Marathon (1)

A foot race of traditionally 26 miles (42 kilometers) named after the plain of Marathon in Attika (Attica), located north of the city of Athens; the plain got it’s named from the fennel plant which was very plentiful there; on this plain, the Athenian army defeated the numerically superior Persian army of King Darius in 490 BCE; following the resounding defeat of the Persians, a messenger ran to Athens to tell the worried citizens of their success and after uttering the single word, nike (victory), died of exhaustion; the marathon race is derived from this momentous feat of physical endurance.

The distance of 26 miles is, according to the noted author and hands-on researcher Peter Green, not really the distance from the battlefield at Marathon in to the city of Athens but rather the distance from the village of Marathona which is located two miles north of the actual battlefield; the 2 mile discrepancy in the distance is simply a miscalculation.

One of the little appreciated facts about the battle of Marathon is that, after the defeat of the Persians, the Athenian army, with the exception of the men left to guard the prisoners and booty of the battle, also hurriedly made the 24 mile trek from the battlefield to the city of Athens.

When it became obvious that the Athenians intended engage the Persians on the plain of Marathon, the Persians divided their army into two segments: infantry and some cavalry to fight at Marathon and the remainder of the cavalry to attack Athens from the south; when the southern contingent boarded their ships to sail to Athens, the Athenians attacked at Marathon; within 3-4 hours the Persians were defeated with over 6,000 casualties and the remainder of their forces making a narrow escape by sea; the Athenian army then made a forced march back to Athens to defend the city from the Persian cavalry; when the Athenian troops, battle weary, bloodstained and in full armor, arrived at Athens before the Persians could disembark their cavalry, the amazed Persians halted their attack on the city and returned to Asia Minor, defeated and humiliated.