316 HERODOTUS
the Plataeans, forming the left wing. And ever since that day it has been a custom with the Athenians, in the sacrifices and assemblies held each fifth year at Athens, for the Athenian herald to implore the bless- ing of the gods on the Plataeans conjointly with the Athenians. Now as they marshalled the host upon the field of Marathon, in order that the Athenian front might be of equal length with the Median,^ the ranks of the centre were diminished, and it became the weakest part of the line, while the wings were both made strong with a depth of many ranks.
So when the battle was set in array, and the vic- tims showed themselves favorable, instantly the Athe- nians, so soon as they were let go, charged the bar- barians at a run. Now the distance between the two armies was little short of eight furlongs. The Per- sians, therefore, when they saw the Greeks coming on at speed, made ready to receive them, although it seemed to them that the Athenians were bereft of their senses, and bent upon their own destruction ; for they saw a mere handful of men coming on at a run with- out either horsemen or archers. Such was the opinion of the barbarians ; but the Athenians in close array fell upon them, and fought in a manner worthy of be- ing recorded. They were the first of the Greeks, so far as I know, who introduced the custom of charg- ing the enemy at a run, and they were likewise the first who dared to look upon the Median garb, and to face men clad in that fashion. Until this time the very name of the Medes had been a terror to the Greeks to hear.
The two armies fought together on the plain of Marathon for a length of time ; and in the mid battle, ^ Median and Persian were synonymous terms.
