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===Other Factors for Athenian Victory===
[[File: hoplite.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Greek Vase Depicting Hoplite Warriors]]
Although Miltiades' planning and battlefield strategies are the primary reasons why the Athenians were victorious at Marathon, there were a couple of other factors that should be considered. The fact that the Greeks had rights as citizens and were the first people to articulate the abstract idea of “freedom” that is often taken for granted today cannot be understated. The Athenians had just overthrown their tyranny in 510 BC, so most of the men fighting at Marathon knew that if they lost the battle then it would be a return to the old system. Freedom was something worth fighting for and according to Herodotus, it made the Athenians fight better.
“For while they were oppressed under tyrants, they had no better success in war than any of their neighbours, yet, once the yoke was flung off, they proved the finest fighters in the world.” <ref> Herodotus, Book V, 78</ref>
