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invasion of Greece, under king Darius I. The huge
Persian fleet landed a large force at Marathon, a
location at the northeast of the city of Athens. The
Persians were confronted by ten thousand
Athenians and almost a thousand Plataeans.
Following a fierce battle, the Athenian troops and
their allies emerged as winners of a military con-
flict that is justifiably considered to be one of the
milestones of, at least, European history. The
next two hundred years saw the emergence of
the golden age of Greek Civilization (the Classical
Period), which was one of the main pillars of
Western societies, establishing principles that
lasted through the ages.
Apart from its indisputable historic importance, the
Battle of Marathon is also famous for being the inspi-
ration for the establishment of the Marathon Run –
in memory of the Athenian soldier Pheidippides
who, immediately after the battle, ran the 42 km dis-
tance fromMarathon toAthens in order to announce
the Persian defeat to his fellow citizens. According to
the legend, he did not rest at all along the way, and
after shouting “Nenikēkamen!” (We were victori-
ous!), he passed away.
Anyway, the modern Athens Classic Marathon
may be considered to be the child of a union
between ancient and recent Greek history, since
its re-establishment as a standalone popular
sports event dates back in 1983, under the name
“International Peace Marathon 'Grigoris
Lambrakis'”. Grigoris Lambrakis, assistant profes-
sor of Medicine at the University of Athens, was
born in 1913 and was a gifted athlete, holder of
the Greek and Balkan records for long jump for
many years. Being an avid supporter of the
Peace Movement, among other things he organ-
Trade with Greece
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