Marathon (Demotic Greek: ?????????, Marathónas; Attic/Katharevousa: ???????, Marath?n) is a town in Greece and the site of the battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, in which the heavily outnumbered Athenian army defeated the Persians. Legend has it that Pheidippides, a Greek herald at the battle, was sent running from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory, which is how the marathon running race was conceived in modern times.
Video Marathon, Greece
History
The name "Marathon" (???????) comes from the herb fennel, called marathon (???????) or marathos (???????) in Ancient Greek, so Marathon literally means "a place full of fennels". It is believed that the town was originally named so because of an abundance of fennel plants in the area.
After Miltiades (the general of the Greek forces) defeated Darius' Persian forces, the Persians decided to sail from Marathon to Athens in order to sack the unprotected city. Miltiades ordered all his hoplite forces to march "double time" back to Athens, so that by the time Darius' troops arrived they saw the same Greek force waiting for them.
Although the name Marathon had a positive resonance in Europe in the nineteenth century, for some time that was sullied by the Dilessi murders, which happened nearby in 1870.
In the 19th century and beginning of twentieth century the village was inhabited by Albanian population (Arvanites). Thomas Chase, an English traveller, describes his meeting with 'an old Albanian' in Marathon and also says that they 'accosted some Albanian children playing near a well, but they did not understand modern Greek.' [1] Another English traveller Robert Hichens writes in 1913: 'Some clustering low houses far off under the hills form the Albanian village of Marathon.' [2]
The sophist and magnate Herodes Atticus was born in Marathon. In 1926, the American company ULEN began construction on the Marathon Dam in a valley above Marathon, in order to ensure water supply for Athens. It was completed in 1929. About 10 km² of forested land were flooded to form Lake Marathon.
The beach of Schinias is located southeast of the town and it is a popular windsurfing spot and the Olympic Rowing Center for the 2004 Summer Olympics is also located there. At the 1896 and 2004 Summer Olympics, Marathon was the starting point of the marathon races (for both women and men in 2004). The area is susceptible to flash flooding, because of forest fires having denuded parts of the eastern slopes of Mount Penteli especially in 2006.
Maps Marathon, Greece
Municipality
The municipality Marathon was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units:
- Grammatiko
- Marathon
- Nea Makri
- Varnavas
The municipality has an area of 222.747 km2, the municipal unit 97.062 km2.
Population
The other settlements in the municipal unit are Agios Panteleimonas (pop. 1,591), Kato Souli (2,142), Vranas (1,082), Avra (191), Vothon (177), Ano Souli (232), and Schinias (264).
Points of interest
- The Soros, a tumulus (Greek ??????, tymbos, tomb), or burial mound, erected to the 192 Athenian fallen at the Battle of Marathon, is a feature of the coastal plain, now marked by a marble memorial stele and surrounded by a small park.
- Kato Souli Naval Transmission Facility with its 250-metre (820 ft) tall radio mast, the tallest structure in Greece.
Sister cities
- Xiamen, China
- Hopkinton, Massachusetts, United States
See also
- List of municipalities of Attica
- List of settlements in Attica
- Dimitrion Yordanidis, oldest man to have run the marathon, at age 98
Notes and references
- Notes
- References
External links
- Official web site (in Greek)
- www.e-marathon.gr (in Greek)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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