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To honor the history of Greek running, Greece chose a course that would mimic the route run by Athenian army. The route started at a bridge in the town of Marathon and ended in the Olympic stadium. Another event in the ancient Olympic Games was the pentathlon .
Pheidippides (Ancient Greek: Φειδιππίδης, Ancient Greek pronunciation: [pʰeː.dip.pí.dɛːs], Modern Greek: [fi.ðiˈpi.ðis] lit. ' Son of Pheídippos ') or Philippides (Φιλιππίδης) is the central figure in the story that inspired the marathon race.
The name "Marathon" (Μαραθών) comes from the herb fennel, 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.
Echetlaeus (Ancient Greek: Ἐχετλαῖος) or Echetlus (Ἔχετλος) was an ancient Athenian mythical hero of the Battle of Marathon with the Persians of the Achaemenid Empire. The latter name was also the name of a hero of ancient Thebes.
Tetrapolis (Greek: Τετράπολις) 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).
Edward Norman Gardiner makes the point that physical fitness and athletics is incredibly important in the Ancient Greek world because every male is required to take part in the Greek military. Because of the environment of warfare, physical fitness was essential to men's life. [40] Bronze figure of a running girl. Spartan.
The marathon race and course is inspired by the Ancient Athenian army run from Marathon to Athens after the Battle of Marathon. [3] Taking from the tradition of the Olympic Torch, the race features the Marathon Flame, which is lit at the Tomb of the Battle of Marathon [4] and carried to the stadium in Marathon before the beginning of each race. [5]
Miltiades got his men to quickly march to the western side of Attica overnight and block the two exits from the plain of Marathon, to prevent the Persians moving inland. Datis fled at the sight of the soldiers who had just defeated him the previous evening. [28] One theory for the Greek success in the battle is the lack of Persian cavalry.