Battle of Marathon (Myth)
conceptThe 490 BC battle where Athenian hoplites defeated Persia, believed by the Greeks to have been won with the aid of Pan, Theseus, and the hero Echetlus.
The Myth
The Battle of Marathon was fought on the plain near the tomb of the hero Marathos, where Heracles had once defeated the Marathonian Bull. When the Persian fleet landed in 490 BC, the Athenians sent the runner Pheidippides to Sparta requesting aid. During his run through Arcadia, Pan appeared to him and asked why Athens did not worship him, promising to fight alongside the Greeks. At Marathon, 10,000 Athenians and 1,000 Plataeans under Miltiades charged the Persian line at a run. Greeks reported seeing the ghost of Theseus in full armour leading the charge. A mysterious figure named Echetlus, wielding a farmer's ploughshare, appeared on the battlefield and cut down Persians before vanishing. After the victory, Athens built the Treasury at Delphi from the spoils and instituted the worship of Pan in a cave on the Acropolis.
Symbols
Fun Fact
The marathon race exists because of this battle's mythology. When the modern Olympics began in Athens in 1896, organiser Michel Bréal invented the marathon race to commemorate Pheidippides' legendary run. The original distance was about 25 miles; it became 26.2 miles at the 1908 London Olympics when the course was extended to start at Windsor Castle and finish before the royal box — a quirk of royal convenience that became a permanent global standard.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
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placeThe marble treasury built by Athens at Delphi from Marathon spoils, the best-preserved building on...
Pan
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Pan (God)
godPan was the goat-legged god of the wild, shepherds, and mountain meadows whose sudden appearance...
Olympic Truce
conceptThe sacred truce declared before and during the ancient Olympic Games, protecting athletes,...
Pheidippides' Run
conceptThe legendary run from Athens to Sparta (or Marathon to Athens) that inspired the modern marathon...
Theseus (Ship)
conceptThe Ship of Theseus is a thought experiment about identity: if you replace every plank of a ship...
Marathon
placeMarathon was the coastal plain northeast of Athens where the Athenians defeated a much larger...
Gymnopaedia
conceptThe Spartan festival of naked youth featuring choral dances and athletic displays honouring Apollo,...
Sacred Band of Thebes
conceptAn elite Theban military unit of 150 male couples who fought alongside their lovers, undefeated for...
Arcadia
placeArcadia was both a real mountainous region in the central Peloponnese and an idealised landscape of...
Athens
placeAthens was the city sacred to Athena, birthplace of democracy, philosophy, drama, and Western...