The Legend of Marathon

Summary 

This story begins by telling us the meaning of the word marathon, where it originated from, and how the first marathon took place in Greece for the first-ever Olympics.

The story starts with the Persian army landing on the bay near Marathon. They had a huge army and eyes on the city of Athens, where they had fought earlier. The Persian military knew that the Athenian soldiers were brave and would put up a good fight. The only problem Athens had was the number of soldiers they had compared to the Persians, who had significantly fewer. Hence, they had to ask a town nearby for help. Therefore, they sent their messenger, who went by the name of Pheidippides, to the next town, Sparta, about a hundred kilometres away. Then he gave them the message, but the town was busy with ceremonies, so they didn't want to join the battle. So, with a heavy heart but light feet, he ran back a hundred kilometres to go. Then, the Athenian generals heard the news. They were not disheartened at all.

They said they would fight without any help. The Persians watched them like hawks and attacked them by surprise, but the soldiers went around them and started to bring them in. The Persians were in shock. They were not ready for the battle. They were skilled archers, but all the bows hit the Athens soldiers' heavy armour and did not make a difference. The Athens soldiers drove them right back to the bay and made them return to the boat they came from.

The battle was over within hours, but the Persians were not ready to accept defeat, so they devised a plan. They saw that all the soldiers were at bay and only old people, women, and children were in the city. They knew the water route was quicker than the land route if they entered the city by the water route. Without soldiers, it would have been very easy for them to capture that city. Still, the Athens general knew they were up to something, looking at how they left. So he came up with a plan of his own and said that the people in the city needed to know that they won the battle so that they wouldn't open the gates of the city to the Persian army, but who would be faster than the boat and would be able to make it in time. None other than Pheidippides; although he ran 200 km yesterday, he was true to his state, and this time, it was to give good news, so he began to run. He took a tougher, shorter route to make it in time. The route he went by had mountains, cliffs, and so many other things, and he made it. The people in the city opened the gates to him and asked him what had happened, and he told them that he had won. They were overjoyed, and this story has benefited many athletes in Greece.