View source for Marathon, Greece

{{Short description|Town in Greece}}
{{Other uses|Marathon (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox Greek Dimos
| name = Marathon
| name_local = Μαραθώνας
| type = municipality
| image_map = 2011 Dimos Marathonos.png
| periph = [[Attica (region)|Attica]]
| periphunit = [[East Attica]]
| pop_municipality = 31331
| area_municipality = 222.75
| pop_municunit = 10063
| area_municunit = 97.06
| population_as_of = 2021
| elevation = 33
| coordinates = {{coord|38|9|12|N|23|57|43|E|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code = 190 07
| area_code = 22940
| licence = Z
| image_skyline = The town of Marathon, Greece.jpg
| caption_skyline = The town of Marathon
| city_flag =
| city_seal =
| districts =
| mayor = [[Stergios Tsirkas]]<ref name=mayor>[https://ekloges.ypes.gr/current/d/home/en/municipalities/9220/ Municipality of Marathon, Municipal elections – October 2023] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240508105452/https://ekloges.ypes.gr/current/d/home/en/municipalities/9220/ |date=8 May 2024 }}, Ministry of Interior</ref>
| party =
| since = 2019
| website = [http://www.marathon.gr www.marathon.gr]
}}
{{Special characters}}

'''Marathon''' ([[Demotic Greek]]: Μαραθώνας, ''Marathónas''; [[Ancient Greek|Attic]]/[[Katharevousa]]: {{lang|grc|Μαραθών}}, ''Marathṓn'') is a town in [[Greece]] and the site of the [[Battle of Marathon]] in 490 BCE, in which the heavily outnumbered [[Classical Athens|Athenian]] army defeated the [[Persian Empire|Persia]]ns. Legend has it that [[Pheidippides]], a Greek [[herald]] at the battle, was sent running from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory, which is how the [[marathon]] running race was conceived in modern times.{{refn|group=n|In [[modern Greek]] the sports event is called ''Marathonios Dromos'' ({{lang|el|Μαραθώνιος Δρόμος}}) or simply ''Marathonios''.}} Today it is part of East Attica regional unit, in the outskirts of Athens and a popular resort town and center of agriculture.

==History==
[[File:Oinoi Frankish Tower - Near Marathon, May 2014 - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Ruins of a Frankish tower near Marathon]]

The name "Marathon" ({{lang|el|Μαραθών}}) comes from the herb [[fennel]], called ''márathon'' ({{lang|grc|μάραθον}}) or ''márathos'' ({{lang|grc|μάραθος}}) in Ancient Greek,<ref name="marathon(the plant)LSJreference">{{LSJ|ma/raqon|μάραθον|ref}}.</ref>{{refn|group=n|The Greek word for ''fennel'' is first attested in [[Mycenaean Greek|Mycenaean]] [[Linear B]] on tablets [[Mycenae|MY]] Ge 602, MY Ge 606 + fr., MY Ge 605 + 607 + frr. + 60Sa + 605b - as {{lang|gmy|𐀔𐀨𐀶𐀺}}, ''ma-ra-tu-wo''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.palaeolexicon.com/ShowWord.aspx?Id=16801 |title=The Linear B word ma-ra-tu-wo |publisher=Palaeolexicon. Word study tool of Ancient languages |access-date=19 March 2014 |archive-date=7 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307162420/http://palaeolexicon.com/showword.aspx?id=16801 |url-status=live }} {{cite web |last=Raymoure |first=K.A. |url=http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/ma/ma-ra-tu-wo/ |title=ma-ra-tu-wo |work=Minoan Linear A & Mycenaean Linear B |publisher=Deaditerranean |access-date=19 March 2014 |archive-date=5 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705082730/http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/ma/ma-ra-tu-wo/ |url-status=dead }} {{cite web |title=MY 602 Ge (57) |url=https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/5572 |access-date=19 March 2014 |archive-date=25 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725030452/https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/5572 |url-status=live }} {{cite web |title=MY 606 Ge + fr. (57) |url=https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/5576 |access-date=19 March 2014 |archive-date=29 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629040154/https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/5576 |url-status=live }} {{cite web |title=MY 605 Ge + 607 + fr. [+] 60Sa + fr. [+] 605b + frr. (57) |website=DĀMOS: Database of Mycenaean at Oslo |url=https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/5575 |publisher=[[University of Oslo]] |access-date=19 March 2014 |archive-date=25 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725014908/https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/5575 |url-status=live }}</ref>}} so ''Marathon'' literally means "a place full of fennel".<ref name="Marathon(the place)LSJreference">{{LSJ|*maraqw/n|Μαραθών|shortref}}.</ref> It is believed that the town was originally named so because of an abundance of fennel plants in the area.

In ancient times, Marathon ({{langx|grc|Μαραθών}}) occupied a small plain in the northeast of [[ancient Attica]], which contained four places, Marathon, [[Probalinthus]], [[Tricorythus]], and [[Oenoe (Attica)|Oenoe]], which originally formed the [[Tetrapolis (Attica)|Tetrapolis]], one of the 12 districts into which Attica was divided before the time of [[Theseus]]. Here [[Xuthus]], who married the daughter of [[Erechtheus]], is said to have reigned; and here the [[Heracleidae]] took refuge when driven out of the [[Peloponnese]], and defeated [[Eurystheus]].<ref>{{Cite Strabo|viii. p.383}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Stephanus|''sub voce'' Τετμάπολις.}}</ref> The Marathonii claimed to be the first people in Greece who paid divine honours to [[Heracles]], who possessed a sanctuary in the plain.<ref>{{Cite Pausanias|1|15|3}}, 1.35.4.</ref> Marathon is also celebrated in the legends of Theseus, who conquered the ferocious bull, which used to devastate the plain.<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''Thes.'' 14; {{Cite Strabo|ix. p. 399}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Pausanias|1|27|10}}</ref> Marathon is mentioned in [[Homer|Homer's]] ''[[Odyssey]]'' in a way that implies that it was then a place of importance.<ref>{{Cite Odyssey|7.80}}</ref> In mythology, its name was derived from an eponymous hero [[Marathon (mythology)|Marathon]], who is described by Pausanias as a son of [[Epopeus (king of Sicyon)|Epopeus]], king of [[Sicyon]], who fled into Attica in consequence of the cruelty of his father.<ref>{{Cite Pausanias|2|1|1}}, 2.6.5, 1.15.3, 1.32.4</ref> [[Plutarch]] calls him an [[ancient Arcadia|Arcadian]], who accompanied the [[Dioscuri]] in their expedition into Attica, and voluntarily devoted himself to death before the battle.<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''Thes.'' 32.</ref>

After Theseus united the 12 independent districts of Attica into one state, the name of Tetrapolis gradually fell into disuse; and the four places of which it consisted became Attic demi, Marathon, Tricorythus, and Oenoë belonging to the tribe [[Aeantis]], and Probalinthus to the tribe [[Pandionis]]; but Marathon was so superior to the other three, that its name was applied to the whole district down to the latest times. Hence [[Lucian]] speaks of "the parts of Marathon about Oenoë".<ref>Μαραθῶνος τὰ περὶ τὴν Οἰνόην, ''Icaro-Menip.'' 18.</ref>

Few places have obtained such celebrity in the history of the world as Marathon, on account of the victory which the Athenians here gained over the [[ancient Persia|Persians]] in 490&nbsp;BCE ([[Battle of Marathon]]). After [[Miltiades the Younger|Miltiades]] (the general of the Greek forces) defeated [[Darius I of Persia|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.

Although the name Marathon had a positive resonance in Europe in the nineteenth century, for some time that was sullied by the [[Dilessi murders]], which happened nearby in 1870.

In the 19th century and beginning of twentieth century the village was inhabited by an [[Arvanites|Arvanite]] population.<ref>Chase, Thomas, ''Hellas, her monuments and scenery,'' Sever and Francis, Cambridge, pp. 102–103 [https://archive.org/details/hellashermonumen00chas]</ref><ref>Hichens, ''The Near East, Dalmatia, Greece and Constantiople'', Hodder and Stoght, London, 1913, p. 116. [https://archive.org/details/neareastdalmatia00hichuoft]</ref>

[[File:Plain of Marathon 1.jpg|thumb|Plain of Marathon]]
[[File:Marathon-See - Staumauer 2011.jpg|thumb|View of the [[Lake Marathon]]]]

The [[sophist]] and magnate [[Herodes Atticus]] was born in Marathon. In 1926, the American company ULEN began construction on the [[Marathon Dam]] in a valley above Marathon, in order to ensure water supply for [[Athens]]. It was completed in 1929. About 10&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of forested land were flooded to form [[Lake Marathon]].

[[File:Statue Niké - Marathon (GRA2) - 2022-03-21 - 3.jpg|thumb|right|[[Nike of Marathon|Marathon battle memorial]].]]

The beach of Schinias is located southeast of the town. The beach is popular as a spot for [[windsurfing]] and the [[Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre|Olympic Rowing Center]] used for the [[2004 Summer Olympics]] is also located there. 

At the [[1896 Summer Olympics|1896]] and [[2004 Summer Olympics]], Marathon was the starting point of the [[marathon (sport)|marathon]] races (for both women and men in 2004).<ref name=dw>Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Track & Field (Men): Marathon". In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition''. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 133.</ref><ref>[http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/2004/or2004b.pdf 2004 Summer Olympics official report.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819195306/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/2004/or2004b.pdf |date=19 August 2008 }} Volume 2. p. 242.</ref> Marathon is also the starting point for the annual [[Athens Classic Marathon]].

The area is susceptible to [[flash flooding]], because of forest fires having denuded parts of the eastern slopes of [[Mount Pentelicus]] especially in 2006.

==Municipality==
The municipality of Marathon was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units:<ref name=Kallikratis>{{Cite web |url=http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wGYK2xFpSwMnXdtvSoClrL81-32jgAMSfbnMRVjyfnPUeJInJ48_97uHrMts-zFzeyCiBSQOpYnT00MHhcXFRTsb2fGphpq4MKX2ZkaHobySNnvZCNHXvYVvlf80XevW0Q. |title=ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities |language=el |publisher=[[Government Gazette (Greece)|Government Gazette]] |access-date=10 September 2021 |archive-date=6 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306232154/http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wGYK2xFpSwMnXdtvSoClrL81-32jgAMSfbnMRVjyfnPUeJInJ48_97uHrMts-zFzeyCiBSQOpYnT00MHhcXFRTsb2fGphpq4MKX2ZkaHobySNnvZCNHXvYVvlf80XevW0Q. |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Grammatiko]]
*Marathon
* [[Nea Makri]]
* [[Varnavas]]

The municipality has an area of 222.747&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> and the municipal unit 97.062&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.<ref name=stat01>{{cite web |url=http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf |publisher=National Statistical Service of Greece |title=Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation) |language=el |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921212047/http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2015}}</ref>

==Population==

{| class=wikitable
! Year !! Town !! Municipal unit !! Municipality 
|-
| 1981 || 4,841 || - || -
|-
| 1991 || 5,453 || 12,979 || - 
|-
| 2001 || 4,399 || 8,882 || - 
|-
| 2011 || 7,170 || 12,849 || 33,423
|-
| 2021 || 5,260 || 10,063 || 31,331
|}
The other settlements in the municipal unit are Agios Panteleimonas, Kato Souli, Vranas, Avra, Vothon, Ano Souli, and Schinias.

== Points of interest ==
[[File:Marathon, the mound of the Plataeans.jpg|thumb|The ''Soros'', a burial mound ([[Marathon tumuli]]) to the fallen of the [[Battle of Marathon]]]]
* The ''Soros'', a [[tumulus]] (Greek '' Τύμβος, tymbos'', tomb), or burial mound, erected to the 192 Athenian fallen at the Battle of Marathon, is a feature of the coastal plain, now marked by a marble memorial [[stele]] and surrounded by a small park.<ref>Aerial photograph in John Boardman, Jasper Griffin and Oswyn Murray, ''Greece and the Hellenistic World'' (Oxford History of the Classical World) 1988, vol. I p. 34.</ref>
* [[Kato Souli Naval Transmission Facility]] with its {{convert|250|m|adj=on}} tall radio mast, the tallest structure in Greece.

==Sister cities==
* {{flagicon|USA}} [[Hopkinton, Massachusetts]], United States
* {{flagicon|China}} [[Xiamen]], China

==See also==
* [[List of municipalities of Attica]]
* [[List of settlements in Attica]]
* [[Dimitrion Yordanidis]], oldest man to have run the marathon, at age 98

==Notes and references==
;Notes
{{reflist|group=n}}
;References
{{Reflist}}

==Attribution==
{{DGRG|title=Marathon}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite journal |last1=Δεκουλάκου |first1=Ιφιγένεια |title=Ανασκαφή στο ιερό των Αιγυπτίων θεών στον Μαραθώνα |journal=Πρακτικά Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας |date=2021 |volume=176 |pages=19–32}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Marathonas}}

* [http://www.marathon.gr Official web site] {{in lang|el}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100210135037/http://www.e-marathon.gr/ www.e-marathon.gr (in Greek)]

{{Geographic location
|Centre    = Marathon
|North     = [[Grammatiko]]
|Northeast = 
|East      = ''[[Petalioi Gulf]]''
|Southeast = 
|South     = [[Nea Makri]]
|Southwest = [[Stamata]] 
|West      = [[Kapandriti]], [[Afidnes]]
|Northwest = [[Varnavas]]
}}

{{Kallikratis-Attica}}
{{Marathon div}}
{{1896 Summer Olympic venues}}
{{2004 Summer Olympic venues}}
{{Olympic venues athletics}}
{{Olympic venues cycling}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Marathon, Greece| ]]
[[Category:Venues of the 1896 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Venues of the 2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic athletics venues]]
[[Category:Olympic cycling venues]]
[[Category:Cities in ancient Attica]]
[[Category:Populated places in East Attica]]
[[Category:Battle of Marathon]]
[[Category:Demoi]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek cities]]
[[Category:Populated places in ancient Attica]]
[[Category:Places in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Arvanite settlements]]