The origin of marathon began in 490 BC.
In the spring of 490 BC, Persia wanted to conquer the beautiful and rich Greek city-state. Darius, king of Persia, sent a large number of warships across the sea to invade Greece and started the famous Greek-Persian war in history. The Persian navy was hit by a hurricane at sea, and 300 warships and more than 20 thousand naval officers and men were all buried at the bottom of the sea. The Persian army lost the echo of the navy, like a single arm, and was attacked by the Thracians. The Persian commander was seriously injured. The military invasion of Greece had to be abandoned halfway.
Darius flew into a rage The next year, he fantasized about surrendering to Greece without fighting. He sent messengers to the Greek city-states to ask for "water and soil", which meant to make them surrender to Persia. The small city-states in central and northern Greece were afraid of the Persian Empire's force and all bowed their knees and surrendered. But can Athens and Sparta, the two largest city-states in Greece, keep their heads down? The Athenians threw the Persian emissary from the cliff into the sea, and the Spartans threw the emissary into the well to get "water and soil" by themselves.
Darius had never been so humiliated in his life. He became angry from embarrassment and decided to send the most experienced general to Greece for the second time. In 490 BC, Persian troops crossed the Aegean Sea and landed in the Marathon Plain on the outskirts of Athens. Athens, which was in danger, sent the then long-distance runner Ferdinand Pittis to the Spartan city-state more than 200 kilometers away for help day and night while mobilizing and strengthening its alert. The long-distance runner reached Sparta at an amazing speed in a little more than a day. But the Spartans refused to send troops on the grounds that their ancestors stipulated that they could not send troops before the full moon. Phidippides begged, but the Spartans were indifferent. Phidippides had no choice but to rush back to the marathon.
The Athenians were not discouraged when they heard that the Spartans would not send troops. They immediately organized all citizens, even slaves, to join the army, rushed to the marathon and occupied favorable terrain.
According to the laws of Athens, the 10 generals in Athens should take turns to control the military power during the expedition, each for one day. To take major military action, it is necessary to consult with 10 generals in advance, and finally make a resolution on the principle that the minority is subordinate to the majority. A military conference was held under the auspices of Kalius, the military consul of Athens. At the meeting, General 10 had a heated debate on passive defense or active attack. A general named Miltiades advocated taking the initiative. When voting, 5 votes to 5 votes. Consul Kalis supported General Miltiades. In order to give full play to Miltiades's command ability, other generals voluntarily gave up the right to take turns as commander-in-chief, leaving Miltiades to command the war alone.
At that time, there were 10000 troops in Athens, plus reinforcements 1000, but the total number was only 1 1000. The Persian army has 65,438+10,000 people and is well equipped. In the case that the enemy was strong and we were weak, Miltiades decided not to fight recklessly with the enemy, but to lengthen the front slightly and arrange elite infantry on both sides, so that the troops on the front line were weak.
On the morning of September 2, 490 BC, on the eve of the Great War, Miltiades mobilized Greek soldiers. He said, "It is up to you whether Athens will remain free forever or put on the yoke of slavery." His inspiring words inspired the soldiers' determination to defend their motherland. The fierce battle began and the Greek soldiers attacked below. The Persian army didn't know what it was, so they fought back immediately. The Greek army retreated while fighting, and the Persian army advanced step by step. At the critical moment, the soldiers lying in ambush on both sides rushed out with lightning speed and attacked the Persian army from both sides. The Persian army chased the Greeks for too long. At this time, surrounded by Greek troops, they could not care for each other. It hurriedly fled to the seaside, trying to get on the boat and escape. The Greek army chased to the seaside, engaged with the Persian army and seized the warships. Kinal, a Greek warrior, desperately grasped a warship with his hand, and his hand was cut off by the enemy. He held back the pain, grabbed the warship with his other hand, and finally caught a warship with his comrades. In this battle, the Persians left 6400 bodies and 7 warships. The Athenians sacrificed 192 people, including consul Kalius and several generals. That night, when 2000 forward soldiers sent by Sparta arrived, all they saw in the moonlight was the battlefield full of dead bodies.
Miltiades was anxious to tell the people of Athens who were anxiously waiting for the news of victory. He chose long-distance runner Ferdinand Pidis to deliver the news. The long-distance runner was injured at that time, but in order to let his compatriots know the news of victory earlier, he ran desperately. When he ran to the central square of Athens, he was out of breath. He shouted excitedly, "Cheer, Athenians, we have won!" " As soon as the cry fell, he fell headlong and never woke up.
The Persian war lasted nearly half a century. Marathon was the first battle between the Greeks and Persians, which greatly inspired the Greeks to strive for freedom and independence.
In order to commemorate the victory of this battle and commend the contribution of dutiful hero Ferdinand Pettis, 1896, the Athenians stipulated a new race-marathon. The distance is the distance from marathon to Athens, which is determined to be 40 kilometers and 200 meters according to the route taken by Ferdinand Peters. 1920, after careful determination, the distance was changed to 40km195m. The names of fidipides and marathon will be passed down to future generations together with the Olympic flame. This is the origin of the marathon.
At first, the distance of marathon was different. Until 1908, the 4th Olympic Games was held in London. In order to facilitate the British royal family to watch the marathon, the organizers set the starting point at Windsor Palace Square and the ending point at the Royal Stand of London Baicheng Stadium, with a measured distance of 42.195km. Since then, the International Olympic Committee has been arguing about the standard distance until 1924. According to the official regulations of the Athletics Federation, the marathon distance is determined to be 42. 195 km.
There is no world record for marathon running, only the best result in the world. This is because the game is played on roads or roads similar to highways. The starting point and ending point are generally located in track and field. Milestones are set every kilometer along the way to show the distance, and drinking stations are set for athletes every 5 kilometers.
Now marathon has become one of the Olympic events, and now marathon is gradually integrated into life.
Introduction to marathon
Marathon (long-distance running)
Marathon is a very popular long-distance running event in the world, with a total length of 26 miles and 385 yards, which is equivalent to 42. 195 km (also known as 42. 193 km). There are three kinds of marathons: full marathon, half marathon and quarter marathon. Full marathon is the most popular. Generally speaking, marathon means full marathon.
Marathon is a long-distance race, the distance is 42. 195 km (some say it is 42. 193 km, but all races use 42. 195 km). The origin of this game began with a battle in September 490 BC 12.
The battle was fought by Persians and Athenians at the seaside of Marathon not far from Athens. It was called Persian War in history, and the Athenians finally won the victory against aggression. In order to let the people in his hometown know the good news of victory as soon as possible, Commander Mi Leide sent a soldier named Fidi Pitts back to tell the news.
Freddie Pitts is a famous "Scud". He has been running in order to let his hometown people know the good news earlier. When he ran to Athens, he was out of breath and shouted excitedly, "Athenians, let's have fun, we won" and fell to the ground and died.
In order to commemorate this event, in the first modern Olympic Games held in 1896, a marathon was set up, and the distance of the marathon was 42.193km, which was run by Fedipintz messenger that year. Marathon was originally a place name in Greece. 30 kilometers northeast of Athens. Its name comes from Phoenician marathus, which means "rich in fennel", and it is named after countless fennel trees growing here in ancient times. This is the name of marathon in sports.