One of the greatest events of the Olympic Games that are held every four years in the world, the Marathon gives the Olympics its crowning glory. If the Olympics are held in their place of birth, i.e., Athens, so much the grander! The Athens Marathon constitutes a race where the runners have to run some twenty-six miles. The athlete who is the fastest at running the twenty-six miles without stopping for a single moment is the winner of the Athens Marathon. This final contest of endurance has an interesting history that sheds light as to why this particular competition is held so religiously.
Athens, the capital of Greece and the place of origin of the grand European civilization, was invaded by the Persians some five hundred years before the birth of Christ. To avail of military help, the Athenian officials sent an able bodied runner by the name of Pheidippides to Sparta. Apparently, the Persians had already invaded the region of Marathon in Greece when Pheidippides was summoned to inform the Spartans about the intrusion.
Pheidippides, a strong and brave Athenian, ran for over a couple of hundred kilometers in a span of forty-eight hours. He even sprinted across the twenty-six miles that separated the war zone from Athens to apprise the Athenians about the success of the Greeks in defeating the Persians in the war. Pheidippides breathed his last almost at the very moment he informed the Athenians of their triumph in the conflict against the Persians. The Athens Marathon was subsequently held to commemorate the heroic feat of Pheidippides that lead him to become one of the martyrs of the world whose name was and is inscribed in golden letters in the annals of history.
The Athens Marathon was a running race that was held in Athens in Greece when the Olympics came into being in ancient times prior to the birth of Christ. The winner was awarded a laurel wreath. The Athens Marathon was always the final event in the Olympics of ancient Greece and hence the Marathon races of the modern day are also hosted last among all the Olympic games. A sheer test of stamina, indomitable spirit and will power, the Athens Marathon and the modern Marathon portray the invincible spirit of mankind to proceed always in the positive direction, come what may. The athletes of today are obviously luckier than Pheidippides. For paramedics, doctors, and water suppliers stand at different points right through the course of a modern Athens Marathon to aid those who fail to continue due to fatigue.
One of the chief sports in Athens, the Athens Marathon is a great tribute to the ancient runner Pheidippides who valued duty and patriotism more than his life.
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