The Battle of the Marathons

The Battle of the Marathons

What is Marathon?

What is Marathon?

a long-distance running race, strictly one of 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 km).

Where did it come from?

The idea for the modern marathon was inspired by the legend of an ancient Greek messenger who raced from the site of Marathon to Athens, a distance of about 40 kilometers, or nearly 25 miles, with the news of an important Greek victory over an invading army of Persians in 490 B.C. After making his announcement he collapse and died.

Watch the video to understand more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvBoCATqriM

Battle of the Marathons

•In 490 BC, Athenians fought a big exiting battle against the Persians.

•The Persians had a big empire to the East of Greece.

•In 490Bc, 600 Persian ships landed at the harbor of marathon near Athens.

•The Athenians raised an army of about 10,000 men.

•The Athenian king Militiades sent a Greek hoplite called Pheidippides to Sparta to ask for help.

The battle of the marathons

•Spartans refused to help because they were in a religious festival. By the time Pheidippides returned to Marathon, he had ran over 100 miles.

•Athenians won the battle due to military tactics and strength of hoplites.

•Pheidippides ran to Athens to tell them that the Persians were defeated. After announcing the victory, he collapsed and died.

Marathon Today

•Pheidippides ran over twenty six miles to get from Marathon to Athens.

•This is where our modern day marathon comes from.

•A marathon race is exactly 26 miles and 385 yards long.

•The marathon race is run at the Olympics every four years.

•Marathons are also run annually in many cities around the world like London, Berlin, Chicago and Boston..

Multiple Choice

When was the battle of Marathon?

• 2017

• 490 BC

• 690 BC

• 490 AD

Multiple Choice

The Battle of Marathon is how we got the term for the modern day marathon race.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Who won the battle and why?

• Athens, mainly because of their tight knit formation that involved soldiers locking shields together to protect themselves from the Persians arrows.

• Persia, mainly because of their tight knit formation that involved soldiers locking shields together to protect themselves from the Persians arrows.

• Athens, mainly because of the size of their troops. Their large numbers made it easy to overthrow Perisian troops.

• Persia, mainly because of the size of their troops. Their large numbers made it easy to overthrow Athens troops.

Multiple Choice

Please select the correct answer.

Spartans:

• helped the Persians.

• helped the Athenians.

• Did nothing.

Multiple Choice

Who was the war between?

• Athenians and Americans

• Athenians and Spartans

• Spartans and Italians

• Athenians and Persians