When the presidency came round to him, he arrayed the Athenians for battle, with the polemarch Callimachus commanding the right wing, since it was then the Athenian custom for the polemarch to hold the right wing. He led, and the other tribes were numbered out in succession next to each other.There was a fixed official order; but Plutarch's account of the battle places certain tribes according to a different system. Perhaps the battle-order was determined by lot. The Plataeans were marshalled last, holding the left wing.

Ever since that battle, when the Athenians are conducting sacrifices at the festivals every fourth year,e.g. the great Panathenaea, and the festival of Poseidon. the Athenian herald prays for good things for the Athenians and Plataeans together.

As the Athenians were marshalled at Marathon, it happened that their line of battle was as long as the line of the Medes. The center, where the line was weakest, was only a few ranks deep, but each wing was strong in numbers.