Today In History: The Battle of Marathon
September 12th: Today in 490BC the armies of the Athenian City State clashed with the Persian Army in the Battle of Marathon. The battle was a hard one, but the Greeks won the day and famously sent a messenger back to the city to tell of the victory, he ran the whole way, over twenty-five miles, gave his message then fell down and died. This legend is the basis for the modern Marathon races where runners run over twenty-six miles before falling down and dying. This modern tribute to the famous runner Pheidippides (or was it Thersipus of Erchius or Eucles) was extended the extra mile so that the royal family could watch the start of the race from their balcony at the palace, think of them as you run that last grueling mile before you shout “We Are Victorious!” at the finish line.
September 12th, 2006 at 2:34 am
Which royal family added the last mile?
September 12th, 2006 at 11:20 am
I going to blame George I of Greece for the extra mile but reading his bio it looks as though he may have been preoccupied by other things in 1908 and the Olympics that year was held in London so the main suspect must be Edward VII. Think of England as you run that last mile.
September 12th, 2006 at 11:59 am
I don’t know about anyone else, but I certainly wasn’t thinking of England.
September 13th, 2006 at 1:15 pm
Isn’t thinking of England something you’re supposed to do under other circumstances?
And the whole “falling down and dying” thing neatly sums up why I will never, ever run a marathon.
September 13th, 2006 at 4:07 pm
Actually, Phidippides (the runner) was much more impressive than a “mere” marathoner. Records suggest that when Athens was attacked by the Persians, he first ran to Sparta for help (130 miles, 1 1/2 days), got a positive reply (yes we’ll help, but we first have a 10 day ritual to complete) ran back (another 1 1/2 days). The Athenians realized the Persians wouldn’t wait politely for 10+ days, so they attacked with an apparent thin line, let the Persians break through, then flanked them. Phidippides then ran back from Marathon to Athens to tell them the news of victory (”Nike” and “don’t burn everything”). Then he died.
As Jeff Galloway points out, a marathon could have been set at 130×2=260 miles instead.