HISTORY :- On whose memory the marathon race is kept?

Question

He was a great man who used to run miles to send messages.
I remember his name.His last message was for his country battling in greece.He than ran miles from rough mountains to send the message for his king tht they have won the battle.After reaching Kings lobby he handed the message to the king and died instantly .Indeed he was a great man.

Answer 1

In 490 B.C. and army from Persia landed on the plain of Marathon, about twenty-five miles from Athens, with the intention of capturing and enslaving that city. The Athenians prepared for a battle that would determine the course of history for centuries to come. A victory for the powerful Persian Empire could destroy the independence of the Greek city-states and effectively end Greek civilization and culture.

While the massive Persian army landed, the Athenians sent a messenger named Philippides (his name was corrupted in later texts to Pheidippides) to Sparta to enlist the aid of the Spartans in the upcoming battle. He covered the distance of about 150 miles in less than two days, a remarkable accomplishment by any standard.

Back at Marathon, however, the decision was made not to wait for the Spartans. The Athenian army fell upon the vastly larger Persian forces while they were still preparing for battle. Against great odds, the Greeks prevailed. Though historians writing close to the time of the battle make no mention of the event, writers some 600 years later claim that a runner was dispatched to Athens to carry the news of the great victory. According to legend he reached the city, said, "Rejoice, we conquer," and fell to the ground dead. Though one source gives the runner's name as Philippides, it is highly unlikely that he would have made such a run after having just run to Sparta. If he had, contemporary historians would surely have noted it.

Whether any messenger at all was sent to Athens with the news of victory is a matter of some doubt, but certainly Philippides was not the messenger. Still, in the centuries that followed, the legend of Pheidippides (as he began to be called) and the legend of a runner who died to bring news of victory to the Athenians merged, and many later writers gave the name Pheidippides to the ill-fated runner. In the nineteenth century Robert Browning wrote in his Dramatic Idylls of Pheidippides' dash to Athens, his announcement of victory, and his death. Though Pheidippides was certainly not the runner who carried the news of Greek victory to Athens, and though it seems unlikely that any professional foot courier of ancient Greece would have perished after such a run, the legend took hold, and out of that legend grew the modern marathon race.

But you'll still find many sited that give Pheidippides as the name of the runner (though many of them put the word "alleged" before his name.)

Although it has roots in Greek legend, the marathon is one of the most modern of races. The legend grew up around a famous battle that took place in 490 B.C., when Athenian troops defeated a large Persian invasion force on the plain of Marathon, about 25 miles from Athens. According to Herodotus, the Athenians
sent a military courier named Phidippides (or Pheidippides or Philippides) to request help from Sparta. He covered the distance, about 150 miles, in less than two days.
About 600 years later, the legend arose that Phidippides had been sent to Athens to bring news of the victory at Marathon. After reaching the city, he said, "Rejoice, we conquer," and then died of the exertion--or so the story went. The legend is almost certainly untrue, but it was generally believed in the late 19th century. One believer was French historian and linguist Mich ele Breal.

Legend or fact - you decide.

Answer 2

The first marathon is thought to have been run by Pheidippides, a professional runner from Athens who was sent to Sparta (about 26 miles away) for help in a battle against the Persians.

Answer 3

There was no king. And it was not for Greece as a whole. Athens at that point was a democracy. Philipides

And johnslat. I don't know where you got you information but there is equally no evidence the it was "certainly not Philipides" that ran back to Athens. Perhaps it was and perhaps it was not, but such historians as you have just quoted do much to pervert history based on opinion.

Answer 4

its was the ancient battle of Marathon between Athens and Persia a messenger was sent to the Spartan king (50 miles away) to ask him to fight he said "we r in a spiritual celebration" the messenger ran back to Marathon fought in the battle and after Athens won the messenger was sent to Sparta when he running the Spartan streets he was recorded shouting "NIKE" over and over which was the Greek Goddess of victory

Answer 5

Pheidippides was his name he died after runnung from Marathon to Anthens to deliver a message that said 'victory'

Answer 6

It was the battle of Marathon and what you're question?

Answer 7

cool