Cynegeirus

Ancient Greek Military Figure. The brother of the playwright Aeschylus , he was a hero of the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) and died in action. Cynegeirus was born in Eleusis, Attica, Greece. In the Summer of 490 BC, when word reached Athens that a massive Persian force had landed at the bay near Marathon, he and Aeschylus joined the combined Athenian and the Plataean armies to meet the threat. Although the Greek hoplites were outnumbered by as much as 10 to 1, their heavy armor and use of the phalanx formation proved devastating against the lightly-armed Persians. The invaders were routed, and the survivors retreated to their beached ships with the Greeks in pursuit. Dropping his shield and spear, Cynegeirus seized one boat by the prow and tried to prevent its launch until a Persian cut his hand off with an axe; he continued to grapple with the ship until he collapsed from blood loss. Aeschylus was reputedly with him when he died. He was among the 192 slain Athenians who were given the special honor of being buried on the battlefield. Their grave mound, or tumulus, is preserved at Marathon. Cynegeirus was long celebrated in Athens as an example of selfless bravery. He was depicted in Polygnotus' famous 460 BC mural of the battle in the city's Stoa Poikile, which was still visible in the 3rd Century AD. In 2011, a monument to Cynegeirus was dedicated in his native Eleusis.