Marathon: The story of Pheidippides… | etymologist.ai
marathon
/ˈmær.ə.θɒn/·noun·1896 (as a race); the place name is ancient·Established
Origin
From Greek Maratho (fennel field) — the modern foot race was invented for the 1896 Olympics to honor a legendary messenger.
Definition
A long-distance foot race of 42.195 kilometers (26 miles 385 yards); figuratively, any prolonged or difficult task or event.
The Full Story
Ancient Greek (place name)1896 (modern race); 490 BCE (battle)well-attested
From Marathon (Μαραθών), the site of the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, where Athenian and Plataean forces defeated a Persian invasion. Legend holds that a messenger named Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens — about 40 kilometers — to announce the victory, then collapsed and died. The modern marathon race was created for the first modern Olympic Games
Did you know?
The story of Pheidippides running from Marathon to Athens is probably garbled history. Herodotus actually wrote that Pheidippides ran from Athens to Sparta (about 240 km) to request military help before the battle, not from Marathon to Athens afterward. The run-and-die legend was a