The Athens Spartathlon is a pes race that is held in the month of September in Athens, Greece on an annual basis. The Athens Spartathlon is hailed to be one of the toughest competitions of the world. Just like the Olympics and the Marathon, the Athens Spartathlon also boasts of some interesting facts that shed light about its advent.
The Athens Spartathlon owes its existence to the war that took place in Marathon. Herodotus, the father of history, has delineated many incidents regarding the war of Marathon. Herodotus, in his documentation, explains the several episodes that were enacted during the war and the role that the great Pheidippides played for which he is remembered today by the event of the Marathon that is held when the Olympics draw to a close. Herodotus clearly elucidates the fact that Pheidippides was ordered by his warrior commanders to sprint to Sparta as swiftly as he could to inform the Spartans about the Persian invasion of Athens and to procure forces to combat the intruders.
In the historical records of Herodotus, it is said that Pheidippides reached Sparta the day after he started out from Athens. The valiant Pheidippides not only ran to Sparta for help in the form of extra soldiers but also ran back to Athens to inform the Athenians about the news that the Greeks were successful at warding off their invaders. The Athens Spartathlon of the modern day is executed in honor of the courageous Pheidippides who ran continuously for over a hundred miles to save his city-state and nation from the foreigners who were attempting to conquer portions of Greece.
The competitors in the Athens Spartathlon pay sincere tribute to this ancient martyr by participating in the running contest. The route that the sprinters take starts from the zone of the Acropolis. The Athens Spartathlon commences on the final Friday of September. The event starts at this particular point of time because in the historical records penned by Herodotus, Pheidippides commenced his ‘last journey’ exactly at this time over two millennia ago. The Athens Spartathlon is hailed as one of the important sports in Athens.
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