If you’ve seen the film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, you likely know from the catchphrase of Toula’s father that “everything comes from Greece.” This is true for the marathon, which refers to the name of a town in southern Greece with the same name: Marathon.
The modern day marathon was created to remember the historic run of Pheidippides, a soldier from Athens who ran from the battlefield in the town of Marathon to the Athenian capital (about 42 kilometers) to warn the Athenians that the Persians would attack Athens by sea. The runner supposedly dropped down dead at the end. It’s likely a myth, given that the first account of Pheidippides came several centuries after his death (and in some editions he goes by another name).
The Modern-Day Marathon
In the full version of the story, Pheidippides ran much more than 42 kilometers (the length of the modern marathon). This was simply the last leg of the legendary runners’ journey. Some versions of the story say that Pheidippides ran over 500 kilometers in a number of days. So how did the current race get so short? What is the real story of the modern day marathon?
In a Robert Browning poem in 1879 titled “Pheidippides,” the author refers to the last leg of his journey from Marathon to the Greek capital. One of the members of the first edition of the Olympic games read the poem and proposed that the distance be used for the first marathon in the 1896 Olympics.
Pheidippides: The Runner
More historians agree that Pheidippides was born in 530 BC and was a courier, whose job it was to run messages to other cities. As the story goes, Pheidippides’s first task was to run to the city state of Sparta to ask for their help in the Athenians’ battle against the Persians.
Pheiddipides’ Path to Sparta
The Persian army of 250,000 men and 600 ships invaded Greece and was coming towards Athens. Their plan was to land at Marathon, defeat the Athenian army there (about 10,000 men), and then sail to conquer the capital. To get help from the Spartans, Pheiddipides would need to run over mountains in the Peloponnese, through Arcadia, through Isthmia, Examilia and the city of ancient Corinth, before arriving in Nemea.
Arriving in Sparta
He supposedly reached Sparta after 36 hours, which even today would be an impressive achievement. You might wonder why he didn’t use a horse – this is because the road from Athens to Sparta was too rough for horses. But when he arrived, the Spartans had a religious festival and would not help until the festival was over. When the Athenians learned this, they decided to launch a quick attack to fight the Persians. It was surprisingly successful. But the Persians still had their boats, and they would be at an undefended Athens in less than 10 hours.
Athens Defeats the Persians
This is when the legendary run of Pheidippides happened from Marathon to Athens, both to announce the victory at Marathon and to warn that the Persian fleet was coming. At the same time, the Athenian soldiers, still injured, marched back to Athens to defend the city. With a superhuman effort, even though the Athenians were outnumbered, they had a night to rest and cook some food, and kept the Persians from taking the city.
Today, the marathon is now one of most beloved events of the modern Olympic games. It is usually the last event of the Olympics, and it finishes inside the Olympic stadium.
