The First Marathon

“Marathon” was not originally a race: it was a coastal plain north of Athens. It was anonymous until the Persian king sent an army to punish some Greeks, including the Athenians, for supporting rebellion within his empire. While this army was but a portion of the power available to the Great King, it seemed to the Greeks a mighty fleet of barbarians.

The Persians gave notice of their arrival by sacking another city which had supported rebellion. When news reached Athens that the Persians were approaching, they sent their star runner, Phidippides, to Sparta to beg for assistance. While crossing the mountains, Phidippides is said to have encountered the god Pan, who reproached the Athenians for not offering him due worship: he had so often been useful to them and may yet be of use.

Two days after leaving Athens, the runner reached Sparta. While they were the greatest military power in Greece at that time, the Spartans were exceedingly superstitious and told Phidippides that they could not march straightaway as they were in the middle of an important religious festival. Perhaps they were also reluctant to get in the way of the Persian quarrel with Athens?

Greek and Persian warriors, Attic red figure kylix, 5th century BC
(National Archaeological Museum, Athens(

The runner raced this news back to Athens who, with only one small ally, sent warriors to meet the Persians at Marathon, where the invaders had beached their ships. Amazingly, the Athenians—a small people on the fringes of the greatest empire at that time—defeated the Persians, who took to their ships. Many Athenians attributed the rout to Pan, who they believed spread panic throughout their enemies.

To bring news of the victory back to Athens, Phidippides raced the 42 km (26 miles) back to the city. However, having gasped out the good news, the exhausted runner fell dead. The modern marathon, named after the battle and in honour of Phidippides, covers the exact distance he ran.

Cosmas Tsolakos, "The Marathon Runner", 1997.
(Marathon Road, Rafina, Greece)