Marathon (
Demotic Greek
Demotic Greek or Dimotiki ( el, Δημοτική Γλώσσα, , , ) is the standard spoken language of Greece in modern times and, since the resolution of the Greek language question in 1976, the official language of Greece.
"Demotic Greek" ( ...
: Μαραθώνας, ''Marathónas'';
Attic
An attic (sometimes referred to as a ''loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...
/
Katharevousa
Katharevousa ( el, Καθαρεύουσα, , literally "purifying anguage) is a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the late 18th century as both a literary language and a compromise between Ancient Greek and the contempor ...
: , ''Marathṓn'') is a town in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
and the site of the
Battle of Marathon
The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. The battle was the culmination o ...
in 490 BCE, in which the heavily outnumbered
Athenian
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
army defeated the
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ns. Legend has it that
Pheidippides
Pheidippides ( grc-gre, Φειδιππίδης, , ; "Son of Pheídippos") 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 ...
, a Greek
herald at the battle, was sent running from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory, which is how the
marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
running race was conceived in modern times. Today it is part of East Attica regional unit, in the outskirts of Athens and a popular resort town and center of agriculture.
History
![Oinoi Frankish Tower - Near Marathon, May 2014 - panoramio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Oinoi_Frankish_Tower_-_Near_Marathon%2C_May_2014_-_panoramio.jpg)
The name "Marathon" () comes from the
herb
In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...
fennel
Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...
, called ''marathon'' () or ''marathos'' () in Ancient Greek,
[.] so ''Marathon'' literally means "a place full of fennel".
[.]
It is believed that the town was originally named so because of an abundance of fennel plants in the area.
In ancient times, Marathon ( grc, Μαραθών) occupied a small plain in the northeast of
ancient Attica, which contained four places, Marathon,
Probalinthus,
Tricorythus, and
Oenoe, which originally formed the
Tetrapolis, one of the 12 districts into which Attica was divided before the time of
Theseus
Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages.
Theseus is sometimes describ ...
. Here
Xuthus, who married the daughter of
Erechtheus, is said to have reigned; and here the
Heracleidae
The Heracleidae (; grc, Ἡρακλεῖδαι) or Heraclids were the numerous descendants of Heracles (Hercules), especially applied in a narrower sense to the descendants of Hyllus, the eldest of his four sons by Deianira (Hyllus was also ...
took refuge when driven out of
Peloponnesus
The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge wh ...
, and defeated
Eurystheus
In Greek mythology, Eurystheus (; grc-gre, Εὐρυσθεύς, , broad strength, ) was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid, although other authors including Homer and Euripides cast him as ruler of Argos.
Fami ...
. The Marathonii claimed to be the first people in Greece who paid divine honours to
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...
, who possessed a sanctuary in the plain. Marathon is also celebrated in the legends of Theseus, who conquered the ferocious bull, which used to devastate the plain. Marathon is mentioned in
Homer's ''
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Iliad'', ...
'' in a way that implies that it was then a place of importance. In mythology, its name was derived from an eponymous hero
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
, who is described by Pausanias as a son of
Epopeus
In Greek mythology, Epopeus (; , derived from (, "to look out", "observe"), from (, "over") and (, "eye")) was the name of the following figures:
* Epopeus, king of Sicyon.
* Epopeus, king of Lesbos and both father and rapist of Nyctimene.
* Ep ...
, king of
Sicyon
Sicyon (; el, Σικυών; ''gen''.: Σικυῶνος) or Sikyon was an ancient Greek city state situated in the northern Peloponnesus between Corinth and Achaea on the territory of the present-day regional unit of Corinthia. An ancient mon ...
, who fled into Attica in consequence of the cruelty of his father
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...
calls him an
Arcadian, who accompanied the
Dioscuri
Castor; grc, Κάστωρ, Kástōr, beaver. and Pollux. (or Polydeukes). are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri.; grc, Διόσκουροι, Dióskouroi, sons of Zeus, links=no, from ''Dîos'' ( ...
in their expedition into Attica, and voluntarily devoted himself to death before the battle.
After Theseus united the 12 independent districts of Attica into one state, the name of Tetrapolis gradually fell into disuse; and the four places of which it consisted became Attic demi, Marathon, Tricorythus, and Oenoë belonging to the tribe
Aeantis, and Probalinthus to the tribe
Pandionis; but Marathon was so superior to the other three, that its name was applied to the whole district down to the latest times. Hence
Lucian
Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridiculed supersti ...
speaks of "the parts of Marathon about Oenoë".
Few places have obtained such celebrity in the history of the world as Marathon, on account of the victory which the Athenians here gained over the
Persians
The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...
in 490 BCE (
Battle of Marathon
The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. The battle was the culmination o ...
). After
Miltiades
Miltiades (; grc-gre, Μιλτιάδης; c. 550 – 489 BC), also known as Miltiades the Younger, was a Greek Athenian citizen known mostly for his role in the Battle of Marathon, as well as for his downfall afterwards. He was the son of Cimon ...
(the general of the Greek forces) defeated
Darius' Persian forces, the Persians decided to sail from Marathon to Athens in order to sack the unprotected city. Miltiades ordered all his
hoplite
Hoplites ( ) ( grc, ὁπλίτης : hoplítēs) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The ...
forces to march "double time" back to Athens, so that by the time Darius' troops arrived they saw the same Greek force waiting for them.
Although the name Marathon had a positive resonance in Europe in the nineteenth century, for some time that was sullied by the
Dilessi murders
The Dilessi murders were committed between 4 and 7 April 1870, when one Italians, Italian and three English people, English aristocracy, aristocrats were murdered at Dilesi ( gr, Δήλεσι), a coastal town in eastern Boeotia, by Greeks, Greek b ...
, which happened nearby in 1870.
In the 19th century and beginning of twentieth century the village was inhabited by an
Arvanite population.
![Marathon-See - Staumauer 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Marathon-See_-_Staumauer_2011.jpg)
The
sophist
A sophist ( el, σοφιστής, sophistes) was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics, and mathematics. They taught ' ...
and magnate
Herodes Atticus
Herodes Atticus ( grc-gre, Ἡρώδης; AD 101–177) was an Athenian rhetorician, as well as a Roman senator. A great philanthropic magnate, he and his wife Appia Annia Regilla, for whose murder he was potentially responsible, commission ...
was born in Marathon. In 1926, the American company ULEN began construction on the
Marathon Dam
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
in a valley above Marathon, in order to ensure water supply for
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
. It was completed in 1929. About 10 km² of forested land were flooded to form
Lake Marathon
Lake Marathon or the Marathon Reservoir (Greek: ''Λίμνη Μαραθώνος'' 'Limni Marathónos''or ''Λίμνη Μαραθώνα'' 'Limni Marathóna'' is a water supply reservoir formed from the construction of Marathon Dam at the junctio ...
.
The beach of Schinias is located southeast of the town. The beach is a popular as a spot for
windsurfing
Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...
spot and the
Olympic Rowing Center used for the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
is also located there. At the
1896 and
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
, Marathon was the starting point of the
marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
races (for both women and men in 2004).
[Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Track & Field (Men): Marathon". In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition''. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 133.] The area is susceptible to
flash flooding
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing ov ...
, because of forest fires having denuded parts of the eastern slopes of Mount
Penteli
Penteli ( el, Πεντέλη) is a village and a municipality in the North Athens regional unit, Attica, Greece. It belongs to the Athens rural area. It takes its name from Mount Pentelicus.
Municipality
The municipality Penteli was formed at t ...
especially in 2006.
Municipality
The municipality Marathon was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units:
*
Grammatiko
Grammatiko ( el, Γραμματικό) is a village in East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Marathon, of which it is a municipal unit. It is part of Athens metropolitan area.
Geography
Gramma ...
*Marathon
*
Nea Makri
Nea Makri ( el, Νέα Μάκρη) is a town in East Attica, Greece. Since the local government reform of 2011, it has been a municipal unit within the municipality of Marathon. The municipal unit has an area of 36.662 km2. It is part of th ...
*
Varnavas
Varnavas ( el, Βαρνάβας "Barnabas") is a town in East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Marathon, of which it is a municipal unit. It is part of Athens metropolitan area.
Geography
Var ...
The municipality has an area of 222.747 km
2, the municipal unit 97.062 km
2.
Population
The other settlements in the municipal unit are Agios Panteleimonas (pop. 1,591), Kato Souli (2,142), Vranas (1,082), Avra (191), Vothon (177), Ano Souli (232), and Schinias (264).
Points of interest
![Marathon, the mound of the Plataeans](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Marathon%2C_the_mound_of_the_Plataeans.jpg)
* The ''Soros'', a
tumulus
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...
(Greek '' Τύμβος, tymbos'', tomb), or burial mound, erected to the 192 Athenian fallen at the Battle of Marathon, is a feature of the coastal plain, now marked by a marble memorial
stele
A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
and surrounded by a small park.
[Aerial photograph in John Boardman, Jasper Griffin and Oswyn Murray, ''Greece and the Hellenistic World'' (Oxford History of the Classical World) 1988, vol. I p. 34.]
*
Kato Souli Naval Transmission Facility Kato Souli Naval Transmission Facility ( el, Κέντρο Εκπομπής Κάτω Σουλίου) is a facility used by the Greek Navy for transmitting messages to submarines
in the LF-range at Kato Souli near Marathon, Greece
Marathon (Demot ...
with its tall radio mast, the tallest structure in Greece.
Sister cities
*
Hopkinton, Massachusetts
Hopkinton is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, west of Boston. The town is best known as the starting point of the Boston Marathon, held annually on Patriots' Day each April, and as the headquarters for the Dell EMC corp ...
, United States
*
Xiamen
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
, China
See also
*
List of municipalities of Attica
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
List of settlements in Attica
This is a list of settlements in the region of Attica, Greece.
Mainland Attica
* Acharnes
* Afidnes
* Agia Paraskevi
* Agia Varvara
* Agioi Anargyroi
* Agios Dimitrios
* Agios Ioannis Rentis
* Agios Konstantinos
* Agios Stefanos
* Aigaleo
* Al ...
*
Dimitrion Yordanidis, oldest man to have run the marathon, at age 98
Notes and references
;Notes
;References
Attribution
Bibliography
*
External links
Official web sitewww.e-marathon.gr (in Greek)
{{Authority control
Venues of the 1896 Summer Olympics
Venues of the 2004 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletics venues
Olympic cycling venues
Cities in ancient Attica
Populated places in East Attica
Battle of Marathon
Demoi
Ancient Greek cities
Populated places in ancient Attica
Locations in Greek mythology
Arvanite settlements