jan 1, 490 BC - The Battle of Marathon

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Athens sent their best runner, Pheidippides, to plead for assistance from Sparta. After running the distance of 220 kilometres over rough terrain in only two days, he was distraught to have to make the return run with news that Sparta could not aid them. It was the time of a Spartan celebration of the Greek god Apollo and they were forbidden from engaging in warfare for another ten days. Pheidippides’ desperate journey is the origin of the modern marathon, the name taken from the battlefield of the ancient world.

Now knowing they were alone, the Athenian army marched out of the city to meet the vastly superior Persian army which had landed at the Bay of Marathon. Though initially on the defensive, after five days of a stalemate, the Athenians unexpectedly launched a wild attack on the Persian army and, much to everyone’s surprise, broke the Persian line. The Persians retreated from Greek shores, though it wouldn’t be long before they returned. Despite a Greek victory at the Battle of Marathon, The Persian Wars were far from over.

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