"Athens Classic Marathon The Athens Classic (authentic) Marathon is an annual marathon road race held in Athens, Greece, normally in early November. The race attracted 43,000 competitors in 2015 of which 16,000 were for the 42.195 km course, both numbers being an all-time record for the event. The rest of the runners competed in the concurrent 5 and 10 kilometres road races and the racewalking contest. The marathon course is based on the legend from which the race gained its name: Pheidippides, a messenger in Ancient Greece, ran from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greeks' victory"
"Pheidippides Pheidippides () or Philippides (Φιλιππίδης) is the central figure in the story that inspired a modern sporting event, the marathon race. Pheidippides is said to have run from Marathon to Athens to deliver news of a military victory against the Persians at the Battle of Marathon. The first recorded account showing a courier running from Marathon to Athens to announce victory is from within Lucian's prose on the first use of the word ""joy"" as a greeting in ""A Slip of the Tongue in Greeting"". The traditional story relates that Pheidippides (530–490 BC), an Athenian herald or ""hemerodrome"" (translated"
"and made essential contributions to the British operations in the Mediterranean. In 490 BC Pheidippides ran 42 km from the battle of Marathon to tell about the victory over the Persians, and died just after delivering his message. In comparison, Psychoundakis ran from Kastelli-Kissamou on the northwestern coast of Crete to Paleochora on the southwestern coast in one night. The distance along the present main road is 45 km. Through a rugged landscape with deep ravines, where he had to run to avoid the Germans, the distance may have been twice as far. The resistance fighters faced baking Cretan summers"
"dying. The account of the run from Marathon to Athens first appears in Plutarch's ""On the Glory of Athens"" in the 1st century AD, which quotes from Heraclides Ponticus's lost work, giving the runner's name as either Thersipus of Erchius or Eucles. Satirist Lucian of Samosata (2nd century AD) first gives an account closest to the modern version of the story, but is writing tongue in cheek, and also names the runner Philippides (not Pheidippides). There is debate about the historical accuracy of this legend. The Greek historian Herodotus, the main source for the Greco-Persian Wars, mentions Philippides as the"
"hero. Another tale from the conflict is of the dog of Marathon. Aelian relates that one hoplite brought his dog to the Athenian encampment. The dog followed his master to battle and attacked the Persians at his master's side. He also informs us that this dog is depicted in the mural of the Stoa Poikile. According to Herodotus, an Athenian runner named Pheidippides was sent to run from Athens to Sparta to ask for assistance before the battle. He ran a distance of over 225 kilometers (140 miles), arriving in Sparta the day after he left. Then, following the battle,"
"with the word ""nenikēkamen!"" (Attic: ; we've won!), whereupon he promptly died of exhaustion. Most accounts incorrectly attribute this story to Herodotus; actually, the story first appears in Plutarch's ""On the Glory of Athens"" in the 1st century AD, who quotes from Heracleides of Pontus's lost work, giving the runner's name as either Thersipus of Erchius or Eucles. Lucian of Samosata (2nd century AD) gives the same story but names the runner Philippides (not Pheidippides). It should be noted that in some medieval codices of Herodotus the name of the runner between Athens and Sparta before the battle is given"
"messenger who ran from Athens to Sparta asking for help, and then ran back, a distance of over each way. In some Herodotus manuscripts, the name of the runner between Athens and Sparta is given as Philippides. Herodotus makes no mention of a messenger sent from Marathon to Athens, and relates that the main part of the Athenian army, having fought and won the grueling battle, and fearing a naval raid by the Persian fleet against an undefended Athens, marched quickly back from the battle to Athens, arriving the same day. In 1879, Robert Browning wrote the poem ""Pheidippides"". Browning's"
"Marathon to Athens occurs in the works of the Greek writer Plutarch (46–120), in his essay ""On the Glory of Athens"". Plutarch attributes the run to a herald called either Thersippus or Eukles. Lucian, a century later, credits one ""Philippides."" It seems likely that in the 500 years between Herodotus's time and Plutarch's, the story of Pheidippides had become muddled with that of the Battle of Marathon (particularly the story of the Athenian forces making the march from Marathon to Athens in order to intercept the Persian ships headed there), and some fanciful writer had invented the story of the"
"as ""day-runner"" (Kyle 2007), ""courier"" (Larcher 1806), ""professional-running courier"" (Sears 2003) or ""day-long runner"" (Miller 2006)), was sent to Sparta to request help when the Persians landed at Marathon, Greece. He ran about in two days. He then ran the from the battlefield near Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) with the word (""nikomen"" ""We win!""), as stated by Lucian ""chairete, nikomen"" (""hail, we are the winners"") and then collapsed and died. Most accounts incorrectly attribute this story to the historian Herodotus, who wrote the history of the Persian"
"son of the former tyrant of Athens, Peisistratus. The Athenians, joined by a small force from Plataea, marched to Marathon, and succeeded in blocking the two exits from the plain of Marathon. At the same time, Athens' greatest runner, Pheidippides (or Philippides) was sent to Sparta to request that the Spartan army march to Athens' aid. Pheidippides arrived during the festival of ""Carneia"", a sacrosanct period of peace, and was informed that the Spartan army could not march to war until the full moon rose; Athens could not expect reinforcement for at least ten days. They decided to hold out"
"a two-day run to seek Spartan help against the invading Persians in the Battle of Marathon, and then ran from the town of Marathon to Athens days later to announce the victory, dying as a result of his heroic efforts. The race started in Marathon, and ran for 40 kilometres over dusty roads to Athens. The Greek public, disappointed as there had not yet been a Greek victor in athletics, was overjoyed when it was announced during the race that a Greek runner had taken the lead. When Spiridon Louis, a water carrier from Maroussi, arrived in the stadium he"
"year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants. The name ""Marathon"" comes from the legend of Philippides or Pheidippides, the Greek messenger. The legend states that he was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon (in which he had just fought), which took place in August or September, 490 BC. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming (""nenikēkamen"", ""we have won!""), before collapsing and"
"events he describes, did, according to Miller (2006) in fact base his version of the battle on eyewitness accounts, so it seems altogether likely that Pheidippides was an actual historical figure, although the same source claims the classical author did not ever in fact mention a Marathon-Athens runner in any of his writings. Whether the story is true or not, it has no connection with the Battle of Marathon itself, and Herodotus's silence on the subject of a herald running from Marathon to Athens suggests strongly that no such event occurred. The first known written account of a run from"
"died at the Battle of Thermopylae fighting the Persians ten years after Marathon, which is placed at the end of the main street in Sparti. Runners who finish the race receive a laurel wreath and water from schoolgirls dressed in chitons, and have access to medical tents. The national anthem of the winner is also played. No monetary award is given to any of the finishers, but winning the race is considered prestigious and generates publicity that is helpful in attracting sponsors. Unlike Pheidippides, none of the runners have to make the return run back to Athens. In order to"
"Bréal, who was inspired by the legend of the messenger Pheidippides, who had run from Marathon to Athens to announce the Athenian victory in the Battle of Marathon—and then dropped dead. The Greeks were very enthusiastic about this new event and decided to hold qualifiers for the marathon. These races were started by Colonel Papadiamantopoulos, who Louis previously served under in the military. The first qualifying race—the first ever marathon race—was held on 22 March, and was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours, 18 minutes. Louis participated in the second qualifying race, two weeks later, and placed fifth. Papadiamantopoulos,"
"coast of Attica, en route to complete the final objective of the campaign—punish Athens. The Persians sailed down the coast of Attica, and landed at the bay of Marathon, roughly from Athens, on the advice of the exiled Athenian tyrant Hippias (who had accompanied the expedition). Under the guidance of Miltiades, the Athenian general with the greatest experience of fighting the Persians, the Athenian army marched quickly to block the two exits from the plain of Marathon, and prevent the Persians moving inland. At the same time, Athens's greatest runner, Pheidippides (or Philippides in some accounts) had been sent to"
"run from Marathon to Athens. Based on this account, British RAF Wing Commander John Foden and four other RAF officers travelled to Greece in 1982 on an official expedition to test whether it was possible to cover the nearly 250 kilometres in a day and a half (36 hours). Three runners were successful in completing the distance: John Foden (37:37), John Scholtens (34:30) and John McCarthy (39:00). Since 1983, it has been an annual footrace from Athens to Sparta, known as the Spartathlon, celebrating Pheidippides's at least semi-historical run across 246 km of Greek countryside. Pheidippides Pheidippides () or Philippides"
"Dienekes Dienekes or Dieneces (, from διηνεκής, Doric Greek: διανεκής ""continuous, unbroken"") was a Spartan soldier who fought and died at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. He was acclaimed the bravest of all the Greeks who fought in that battle. Herodotus (7.226) related the following anecdote about Dienekes: Herodotus also mentions that Dienekes said many other similar things which made him unforgotten. Plutarch in his ""Sayings of the Spartans"" also mentions this comment, but he attributes it to Leonidas I, Dienekes' general in the battle. According to Plutarch, when one of the soldiers complained to Leonidas that ""Because"
"Battle of Athens (1941) The Battle of Athens (also known as the Battle of Piraeus harbor) on 20 April 1941 was a dog-fighting air battle over Athens fought for half an hour between the RAF and the Luftwaffe towards the end of the Battle of Greece. Marmaduke Pattle died in the battle in which Roald Dahl also fought; he describes it in his second autobiography, ""Going Solo"" and in the short story 'Katina' which can be found in the book ""The Great Automatic Grammatizator and Other Stories"". A somewhat different account of this battle together with citations will be found"
"poem, his composite story, became part of late 19th century popular culture and was accepted as a historic legend. Mount Pentelicus stands between Marathon and Athens, which means that if Philippides actually made his famous run after the battle, he had to run around the mountain, either to the north or to the south. The latter and more obvious route matches almost exactly the modern Marathon-Athens highway, which follows the lay of the land southwards from Marathon Bay and along the coast, then takes a gentle but protracted climb westwards towards the eastern approach to Athens, between the foothills of"
"the occasion of which we speak when Pheidippides was sent by the Athenian generals, and, according to his own account, saw Pan on his journey, he reached Sparta on the very next day after quitting the city of Athens."" Based on this account, John Foden, an officer of the Royal Air Force and a long distance runner, went to Greece in 1982 with four officers to test whether it was possible to cover the nearly 250 kilometres in a day and a half. Three runners were successful in completing the distance: John Foden in 37:37, John Scholtens in 34:30, and"
"not return. On the way to the battle, Amphiaraus repeatedly warned the other warriors that the expedition would fail, and blamed Tydeus for starting it. He would eventually prevent Tydeus from being immortalized by Athena because of this. Despite this, he was possibly the greatest leader in the attack. During the battle, Amphiaraus killed Melanippus. In the battle, Amphiaraus sought to flee from Periclymenus, the ""very famous"" son of Poseidon, who wanted to kill him, but Zeus threw his thunderbolt, and the earth opened to swallow Amphiaraus together with his chariot. Thus chthonic hero Amphiaraus was propitiated and consulted at"
"race of 42 km called the marathon. In any case, no such story appears in Herodotus. The relevant passage of Herodotus (""Histories"", Book VI, 105...106 →) is: The significance of this story is to be understood in the light of the legend that the god Pan returned the favor by fighting with the Athenian troops and against the Persians at Marathon. This was important because Pan, in addition to his other powers, had the capacity to instill an irrational, blind fear that paralysed the mind and suspended all sense of judgment—""panic"". Herodotus, writing about 30 to 40 years after the"
"with the decisive Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon. Between the two invasions, Darius died, and responsibility for the war passed to his son Xerxes I. Xerxes then led the second invasion personally in 480 BC, taking an enormous (although oft-exaggerated) army and navy to Greece. Those Greeks who chose to resist (the 'Allies') were defeated in the twin battles of Thermopylae and Artemisium on land and at sea respectively. All of Greece except the Peloponnesus thus fell into Persian hands, but then seeking to finally destroy the Allied navy, the Persians suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle"
"time at 20 hours and 25 minutes. As the race grew more popular, stringent entry criteria were implemented to ensure participants were fit enough to run the course. The race has 75 checkpoints where race officials disqualify runners who fail to meet time cutoffs or who are too tired to continue. The Spartathlon aims to trace the footsteps of Pheidippides, an Athenian messenger sent to Sparta in 490 BC to seek help against the Persians in the Battle of Marathon. Pheidippides, according to an account by Greek historian Herodotus, arrived in Sparta the day after he departed. Herodotus wrote: ""On"
"Marathon, and agreed that the Athenians had won a great victory. The Athenian and Plataean dead of Marathon were buried on the battlefield in two tumuli. On the tomb of the Athenians this epigram composed by Simonides was written: In the meanwhile, Darius began raising a huge new army with which he meant to completely subjugate Greece; however, in 486 BC, his Egyptian subjects revolted, indefinitely postponing any Greek expedition. Darius then died whilst preparing to march on Egypt, and the throne of Persia passed to his son Xerxes I. Xerxes crushed the Egyptian revolt, and very quickly restarted the"
"Wars in his ""Histories"" (composed about 440 BC). However, Magill and Moose (2003) suggest that the story is likely a ""romantic invention."" They point out that Lucian is the only classical source with all the elements of the story known in modern culture as the ""Marathon story of Pheidippides"": a messenger running from the fields of Marathon to announce victory, then dying on completion of his mission. Robert Browning gave a version of the traditional story in his 1879 poem ""Pheidippides"". This poem inspired Baron Pierre de Coubertin and other founders of the modern Olympic Games to invent a running"
"forty-mile ride, through the night, towards Demetrias. There they encountered the battle in full swing, and the Latins having the advantage. The arrival of fresh troops, however, tilted the balance, and the battle ended in a crushing Byzantine victory. Despite his contribution to the victory at Demetrias, John Palaiologos was shattered by the loss of his army at Neopatras. According to the Byzantine sources, he resigned his title of ""despotes"" (although some modern historians have postulated that it was revoked by his brother), and appears to have died shortly after (1273/1274 or 1274/1275, depending on the dating of the Thessalian"
"is nearly as well known as Thermopylae, Salamis or Marathon. The reason for this discrepancy is not entirely clear; it might, however, be a result of the circumstances in which the battle was fought. The fame of Thermopylae certainly lies in the doomed heroism of the Greeks in the face of overwhelming numbers; and Marathon and Salamis perhaps because they were both fought against the odds, and in dire strategic situations. Conversely, the Battles of Plataea and Mycale were both fought from a relative position of Greek strength, and against lesser odds; the Greeks, in fact, sought out battle on"
"Battle of Marathon ten years before. Accompanying him are Artemisia, the Queen of Halicarnassus, who beguiles Xerxes with her feminine charm, and Demaratus, an exiled king of Sparta, to whose warnings Xerxes pays little heed. In Corinth, Themistocles of Athens wins the support of the Greek allies and convinces both the delegates and the Spartan representative, Leonidas I, to grant Sparta leadership of their forces. Outside the hall, Leonidas and Themistocles agree to fortify the pass at Thermopylae until the rest of the army arrives. After this, Leonidas learns of the Persian advance and travels to Sparta to spread the"
"of Fire"" (1998). He is a minor character in the video game """" (2018). Dienekes Dienekes or Dieneces (, from διηνεκής, Doric Greek: διανεκής ""continuous, unbroken"") was a Spartan soldier who fought and died at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. He was acclaimed the bravest of all the Greeks who fought in that battle. Herodotus (7.226) related the following anecdote about Dienekes: Herodotus also mentions that Dienekes said many other similar things which made him unforgotten. Plutarch in his ""Sayings of the Spartans"" also mentions this comment, but he attributes it to Leonidas I, Dienekes' general in the"
"and he succeeded in doing so and fortifying a garrison there. While marching back towards Athens with his soldiers, the Boeotians arrived. A battle, known as the Battle of Delium, took place between the Athenians and the Boeotians, between Delium and Oropus. The Athenians were clearly defeated. Hippocrates died near the beginning of the battle and nearly a thousand Athenians were slain alongside him. Only nightfall prevented further losses. After a siege of seventeen days, Delium fell to the Boeotians and at that point the bodies of Hippocrates and the other men were returned to the Athenians. Hippocrates of Athens"
"Areia built on the site of the battlefield by the Athenians, beneath a statue of the goddess made by Pheidias to commemorate the victory. Arimnestos is the protagonist and narrator in the ""Long War"" series by Christian Cameron. Arimnestos Arimnestos (; fl. early 5th century BCE) was the commander of the Plataean contingent at the battles of Marathon and Plataea during the Greco-Persian Wars. Plutarch relates that Arimnestos was responsible for selecting the location of the Battle of Plataea, after receiving guidance from Zeus Soter in a dream. He shared this insight with the Athenian general Aristides, who in turn"