[War & Business] The Origin of the Marathon

The opening ceremony of the 1st Athens Olympics in 1896 [Image source=International Olympic Committee (IOC) website/www.olympic.org]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The event known as the "flower of the Olympics," the marathon, is said to have originated as a race commemorating the battle that took place on the Marathon Plain during the Persian Wars in 490 BC. It is also known as a tribute to the messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory but died from exhaustion. However, in actual history, this messenger never ran to Athens nor shouted victory before dying.

The messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens is known as Pheidippides. This messenger did not run to Athens to deliver news of victory but ran to Sparta to request reinforcements. After the Battle of Marathon, the army returned safely to Athens. In reality, the soldiers who ran from Marathon to Athens were not just this one messenger but the entire 10,000 soldiers who participated in the battle. They carried military gear weighing over 30 kg and covered the approximately 40 km distance from Marathon to Athens in just three hours, successfully defending Athens.

The reason they had to undertake this death march was that the Persian army attacked simultaneously from two directions. The Persian forces, twice the strength of the Athenian army, split their troops: the land forces engaged the Athenians at Marathon, while the navy sailed south to launch a surprise attack on the main Athenian base. The Athenian army, forced to fight on two fronts, faced a battle akin to a gamble.

From the Athenians' perspective, the Battle of Marathon was a race against time from the start. They had to repel the Persian land forces and destroy the fleet before it set sail. Ultimately, the Athenians succeeded in pushing back the Persian land forces. However, during this time, the Persian fleet had already departed for Athens.

As soon as the battle ended, the Athenian soldiers had to sprint to Athens carrying their full 30 kg gear. By a narrow margin, the Athenians reached the city before the Persian fleet, causing the Persians to abandon their landing operation, securing a hard-fought victory for Athens. Had the Persians landed, the exhausted Athenians would have found victory difficult to guarantee.

Though this victory was considered a stroke of luck and often referred to as a gamble in ancient Western societies, the Battle of Marathon was greatly glorified during the imperialist era of the 19th century. The elevation of Pheidippides as a hero who suddenly announced his homeland’s victory and died, as well as the adoption of the marathon race?a competition that did not exist in the ancient Olympics?as a main event in the modern Olympics, all began with the glorification of Marathon.