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Admin moved page What was the impact of the First Persian Invasion of Greece on Athens? to What was the impact of the First Persian Invasion of Greece on Athens
However, the victory of Marathon convinced the Athenians that their system was the best. They saw the great victory over the Persians as a vindication not only of their arms but also their political system. Those who had fought at Marathon and defeated the Persians were ordinary citizens. They credited their democracy for their victory. They compared their victory with the willingness of the other Greek city-states to submit to the forces to Darius I.<ref> Holland, p 178</ref> To many in Athens, the democracy that they had established was the best political system. The many detractors of democracy were silenced and it was overwhelmingly accepted by the majority of the population. The Athenians had come very close to losing their freedom and they began to associate democracy with the preservation of their freedom. The victory at Marathon and the defeat of the Persian invasion strengthened democracy and it was not challenged again until the dark days in the aftermath of the Sicilian Expedition during the Peloponnesian War.
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==Effect on Athenian Culture==
The defeat of the First Persian invasion of Greece was seen as the start of the Golden Age of Athens. This was the period of remarkable cultural achievements by the Athenians and those who came to live in the city. In this period, Athens produced some of the greatest figures in Classical Civilisation. In the next century, the Athenians produced philosophers such as Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. The Philosophical School, the Sophists also flourished in the city<ref>Fine, p. 116</ref>. The city also developed drama and produced the great tragedians Euripides, Sophocles, and Aeschylus. The first great comic dramatist in western literature Aristophanes also wrote in Athens. The two founding fathers of western historical writing, Herodotus, and Thucydides all worked in the city.
Art and architecture also flourished in the aftermath of the Battle of Marathon. It is no coincidence that the Athenian produced these cultural figures and works of art in the aftermath of the defeat of the Persians. The victory gave the Athenians great belief and they were also convinced that freedom was essential for the good life or ‘eudemonia.’<ref> Aristotle. Ethics. 7 9.</ref> In the aftermath of Marathon, the Athenians were very conscious of how precarious was their freedom and they cherished it. This led them to encourage all forms of self-expression and freedom of thought and speech.<ref>Russell, Bertrand, <i>A History of Western Philosophy </i> (London, Longman, 2010), p. 45</ref> This energized the Athenians and the city soon became a center for creativity. This made Athens attractive for intellectuals from all over the Greek world and the city benefitted from Ionian Greek intellectuals fleeing the Persians. Many of the Sophists, for example, came to the city to benefit from the liberal atmosphere in the city. Then the great victory over the Persians filled the populace of Athens with great self-belief and they came to believe that they could do anything <ref>Herodotus, 7. 9</ref>. The Athenians, unlike other people, believed that reason and willpower could achieve anything. This was partly inspired by the self-confidence instilled by the defeat of the mighty Persians. This belief in reason and human potential led to an early form of humanism in Athens. This, in turn, encouraged the development of great works and ideas in the city.
==Impact on the Athenians military tactics and navy==
==References==
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