And the Mede stepped back from the eager attack
Of the Greek in Marathon.

Hear'st thou the rattling of spears on the right?
Seest thou the gleam in the sky?
The gods come to aid the Greeks in the fight,
And the favoring heroes are nigh.
The lion's hide I see in the sky,
And the knotted club so fell,
And kingly Theseus's conquering eye,
And Maca'ria, nymph of the well.
[Footnote: The nymph Macaria, daughter of Hercules, was said
to have a fountain on the field of Marathon. There is a well
near the north end of the plain, where the fountain is supposed
to have been.]
Purely, purely, the fount did flow,
When the morn's first radiance shone;
But eve shall know the crimson flow
Of its wave, by Marathon.

On, son of Cimon, bravely on!
[Footnote: Milti'ades, the general in command, whose father's
name was Cimon.]
And Aristides the just!
Your names have made the field your own,
Your foes are in the dust!
The Lydian satrap spurs his steed,
The Persian's bow is broken:
His purple pales; the vanquished Mede
Beholds the angry token