Marathon to Athens - Soros

As I ambled along Marathonomáchon road, which translates as Marathon battle, I imagined the event that took place here 2,500 years ago. At the junction I turned right to reach the carpark for the Marathon Archaeological Site and to the left of its entrance was a bronze statue of Miltiades, the Greek commander who brought victory at the Battle of Marathon. On the grounds of the archaeological site was the tumulus (burial mound) of the Marathon warriors, also known as ‘Soros’, who died on the battlefield. 

Let’s roll back the time to 490BC and imagine the Persian fleet of 600 warships advancing across the Aegean Sea. Under the leadership of two commanders Datis and Artaphernes (who was the nephew of Darius, King of Persia) the ships sailed into Eritrea and completely decimated it before making their way into the Bay of Marathon and onto its shores. According to modern historians the Persian army consisted of approximately 25,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry far outnumbering the Athenian army of 9,000 and the 1,000 Plataeans who aided them.

The Persians disembarked on the beach of Schinias next to the Great Marsh, whilst the Athenians took up defensive positions across the marsh blocking the exits. The Athenians’ intent was to hold off any advancement from the Persians while they waited for the Spartans to arrive (they arrived after the battle finished). Without their own cavalry the Athenians were at a great risk against the large numbers of Persian cavalry. However, due to reasons unknown the Persian cavalry was absent on the day the Athenians at the behest of their commander, Miltiades attacked. 

Taking up a phalanx formation (a tightly packed rectangular formation), each Athenian was armed with a thrusting spear between 4.9-8.2ft (1.5-2.5m) in length, a wooden shield covered in bronze and a short sword approximately 24in (60cm) long. The commander, Militiades, extended the phalanx formation to the length of the Persian one weakening its centre by reducing its depth but maintaining full strength on the flanks. 

Advancing at a steady pace to close the one mile (1.6km) gap between the two armies, the Athenians accelerated their pace when the Persian’s arrows rained upon them. Charging at full speed into the Persian army the flanks of the Persians crumbled and the archers with no armour or shields had no other means of protecting themselves. With no hand-to-hand combat experience the Persian flanks retreated and escaped back to their ships. 

The centre of the Athenian formation fared less well. Being weaker at the centre they were up against the elite Persian units. Having to cross scrub vegetation their advancement was slowed down, exposing them to Persian archers for much longer than the Athenians in the flanks. The Persians successfully broke through the centre and for a brief period they thought they had won the battle.

However, the Athenians on the flanks abandoned their charge and turned to attack the Persians in the centre. The Persians gave up the fight and before they could be surrounded, they fled back to their ships. The Athenians gave chase and continued attacking on the beach as the Persians attempted to re-embark their ships.

The Athenians captured seven Persian ships and killed approximately 6,400 Persians whilst they sustained a loss of 192 Athenians and 11 Plataeans. 

It was at this point that Pheidippides was deployed to run his marathon to Athens and declare victory at Marathon prior to collapsing from exhaustion and dying. To be fair to the legend himself he did run to Sparta return prior to this and wouldn’t have had much time for recovery.

The tumulus 32ft (10m) high mound was built at the end of the battle where the cremated remains of the 192 fallen Athenians were buried. Black-figure vases were dedicated to the fallen at the tumulus by their families which today are housed in the town’s archaeological museum two miles (3.4km) east of the tumulus. Near the museum is the smaller tumulus of the 11 fallen Plataeans. 

The journey here was a circular route around the tumulus then back on Marathonomáchon to the main road.  Turning left back onto the main road, I continued on a straight and flat section for the next 2mi (3.25km).

Famished, I pulled into a restaurant. Greek cuisine is scrumptious, filled with deep and tantalizing flavours from dips such as tzatziki (yoghurt, cucumber and garlic) and taramasalata (fish roe dip) to moussaka (layered aubergine with mince lamb topped with a bit of bechamel sauce and cheese). However, my all-time favourite is the Spanakopita, made of crispy layers of filo pastry filled with spinach and feta cheese and a nice side salad of chilled green bean salad with tomatoes and dill. I paired it with a glass of retsina, a Greek wine that “derives part of its flavour from exposure to tree resins, most generally pine resin” and is complementary to the strong flavour of feta cheese.

Marathon to Athens - Marathon

 

The town of Marathon is synonymous with the road race referred to as marathon. Each year a Marathon to Athens road race takes place beginning here. Starting in Marathon it follows a southwest route parallel to the coast of Petalioi Gulf with a slight detour around the “Tumulus of the Marathon Warriors” before taking a west and then northwest direction into Athens ending in the Panathenaic Stadium. This is the route that I will be following on this journey completing the full marathon distance of 26.2mi (42.195km).

Marathon is a town in Attica, Greece largely known for its historic victory in 490BC when greatly outnumbered Athenians crushed the Persian army. This is also where the legend of Pheidippides’ run to Athens was also born. The story told is that Pheidippides was a hemerodrome, an Athenian day-courier who would run from location to location to deliver messages. He was sent from Athens to Sparta to request help, having to run a 300mi (480km) round-trip. Upon his return he ran from Athens to Marathon 24.85mi (40km) and came back to announce the victory in Marathon before collapsing from exhaustion and dying.

No one knows with certainty how much of Pheidippides’ story is real or if it was muddled with other events and subsequently interpreted a little differently when the story was transcribed. No matter though, it seemed to be enough of a reason to commemorate Pheidippides with a marathon distance race at the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Since Greece was the birthplace of the Ancient Olympic Games it seemed appropriate that it should be host to the first modern Olympics. 

The original Olympic Games were held in Olympia in Ancient Greece from around 776BC to 393AD. They were held in honour of Zeus, a mythological god in the ancient Greek religion and the ruler of the gods on Mount Olympus. The very first foot race was a 192m sprint called Stadion and it was the only event held at the Olympics for the first 13 games. The foot race expanded to double the length known as Diaulos at the 14th games. The Dolichos (long race) was added in the 15th games that equalled approximately 3mi (4.8km) in length, although it is debated since there are different accounts of the number of laps or lengths required. At most, the race may have been up to 5.6mi (9km) long. 

The route begins outside the Marathon Stadium. Whilst large and barren I could imagine this on race day filled with professional athletes and amateur runners vying for their position at the start line. Runners would be abuzz with excitement and nerves, checking their sport watches for GPS connection, straightening their gear, ensuring their race bib is firmly attached, stretching, warming-up and mentally readying themselves for a gruelling 26mi (42km) race day. 

Starting my journey, the route sloped away from the Start Area for the next 200m and entered the main road. Travelling alongside farmland the road gently ambles itself downhill for the next 2.6mi (4km) where I turn left to make my way towards Soros, the tumulus where the ancient Athenians were buried. 

It may be a bit too soon for a meal but if I find somewhere to pick up some sweets, I’ll be sure to be looking for the delectable and syrupy baklava. It is a super sweet dessert made up of filo pastry, tightly packed ground nuts mixed with butter and sugar that have been soaked in honey syrup. I’m sure to have some sticky fingers and perhaps a little syrup dripping down my hand but for the indulgence it’ll be worth it.