When the Athenian line was ready, according to one source, the simple signal to advance was given by Miltiades: "At them". Most likely, they marched until they reached the limit of the archers' effectiveness, the "beaten zone", (roughly 200 meters), and then broke into a run towards their enemy. Herodotus suggests that this was the first time a Greek army ran into battle in this way; this was probably because it was the first time that a Greek army had faced an enemy composed mainly of missile troops (archers, spear-throwers).