Editing Plataea (section)

== Early history ==
[[File:Marathon, the mound of the Plataeans.jpg|thumb|The burial mound of the Plataeans, fallen at the [[Battle of Marathon]], [[Marathon, Greece|Marathon]]]]

Plataea was settled during the [[Bronze Age]]. (It was mentioned in [[Homer]] in the ''[[Iliad]]'' as among the other Boeotian cities<ref>ii. 504</ref>).  Local tradition, as related by the geographer [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], was that its people were "sprung from the soil" (autochthonous, or indigenous).  Its name is that of the daughter of an ancient king, [[Asopus]], for whom the nearby river is named.<ref>Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'', ix.1</ref>  According to the ancient Thebans, who claimed authority over the city, Plataea was founded by them.<ref>Thucydides, ''History of the Peloponnesian War'', iii. 61</ref>

In 520 BC Plataea, unwilling to submit to the supremacy of Thebes, and unable to resist this powerful neighbour with its own resources, sought the protection of [[Sparta]].  Sparta, however, demurred, saying:<blockquote>We live too far away, and our help would be cold comfort to you. You could be enslaved many times over before any of us heard about it. We advise you to put yourselves under the protection of the Athenians, since they are your neighbours and not bad men at giving help.<ref>Herod, vi. 108</ref></blockquote>
[[Herodotus|Herodotos]], the source of this statement, went on to say that the [[Spartans (Greek political party)|Spartans]] had an ulterior motive in this: that they wished to cause trouble between Athens and Thebes.  In the end, Plataea did form a close alliance with Athens, to which its people remained faithful during the whole of its subsequent history.<ref>Thuc. iii. 68.4</ref>