The tumulus where the Athenians who fell at Marathon are buried, photo by the Author. Civilizations do not start on a specific date, though the question is still open on whether they can end in one day (future nuclear or astronomic catastrophe, perhaps. And yet, an argument can, and has been made that the battle of Marathon, which took place on 12 September 490 BCE, marked the beginning of what today we call "western" civilization.
And yet, an argument can, and has been made that the battle of Marathon, which took place on 12 September 490 BCE, marked the beginning of what today we call "western" civilization. Science fiction writer and keen observer of human affairs Isaac Asimov wrote that:"If the Athenians had lost at Marathon . Greece might have never gone to develop the peak of its civilization, a peak whose fruits we moderns have inherited.
Greece might have never gone to develop the peak of its civilization, a peak whose fruits we moderns have inherited.