History tells us that Pheidippides ran to Athens with the news of the great victory his people had over the Persians at Marathon. It was 490 BC, and the distance he ran was about 26 miles (or, around 40 kilometers).
After he delivered his message - “Nenikikamen” (which means, “Rejoice we conquer” or, put differently, “We have won”) - Pheidippides died. We might ask ... why was that particular run so difficult for him? Why did it take the life of the great-news bearer? To answer those questions, we have to dig a little deeper. At the end of our investigation, we find-out that the run between Marathon and Athens was not the first for Pheidippides regarding the Battle of Marathon. And it may have happened during the month of August (since recent scholarship has moved the date of the battle from 12 September 490 B.C., or thereabouts, to one month earlier). |