In 490BC the first of the Persian wars begins – The battle of Marathon, led by Miltiades, which showed the Greeks that they could win against the omnipotent Persians. The second of the Persian wars was the battle of Thermopylae, which although wasn’t a win it was a victorious last stand which benefited the Greeks for the battle to come. The battles that followed were Salamis, Plataea and Mycale, all that were triumphant for the Greeks, making the Persian wars end in 479BC. There were numerous techniques that lead to the Greeks victory in the wars, including to the armour, weaponry, tactics, general ship, unity and training which will be investigated and described, as well as how Thermopylae and Artemisium contributed to the overall success.…show more content… Miltiades was a member of the aristocratic Athenian Philaidai family, so he already held a status in Athens – compared to others and “fortune [which] was great enough to allow them to enter a four-horse chariot for the games.” Miltiades also had a “position of considerable importance” of supreme power in Athens, so he had control and authority before the battle of marathon; already making him a favourite among other higher status Athenians. Miltiades had also been sent to regain control of the Cherosense by Hippias, during the period of Persian expansion. He “spent several decades ruling the Thracian Chersonese peninsula before returning to Athens” to lead the Athenians against the Persian’s at Marathon in 490.” Miltiades them makes himself “Master of the Chersonese” which leads to making himself tyrant – by arresting the leading men of the area. With Miltiades now being an Ionian Greek tyrant, he was obliged to help Darius the first in his campaigns to extend the Persian Empire. Miltiades had been living in Chersonese for 2 years when he had to “escape from the Scythian nomads who, incensed by the attack of Darius, joined forces and marched as far as the Chersonese.” With him being a Tyrant in the Persian Empire, and the empire expanding against the Scythians, Miltiades would have had the inside scoop and first- hand knowledge as to how the Persians fought and had ideas on what to expect