Could you run 140 miles, then go back over the same route for another 140 miles and after all that, just do a short run of 26 miles, and live?
It is from this magnificent feat that the Marathon at the Olympics is based, fortunately in the Olympics they only do the last bit, the 26 miles!
It all started back in the Persian wars in 490BC, it was a time when the Persian Empire decided to expand into Europe. To achieve this they landed a large army on the plains of Marathon, just outside of Athens.
Now, as the Athens army saw they were vastly outnumbered, they realised that they urgently needed the help of Sparta. They were desperate, time was short, so the Athenian generals sent a professional runner, Philippides, to Sparta to ask for help.
He ran 140 miles across mountains and through rugged countryside. It took him just about 36 hours. The Spartans agreed to send help, but not until the full moon, it was a religious thing, but it left the Athenians alone.
Philippides immediately ran the140 miles back to tell the generals. The generals immediately marched onto the plains of Marathon, engaged the Persians, and beat them! However, the defeated Persians then retreated toward Athens. Opps, wrong way! The generals were desperate, they needed to get news of their victory to Athens, to warn the city of the approaching Persians.
Yes, you guessed it, they then told Philippides to run just 26 miles to Athens, immediately.
Legend has it that he ran 26miles in less than three hours, delivered his message and then, not surprisingly dropped dead of exhaustion. Are you surprised?
That is why we now have the Marathon at the Olympics, in his memory, and more importantly they decided only to use his last run the 26 miles, would anyone have attempt two 140 mile runs before the 26 miles I assume that is why we only have the short one.
We have a musical Athens – The Birth of Democracy which explains the birth of Democracy that the generals and Philippides were trying to retain.
Go to https://educationalmusicals.co.uk/?product=athens-the-birth-of-democracy this will take you straight to the show where you can read two pages of script and hear two of the songs.
Isn’t history fun!
10 questions for to ask:
- What were the circumstances that led to Philippides being tasked with the monumental feat of running such a distance?
- How did Philippides’ journey from Athens to Sparta, covering 140 miles, impact the outcome of the battle of Marathon?
- What religious significance delayed the Spartans’ assistance despite Philippides’ urgent plea?
- How did Philippides manage to complete the round trip of 280 miles within the tight timeframe?
- What strategic significance did Philippides’ role play in the Athenian victory over the Persians at Marathon?
- What factors contributed to Philippides’ ability to cover such vast distances on foot in ancient times?
- How did the Athenian generals react to Philippides’ return with the news of the Spartan delay?
- What were the implications of the Persian retreat toward Athens for the Athenian generals and their need to communicate with the city?
- How did Philippides’ final run of 26 miles from Marathon to Athens become the basis for the modern marathon race?
- What does the legend of Philippides’ ultimate demise after delivering the message symbolize about the human capacity for endurance and sacrifice?
For more information try these sites:
https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a20836761/the-real-pheidippides-story/
https://www.greekboston.com/culture/ancient-history/pheidippides/
https://greekreporter.com/2022/09/03/pheidippides-marathon-300-miles/
© Tony Dalton