The Battle of Marathon in 490 BC was a pivotal moment in Greek history where the Athenian army defeated the larger Persian invasion force attempting to punish Greece for supporting a revolt against Persian rule. A legendary story describes a messenger running from the battlefield to Athens to announce the Greek victory who then collapsed and died from exhaustion upon completion of his marathon run of 25 miles. This battle and legend inspired the marathon racing event in the first modern Olympics held in Athens in 1896.

1. The Battle of Marathon

2. Legend of Marathon The legend of marathon is that a messenger was sent from Marathon to Athens To deliver the news of the victory The poor guy had to the entire 25 miles which is 40km He arrived in Athens and announced the good news and died of exhaustion For the organizers of the first modern Olympic Games—held in Athens in 1896—it only made sense to include this insanity as part of the event Olympic Games ever took place in the year 776BC. However, they back to the battle of Marathon.

3. Background The Battle of marathon is one of the histories that most famous military engagements It is also one of the earliest recorded battles In September 490BC, King Darius led his Persian army attack on Greece which resulted in the Battle of marathon Their mission was to destroy the Greek states in retaliation for their support of their Ionian cousins who had revolted against Persian rule The Battle is considered a defining moment in the development of European culture

4. Battle Many other kings from far away eyed Athens as a prize colony to add to their kingdoms When the Athenians heard of this they were extremely scared One city agreed to help and sent their army to Athens, however, they were weaker than others and the Athenians did not think that it would help too much They were particularly hoping that Sparta help them in battle, but they were in the middle of a fetival to pray to Pan (God of nature and wildlife)—Spartans prayed to pan to help the Athenians Pan heard them and promised to send a disease to afflict the Persian army An Athenian general devised a war plan the night before the Persian attack that was original and had never been used before The next morning, a battle began at the Battlefield of Marathon The plan worked well, and the Athenians saw the Persian soldiers were breaking their ranks and nothing could get them back to order When the Persian army had been worried, the disease Pan had promised suddenly attacked This disease still exists today—It is called panic The Persian army was easily defeated