look at how far this tactical outlook went , with us looking at how the Greek line was deployed .
Were they merely attempting to match the length of the Persian line or were they looking to influence the direction that the battle would go in , while we would also try and understand the abnormal action of the Greek run towards the Persian line through a tactical lens .
In this episode we'll be turning to one of the biggest questions that has remained for the past 2,500 years when was the Persian cavalry ? We know the Persians had travelled with a sizeable cavalry contingent and we would hear about them during the preparations for the campaign , as well as their actions at Eritrea .
However , once a marathon , which we are told was chosen due to its ability to support the cavalry , there is no more mention of this arm of the Persian army . So let's see if we can try and get to the bottom of where the Persian cavalry was and what might have been happening with them .
So for the first Persian campaign that would end with the Battle of Marathon , we have several references that indicate the Persians took a contingent of cavalry on campaign with them , these being from various written accounts as well as one depicted in art .
I want to quickly outline some of the more obvious examples pointing to cavalry involvement from Herodotus' account . Then we will see some of the more subtle examples as we look at the various theories that look to explain where the cavalry may have been . Our first indication from Herodotus that cavalry accompanied the Persian army was before the campaign even set out .
He would tell us that special transports were constructed that would carry the cavalry across the Aegean with the rest of the fleet . He would tell us that the naval fleet would meet up with the Persian land forces in Silesia , and this would be where the Persian horse would be located onto these specially constructed transports .
Herodotus' second reference to the Persian cavalry would then come once the campaign was well underway and the Persians had landed on Eritrea . Eritrea , along with Athens , had assisted the Onians in their revolt against the Persians by sending ships to provide forces . Persia would land in Eritrea to exact their revenge for daring to attack the Persian Empire .
Once the Persian fleet landed on the coast , herodotus would tell us that the Persian cavalry were the first forces to be disembarked before operations began . The third reference to Persian cavalry involvement would come after the Persians had become masters of Eritrea .
This would not be a direct reference to the cavalry themselves , but would point out the reason behind why Marathon Bay was chosen as the place where the Persians would land for their attack on Athens .
It would be pointed out that it was the most suitable place in Attica to operate cavalry , from , the assumption here being that the fleet had cavalry to disembark for their attack on Athens . However , with this reference at Marathon being a suitable location for cavalry .
We then hear nothing more of them once Herodotus begins his account of the events that would develop around the battle and during it . The mystery of where the Persian cavalry was during the battle of Marathon has remained one of the biggest questions to still exist around the battle .
These references given by Herodotus leading up to the battle and then not mentioning them again , have led to many to believe that , once the battle took place , the Persian cavalry was absent . But for what reason has remained up for debate , though , as we will see , one theory we will explore will have the Persian cavalry among the Persian battle line .
The other theories that we will deal with are the most popular that have put forward , and we will look at each one in turn . These include the cavalry remaining on Eritrea , the cavalry being rested in the Persian rear and the cavalry being loaded onto the ships . So let's look at each of these in a bit more detail .
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