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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.
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 .
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.
A creation of the French philologist Michel Bréal inspired by a story from Ancient Greece, the marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896 in Athens. The distance did not become standardized until 1921. The distance is also included in the World Athletics Championships, which began in 1983. It is the only running road race ...
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).
In Greek mythology, Marathon (Ancient Greek: Μαραθῶνα), also Marathos or Marathus may refer to the same or four distinct characters who gave his name to Marathon, a town in Attica. Marathus, the 14th king of Sicyon [1] who reigned for 20 [2] or 30 [3] years. His predecessor was Marathonius and himself was succeeded by Echyreus ...
The Battle of Marathon was a watershed in the Greco-Persian wars, showing the Greeks that the Persians could be beaten; the eventual Greek triumph in these wars can be seen to have begun at Marathon. The battle also showed the Greeks that they were able to win battles without the Spartans, as Sparta was seen as the major military force in Greece.