Marathon, Greece 4.49

Marathon is a town in Greece, the site of the battle of Marathon in 490 BC, in which the heavily outnumbered Athenian army defeated the Persians. The tumulus or burial mound (Greek Τύμβος, tymbos, tomb) of the 192 Athenian dead, also called the "Soros", which was erected near the battlefield, remains a feature of the coastal plain. The Tymbos is now marked by a marble memorial stele and surrounded by a small park.HistoryThe name "Marathon" comes from the herb fennel, called marathon or marathos in Ancient Greek, so Marathon literally means "a place full of fennels". It is believed that the town was originally named so because of an abundance of fennel plants in the area.After Miltiades defeated Darius' Persian forces, the Persians decided to sail from Marathon to Athens in order to sack the unprotected city. Miltiades ordered all his hoplite forces to march "double time" back to Athens, so that by the time Darius' troops arrived they saw the same Greek force waiting for them.The name of the athletic long-distance endurance race, the "marathon", comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek soldier and runner who was sent from Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon.