Marathon (Demotic Greek: Μαραθώνας, Marathónas; Attic/Katharevousa: Μαραθών, Marathṓn) is a town in Greece and the site of the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, in which the heavily outnumbered Athenian army defeated the Persians. Legend has it that Pheidippides, a Greek herald at the battle, was sent running from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory, which is how the marathon running race was conceived in modern times.[n 1] Today it is part of East Attica regional unit, in the outskirts of Athens and a popular resort town and center of agriculture.
The name "Marathon" (Μαραθών) comes from the herbfennel, called márathon (μάραθον) or márathos (μάραθος) in Ancient Greek,[3][n 2] so Marathon literally means "a place full of fennel".[5] It is believed that the town was originally named so because of an abundance of fennel plants in the area.
In ancient times, Marathon (Ancient Greek: 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. Here Xuthus, who married the daughter of Erechtheus, is said to have reigned; and here the Heracleidae took refuge when driven out of Peloponnesus, and defeated Eurystheus.[6][7] The Marathonii claimed to be the first people in Greece who paid divine honours to Heracles, who possessed a sanctuary in the plain.[8] Marathon is also celebrated in the legends of Theseus, who conquered the ferocious bull, which used to devastate the plain.[9][10] Marathon is mentioned in Homer'sOdyssey in a way that implies that it was then a place of importance.[11] In mythology, its name was derived from an eponymous hero Marathon, who is described by Pausanias as a son of Epopeus, king of Sicyon, who fled into Attica in consequence of the cruelty of his father[12]Plutarch calls him an Arcadian, who accompanied the Dioscuri in their expedition into Attica, and voluntarily devoted himself to death before the battle.[13]
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 speaks of "the parts of Marathon about Oenoë".[14]
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 in 490BCE (Battle of Marathon). After Miltiades (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 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, which happened nearby in 1870.
In the 19th century and beginning of twentieth century the village was inhabited by an Arvanite population.[15][16]
The sophist and magnate Herodes Atticus was born in Marathon. In 1926, the American company ULEN began construction on the Marathon Dam in a valley above Marathon, in order to ensure water supply for Athens. It was completed in 1929. About 10km2 of forested land were flooded to form Lake Marathon.
The beach of Schinias is located southeast of the town. The beach is popular as a spot for windsurfing and the Olympic Rowing Center used for the 2004 Summer Olympics is also located there. At the 1896 and 2004 Summer Olympics, Marathon was the starting point of the marathon races (for both women and men in 2004).[17][18] The area is susceptible to flash flooding, because of forest fires having denuded parts of the eastern slopes of Mount Penteli 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:[19]
The Soros, a tumulus (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 and surrounded by a small park.[21]
↑ In modern Greek the sports event is called Marathonios Dromos (Μαραθώνιος Δρόμος) or simply Marathonios.
↑ The Greek word for fennel is first attested in MycenaeanLinear B on tablets MY Ge 602, MY Ge 606 + fr., MY Ge 605 + 607 + frr. + 60Sa + 605b - as 𐀔𐀨𐀶𐀺, ma-ra-tu-wo.[4]
↑ Pausanias (1918). "15.3". Description of Greece. Vol.1. Translated by W. H. S. Jones; H. A. Ormerod. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann – via Perseus Digital Library., 1.35.4.
↑ Pausanias (1918). "1.1". Description of Greece. Vol.2. Translated by W. H. S. Jones; H. A. Ormerod. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann – via Perseus Digital Library., 2.6.5, 1.15.3, 1.32.4
↑ Chase, Thomas, Hellas, her monuments and scenery, Sever and Francis, Cambridge, pp. 102–103
↑ Hichens, The Near East, Dalmatia, Greece and Constantiople, Hodder and Stoght, London, 1913, p. 116.
↑ 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.
↑ 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.
Aegeus was one of the kings of Athens in Greek mythology, who gave his name to the Aegean Sea, was the father of Theseus, and founded Athenian institutions.
Erechtheus in Greek mythology was a king of Athens, the founder of the polis and, in his role as god, attached to Poseidon, as "Poseidon Erechtheus". The name Erichthonius is carried by a son of Erechtheus, but Plutarch conflated the two names in the myth of the begetting of Erechtheus.
In Greek mythology, Pandorus may refer to the following personages:
In Greek mythology, Phytalus was a hero and king of Attica who gave Demeter hospitality when she was searching for her daughter, Persephone. Demeter thanked Phytalus for his kindness by giving him a fig-tree. He was revered in Eleusis. His tomb was shown in the deme Lakidai near Cephisus.
Attica, or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and the core city of the metropolitan area, as well as its surrounding suburban cities and towns. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Sea, bordering on Boeotia to the north and Megaris to the west. The southern tip of the peninsula, known as Laurion, was an important mining region.
In Greek mythology, Menestheus was a legendary king of Athens during the Trojan War. He was set up as king by the twins Castor and Pollux when Theseus travelled to the Underworld after abducting their sister, Helen, and exiled Theseus from the city after his return.
In Greek mythology, Pallas was a member of the Athenian royal family.
In Greek mythology, Molpadia may refer to the two different women:
In Greek mythology, Demophon was a veteran of the Trojan War and king of Athens. The son of Theseus and Phaedra, Demophon was raised in exile by a family friend after his father was deposed. He later fought in the Trojan War, being one of those who hid in the Trojan Horse. Following the fall of Troy and the rescue of his grandmother Aethra, Demophon is said to have landed in Thrace on his return journey, where he met and married Phyllis, the daughter of the king. Leaving for Athens, Demophon promised to return, and when he did not, Phyllis committed suicide in despair. Arriving in Athens after a possible stop in Cyprus, Demophon succeeded Menestheus as king of Athens, supposedly in 1183 B.C. As king, he gave refuge and land to the Heracleidae in Athens, fought Diomedes and wrested the Palladium from him, presided over the creation of the court of the Ephetae, and hosted Orestes during his madness. Demophon died in Athens in 1150 B.C. after a reign of 33 years, and was succeeded by his son Oxyntes.
Miltiades, 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 Coalemos, a renowned Olympic chariot-racer, and the father of Cimon, the noted Athenian statesman.
Tetrapolis comprised one of the twelve districts into which Attica was divided before the time of Theseus. The district was on a plain in the northeastern part of Attica and contained four cities: Marathon (Μαραθών), Probalinthus (Προβάλινθος), Tricorythus (Τρικόρυθος), and Oenoe (Οἰνόη). Stephanus of Byzantium claimed Huttēnia (Ὑττηνία) was its name among the Pelasgoi. The name persisted as a reference to the cities, which shared a religious calendar. Following the reforms of Cleisthenes in 508, the cities (demes) of Marathon, Oenoe, and Tricorythus were organised into a single trittys along with the city of Rhamnous, whilst Probalinthus belonged to another trittyes; nonetheless, the former was often still referred to as the Tetrapolis despite not including Probalinthus.
In Greek mythology, Orneus may refer to two different personages:
In Greek mythology, the name Oenoe or Oinoe may refer to:
In Greek mythology, Androgeus or Androgeos was a Cretan prince as the son of King Minos.
Oenoe was one of four demoi of ancient Athens situated in the small plain of Marathon open to the sea between Mount Parnes and Mount Pentelicus, originally formed with the other three demoi, the Attic Tetrapolis, one of the twelve ancient divisions of ancient Attica. Oenoe belonged to the tribe Aeantis, and Lucian speaks of the area as "the parts of Marathon about Oenoe".
Tricorythus or Trikorythos or Tricorynthus or Trikorynthos (Τρικόρυνθος) or Tricorinthus or Trikorinthos (Τρικόρινθος) was a deme of ancient Athens, in the plain of Marathon in northeast Attica. It along with Oenoe, Marathon, and Probalinthus, formed the Attic Tetrapolis, one of the twelve districts into which Attica was divided before the time of Theseus. The plain near Tricorythus was where the right of the Persian army were forced into the marsh during the Battle of Marathon.
In Greek mythology, Pandora was the name of the following women:
Probalinthus or Probalinthos was a deme of ancient Attica, one of the Attic Tetrapolis located in the plain of Marathon. Probalinthus belonged to the phyle Pandionis.
In Greek mythology, Peteus or Peteos or Petes (Πέτην) was a member of the Athenian royal family as the son of Orneus, son of King Erechtheus. In some versions of the myth, Petes was originally an Egyptian, who later obtained Athenian citizenship.
In Greek mythology, Ornea or Ornia was the possible eponymous nymph of Orneae, a town in Argolis. Otherwise, it is attributed to Orneus, the Athenian son of King Erechtheus.
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