40:
542:
418:
476:, a century later, credits one "Philippides". It seems likely that in the 500 years between Herodotus's time and Plutarch's, the story of Pheidippides had become muddled with that of the Battle of Marathon (in particular with the story of the Athenian forces making the march from Marathon to Athens in order to intercept the Persian ships headed there), and some fanciful writer had invented the story of the run from Marathon to Athens.
523:
279:... Philippides, the one who acted as messenger, is said to have used it first in our sense when he brought the news of victory from Marathon and addressed the magistrates in session when they were anxious how the battle had ended; "Joy to you, we've won" he said, and there and then he died, breathing his last breath with the words "Joy to you". — Lucian (translation by K. Kilburn)
389:. Pan, he said, called him by name and told him to ask the Athenians why they paid him no attention, in spite of his friendliness towards them and the fact that he had often been useful to them in the past, and would be so again in the future. The Athenians believed Pheidippides's story, and when their affairs were once more in a prosperous state, they built a shrine to Pan under the
306:(composed about 440 BC). However, Magill and Moose (2003) suggest that the story is likely a "romantic invention". They point out that Lucian is the only classical source with all the elements of the story known in modern culture as the "Marathon story of Pheidippides": a messenger running from the fields of Marathon to announce victory, then dying on completion of his mission.
156:
480:
456:
Miller also asserts that
Herodotus did not ever, in fact, mention a Marathon-to-Athens runner in any of his writings. Whether the story is true or not, it has no connection with the Battle of Marathon itself, and Herodotus's silence on the evidently dramatic incident of a herald running from Marathon
396:
On the occasion of which I speak – when
Pheidippides, that is, was sent on his mission by the Athenian commanders and said that he saw Pan – he reached Sparta the day after he left Athens and delivered his message to the Spartan government. "Men of Sparta" (the message ran), "the Athenians ask you to
401:
has been enslaved, and Greece is the weaker by the loss of one fine city." The
Spartans, though moved by the appeal, and willing to send help to Athens, were unable to send it promptly because they did not wish to break their law. It was the ninth day of the month, and they said they could not take
498:
Based on
Herodotus's account, British RAF Wing Commander John Foden and four other RAF officers travelled to Greece in 1982 on an official expedition to test whether it was possible to cover the nearly 250 kilometres (155 miles) in a day and a half (36 hours). Three runners were
440:
returned the favor by fighting with the
Athenian troops and against the Persians at Marathon. This was important because Pan, in addition to his other powers, had the capacity to instill an irrational, blind fear that paralyzed the mind and suspended all sense of judgment –
453:, writing about 30 to 40 years after the events he describes, did, according to Miller (2006) in fact base his version of the battle on eyewitness accounts, so it seems altogether likely that Pheidippides was an actual historical figure according to most historians.
212:(423 BC). Many historians argue that Aristophanes willfully distorted the real name so as not to use the name of the hero of Marathon in his play, or as a play on words meaning “save horses”. However, given that the name Pheidippo is attested in the
362:
to invent a running race of approximately 40 km (25 miles) called the marathon. In 1921, the length of marathons became standardized at 42.195 km (26 miles, 385 yards).
377:. The messenger was an Athenian named Pheidippides, a professional long-distance runner. According to the account he gave the Athenians on his return, Pheidippides met the
288:
seated, in suspense regarding the issue of the battle. "Joy, we win!" he said, and died upon his message, breathing his last in the word "joy" ... — Lucian
240:. He ran about 240 km (150 mi) in two days, and then ran back. He then ran the 40 km (25 mi) to the battlefield near Marathon and back to
1062:
694:
Larcher's Notes on
Herodotus: Historical and critical comments on the History of Herodotus, with a chronological table; translated from the French
925:
984:
869:
775:
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723:
216:, the existence of a Pheidippides cannot be excluded, but according to many this form remains an error of the copyists of the manuscripts.
284:... The modern use of the word dates back to Philippides the dispatch-runner. Bringing the news of the victory in Marathon, he found the
393:, and from the time his message was received they held an annual ceremony, with a torch-race and sacrifices, to court his protection.
1057:
785:
602:
979:(in German). Landau, DE: Verlag Empirische Pädagogik (= Landauer Schriften zur Kommunikations- und Kulturwissenschaft. Band 17).
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help them, and not to stand by while the most ancient city of Greece is crushed and subdued by a foreign invader; for even now
879:
733:
636:
20:
39:
1072:
506:, celebrating Pheidippides's run (according to Herodotus) across 246 km (153 miles) of Greek countryside.
567:
Lazenby, John
Francis. The Defence of Greece 490-479 BC, Aris & Phillips Ltd, 1993, p. 52, ISBN 0-85668-591-7.
1067:
688:
660:
267:
The first recorded account showing a courier running from
Marathon to Athens to announce victory is from within
137:
464:(46–120 AD), in his essay "On the Glory of Athens". Plutarch attributes the run to a herald called either
499:
successful in completing the distance: John
Scholtens (3430), John Foden (3737), and John McCarthy (3900).
758:"News from the University Press releases 'Bristol team to mark 2,500th anniversary of the first marathon'"
232:(translated as "day-runner", "courier", "professional-running courier" or "day-long runner"), was sent to
184:
102:
460:
The first known written account of a run from
Marathon to Athens occurs in the works of the Greek writer
516:
417:
407:
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576:
Dennis L. Fink, The Battle of Marathon in Scholarship, McFarland, 2014, p. 138,ISBN 978-0-7864-7973-3.
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The significance of this story is to be understood in the light of the legend that the god
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In any case, no such story appears in Herodotus. The relevant passage of Herodotus is:
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the field until the moon was full. So they waited for the full moon, and meanwhile
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926:"Pheidippides: Is the ancient Greek marathon runner remembered for the wrong run?"
503:
493:
133:
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Since 1983, it has been an annual footrace from Athens to Sparta, known as the
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The traditional story relates that Pheidippides (530–490 BC), an Athenian
208:
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Other than Herodotus' manuscripts, the form Pheidippides is only attested in
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gave a version of the traditional story in his 1879 poem "Pheidippides".
199:, while in most of Herodotus' manuscripts the form appears Pheidippides.
188:
155:
950:. Translated by de Sélincourt, Aubrey; Burn, A.R. Penguin Classic.
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Painting of Pheidippides as he gave word of the Greek victory over
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Athens-Sparta-Athens 490km . Pheidippides is said to have run from
812:. Pennsylvania State University & Los Angeles 1984 Foundation.
478:
443:
416:
386:
213:
154:
962:
Frost, Frank J. (1979). "The dubious origins of the 'marathon'".
337:'till in he broke: "Rejoice, we conquer!" Like wine through clay,
1040:
335:
and Athens was stubble again, a field which a fire runs through,
292:
Most accounts incorrectly attribute this story to the historian
868:
Magill, Frank Northen; Moose, Christina J. (23 January 2003).
333:
ran like fire once more: And the space 'twixt the fennel-field
1001:
271:'s prose on the first use of the word "joy" as a greeting in
95:
900:
898:
264:("hail, we are the winners") and then collapsed and died.
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Mythos Marathon: Von Herodot über Bréal bis zur Gegenwart
665:. Vol. 3. Translated by Southeby, Leigh; Southeby, S
457:
to Athens suggests strongly that no such event occurred.
874:. Dictionary of World Biography. Taylor & Francis.
322:
Run, Pheidippides, one race more! the meed is thy due!
195:, writers who had read this name in their versions of
586:
584:
582:
347:-field" is a reference to the Greek word for fennel,
914:. Book VI, 105...106 – via Gutenberg.org.
774:; Waterfield, Robin; Dewald, Carolyn (15 May 2008).
483:
Monument in Sparta with names of Spartathlon winners
68:
49:
30:
810:A History of the Marathon race 490 BC to 1975
44:Statue of Pheidippides alongside the Marathon Road
339:joy in his blood bursting his heart – the bliss!
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314:
282:
277:
422:The Soldier of Marathon announcing the Victory
351:, the origin of the name of the battlefield.)
8:
714:
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236:to request help when the Persians landed at
16:490 BC Greek runner from Marathon to Athens
27:
829:. Translated by Fowler, F.G.; Fowler, H.W
756:University news team (7 September 2011).
316:So, when Persia was dust, all cried, "To
628:Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World
560:
1026:http://www.authenticphidippidesrun.com
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840:
148:to deliver news of the victory of the
107:
625:Kyle, Donald G. (18 September 2006).
331:, go shout!" He flung down his shield
119:
7:
183:The name Philippides is reported by
1063:Athenians of the Greco-Persian Wars
964:American Journal of Ancient History
410:, guided the Persians to Marathon.
244:to announce the Greek victory over
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358:and other founders of the modern
1024:Αυθεντικός Φειδιππίδειος Δρόμος
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521:
273:A Slip of the Tongue in Greeting
260:"We win!"), as stated by Lucian
38:
373:generals sent off a message to
369:Before they left the city, the
296:, who wrote the history of the
1:
1037:languageinstinct.blogspot.com
1020:. Olympic Opera. Italy. 1896.
1018:"Pheidippides ... run again!"
1008:(home page). Hellas (Greece).
591:Sears, Edward Seldon (2001).
72:
53:
21:Pheidippides (disambiguation)
252:(490 BC) with the word
1033:"The Story of the Marathon"
780:. Oxford University Press.
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1028:Authentic Pheidippides Run
826:Pro lapsu inter salutandum
689:Cooley, William Desborough
491:
138:Authentic Pheidippides Run
124:; "Son of Pheídippos") or
109:[pʰeː.dip.pí.dɛːs]
96:
18:
975:Giessen, Hans W. (2010).
948:Herodotus – The Histories
891:– via Google Books.
728:. Yale University Press.
673:– via Google Books.
631:. John Wiley & Sons.
354:This poem inspired Baron
167:to the people of Athens.
37:
1058:5th-century BC Athenians
760:. University of Bristol.
594:Running through the Ages
725:Ancient Greek Athletics
275:(2nd century AD).
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121:[fi.ðiˈpi.ðis]
685:Larcher, Pierre Henri
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19:For other uses, see
697:. London, Whittaker
356:Pierre de Coubertin
1073:Battle of Marathon
720:Miller, Stephen G.
659:Herodotus (1806).
517:Fotis Zisimopoulos
485:
434:
426:Jean-Pierre Cortot
250:Battle of Marathon
176:
171:Luc-Olivier Merson
165:Battle of Marathon
150:battle of Marathon
76: 490 BC
57: 530 BC
986:978-3-941320-46-8
871:The Ancient World
722:(1 August 2006).
262:chairete, nikomen
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88:Pheidippides
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32:Pheidippides
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833:14 December
504:Spartathlon
494:Spartathlon
488:Spartathlon
412:— Herodotus
408:Pisistratus
230:hemerodrome
134:Spartathlon
126:Philippides
97:Φειδιππίδης
1052:Categories
881:1579580408
735:0300115296
638:0631229701
555:References
466:Thersippus
424:(1834) by
209:The Clouds
1078:Pan (god)
946:(1972) .
944:Herodotus
911:Histories
906:Herodotus
853:ignored (
843:cite book
772:Herodotus
662:Histories
451:Herodotus
391:Acropolis
318:Acropolis
303:Histories
294:Herodotus
197:Herodotus
185:Pausanias
691:(1844).
462:Plutarch
385:, above
371:Athenian
349:marathon
220:Accounts
189:Plutarch
142:Marathon
937:Sources
887:8 April
793:8 April
741:8 April
701:8 April
669:8 April
644:8 April
610:8 April
550:), 2023
531:), 2023
432:, Paris
404:Hippias
399:Eretria
379:god Pan
300:in his
286:archons
258:nikomen
254:νικῶμεν
248:in the
174:(1869)
163:at the
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601:
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529:Greece
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474:Lucian
470:Eukles
430:Louvre
375:Sparta
345:fennel
325:Athens
269:Lucian
246:Persia
242:Athens
234:Sparta
226:herald
193:Lucian
191:, and
161:Persia
146:Athens
132:, the
80:Athens
62:Athens
444:panic
387:Tegea
228:, or
214:Iliad
92:Greek
1041:blog
981:ISBN
889:2012
876:ISBN
855:help
835:2013
795:2012
782:ISBN
743:2012
730:ISBN
703:2012
671:2012
646:2012
633:ISBN
612:2012
599:ISBN
179:Name
136:and
69:Died
50:Born
468:or
438:Pan
381:on
329:Pan
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