On 12 September 490 BC (2.511 years ago) one of the most important battles in ancient history was fought, whose fame still echoes in common language. The clash took place on the plain of Movie guide during the first Persian war, who saw the polis of Athens successfully oppose the Asian empire of Darius I.
The clash arose because Athens, together with the polis Eretria, had decided to help the Hellenic colonies of Ionia which had rebelled against the Persians. The empire organized then a punitive military expedition which was initially devastating: Darius' troops subdued the Cyclades islands and reached the island of Eubea by sea, to then destroy Eretria and continue towards Attica, the region of Athens. The Persians landing on a coastal plain near the city of Marathon.
Hearing of the landing, the Athenian forces hurried towards the plain to stop the advance of the Persian army. Despite the clear numerical inferiority, the Athenians managed to surround the enemy, who, seized by panic, fled in a disorderly way towards the ships.
At that point, the Persians tried to reach Athens by sea, but the army of the polis, led by Miltiades, rushed towards the city and also managed to repel the second attack, this time on the coast near Piraeus.
In popular culture, the Battle of Marathon is famous for legend of a certain Pheidippides, who, according to Lucian of Samosata, would have run continuously from Marathon to Athens to announce victory and, once he arrived, would have died of the effort. The story never happened - it is a mixture of several ancient stories - but its narration has continued over the millennia, to the point that, in 1896, the "marathon" running race was introduced in the official program of the first edition of the modern olympic games. Which, needless to say, took place in Athens.
