Callimachus (Kali-mark-us)

Rome Latinised the Greek Kallimachus to be Callimachus and through the passage of time, it has entered the english vocab starting with the letter 'C'. This web site uses the orginal gramma.

He might be one of the most important forgotton identities in the ancient Greek world. His postion as polemarch of Athens during the Battle of Marathon, made him ultimately supreme commander of the Athenian forces..

Nothing is known of his earlier life and what little we know of him comes mostly from Herodotus' book The Histories.

Even though there would have been much arguing, voting and negotiating in Athens during the initial Persian invasion, the final military say was Kallimachus'. As polemarch that was his duty, governed by law. During the envoy to Sparta, the decision to march out to meet the Persians at Marathon, the route taken to meet them, the 10 days lying in wait to strike at the Persians while at the sacred olive grove of Athena, the battle formation and the final rush into battle.

Miltiades gets alot of the credit for the Athenians actions at Marathon, and no dobut he had alot of say in what was going on at the time, but he was only one of ten generals all equals in the army, but all were answerable to the Polemarch.

During the battle Kallimachus was on the right hand side of the line, the position was seen as one of honour. In Sparta, that postion was left to the King or the highest ranking official in the army.

Kallimachus died at the battle, during the final push towards the Persian ships where most of the Greeks that were killed died. It is not sure who took command of the forces after the battle, as there was still work to do in defence of the city, but probably Miltiades was the pseudo leader.

After the second Persian invasion into Greece, Miltiade's son, Kimon was in charge of the fleet of Athens and with the help of Aristides, gained the confidence of the outlying Greek cities, at first under the pretence of the Delian League, but shortly afterwards they became tributories of the Athenian Empire.

But during Kimon's command he weilded enormous power, and it has been suggested it was during this time that Kimon advanced the theory that his father was really the main catalyst behind the defence of Athens at Marathon. It may also have been at this time that Kimon gave a past helmet of Miltiades to Olympia, to help advance his fathers hero status, many assume that the helmet was giving straight after Marathon.

It may be that with Kimon's father, already dead from a wound in another battle, Kimon tried to advance his own military credentials by making is father the hero at Marathon. With Kallimachus dead, and Kimon weilding great power, the history of the battle may have been altered by time.