Origins of the Marathon



Below please find links to various topics related to the Origins of the Boston Marathon.

A Brief History of the Marathon

WHY DO WE RUN 26.2 MILES?

It all started in 490 BC when the Persian army, with a fleet of several hundred ships and more than 100,000 troops led by Generals Datis and Artaphernes, landed in the city of Marathon located 26 miles from the city of Athens. The Persians intended to take over Greece and in the process destroy the Athenian democracy.

The Athenians had an army of 10,000 citizen-soldiers who chose to fight for their city and for the dignity that their democratic society had given to each of them. The Persian army was one of the greatest fighting forces of the time, and the Athenians were fighting against all odds. Their motivation was to protect Athens and their democracy. They had voted to fight and not to surrender. Led by General Miltiades, the Athenians fought and won the Marathon battle. Historians estimate the casualties at 19 Athenians and 6,400 Persians

WHY IS THIS CALLED A “MARATHON”?

The 192 Athenians were buried in a burial mound called the Tumulus of Marathon. It was the first time the Athenians beat the Persians on land. The victory endowed them with a faith in the power of human rationality and their destiny which was to endure for three centuries, during which time western culture was born. A defeat of Athenians in this battle would have changed the course of history. The battle fought at Marathon stands today as one of the most memorable feats in history. 10,000 Athenians defeated a Persian force many times larger. The battle saved Greece, allowing the Athenians and other Greeks to continue the form of itself-government that inspired the democratic principles that underlie modern constitutional government.

SO WHY DO WE RUN?

Legend says that an Athenian soldier named Pheidippides ran the 26 miles from the battlefield at Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory. When he reached Athens, he shouted “WE WON” and then collapsed from exhaustion and died. Having defeated the Persians at Marathon was not necessarily the end of the battle. Fearing the Persians who fled Marathon by sea would attempt an attack of an undefended Athens, the Athenian soldiers ran the 26 miles back to Athens to defend the city. This was the first “marathon run”. When the Persian fleet saw the Athenians waiting for them at Athens, they did not attack and turned back to go home.

We run today to commemorate this heroic event and show commitment to the ideas democracy and citizenship.

MODERN OLYMPIC GAMES

Reenactment of the historic Marathon run took place almost 24 centuries later, in 1896, as part of the first modern Olympic Games, held in Athens, Greece. The first winner was Spiridon Louis, a Greek postal worker and veteran of several military campaigns.

This first organized Marathon race was a 24.85 miles (40 km) run from the city of Marathon to Athens, in honor of the ancient Athenian soldier-runner-messengers. The official and currently used Marathon-race distance of 26 miles 385 yards ( 42.195 km) was established in the Olympics of London in 1908. The extra miles were added in order for the race length to coincide with the distance from Windsor Castle to the newly built stadium at White City.

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History of the Marathon Wreath Ceremony

A gift from Greece and its people to the Boston Marathon®

Since 1984, the Consulate General of Greece in Boston has presented the Boston Athletic Association with olive branch wreaths to crown the four first place winners of the Boston Marathon.

Each year these wreaths are grown, cut, and hand-crafted in Greece, transmitting Classical Greece’s tradition of crowning its victors with olive wreaths to Boston, the “Athens of America.”

This tradition traces back to the dawn of civilization, introduced by Herakles as the prize for the running race winner, to honor his father Zeus at the First Ancient Olympic Games. As in ancient times, the wreaths you see today will crown the winners of the 126th running of the Boston Marathon.

In 1984, the Republic of Greece and the Boston Athletic Association formally established The Marathon Wreath Ceremony, in which the Greek people gift to the Boston Athletic Association the Marathon winners’ wreaths, hewn from the plains of Marathon, Greece. This gift recognizes the historic ties between Greece and the world’s first democracy in Ancient Athens that fought against tyranny, and the birth of democracy and the fight for freedom that rang out of Boston in 1775 and was heard ‘round the world. This ceremony was borne from the collaboration of Greek Consul General Christos Panagopoulos, the Boston Athletic Association, Governor Michael S. Dukakis, Lt. Governor John Kerry, Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, BAA Race Director Tim Kilduff, and Peter Agris of the Alpha Omega Council.



Marathon Wreath Ceremony Hosts and Organizers

Consul General of Greece in Boston
The Consulate General of Greece in Boston represents Greece in New England. It is a bridge between Greece and the United States and the Greek-American community, providing consular assistance and services, and spearheading a series of initiatives for the promotion of business, cultural, scientific, sport, and cultural ties between New England and Greece.

Click here for more information.

Alpha Omega Council
The Alpha Omega Council was established in 1976 and is comprised of Americans of Hellenic ancestry in Business, Education, Academia, Medicine, Law, Politics, Science and other fields. Its mission is to cultivate the ideals of Hellenism and to unite Greek Americans in fellowship, service, and philanthropy.

Click here for more information.

26.2 Foundation
The 26.2 Foundation is a philanthropic non-profit 501(c)3 organization promoting the sport of marathoning, health, wellness and development through programs in education, the fine arts, community relations, and the construction of the International Marathon Center.

Click here for more information.

Boston Athletic Association
The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) is one of the nation’s oldest athletic clubs, established on March 15, 1887. The mission of the B.A.A. is to promote a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. “There is no more important part of our mission than that. It’s to help people be as fit and as healthy as they want to be.”
– Thomas S. Grilk, B.A.A. Chief Executive Officer

At the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, Greece conceived of a 26-mile race following the route of the ancient Athenians in order to remember the Battle of Marathon. There was no official U.S. Olympic team in 1896. But there was a B.A.A. team that would make up the majority of the American delegation.

The B.A.A. athletes dominated the first Olympic Games, winning 6 of the 11 U.S. team’s first-place track-and-field medals. In fact, the first gold medal at the Games was won by B.A.A. athlete James Connolly in the hop, step and jump.

The entire B.A.A. squad was in the Olympic Stadium to watch the dramatic finish of this new “Marathon Race,” which was the final event of the Games. Representatives of the B.A.A. came home inspired to create a similar long-distance running race in Boston. The B.A.A. established the first “Boston Marathon” the next year in 1897 and held it on Massachusetts’ Patriots Day, thus connecting this new race with the Battle of Marathon, the Modern Olympic Games, and the day we celebrate the courage of our own American citizen soldiers, the Minutemen, who stood up in 1775 to an enormous military power to win our American liberty.

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Stylianos Kyriakides and the Boston Marathon
Stylianos Kyriakides was the winner of the 1946 Boston Marathon and is credited as the marathon’s first charity runner.

Click here to learn more about his amazing story and victory run here.

Also, Click here to view an NBC Sports Video about Kyriakides.



Alpha Omega Council and 26.2 Foundations’s Boston Marathon Educational Program
Since 2014, the Alpha Omega Council has conducted The Marathon Education Program in concert with the 26.2 Foundation. The program promotes the Hellenic roots of the Boston Marathon and uses the Marathon and Greek History as a platform to teach middle and high school students about Ancient Greece, the roots of democracy, and it’s lessons for civic participation today.

Click here to learn more about the Educational Program.



More Marathon History

Herb Golder’s The Other Marathon, a brief history
https://www.alphaomegacouncil.org/origins-of-the-marathon-2-2-2/

From Marathon, to Boston, to the World
https://www.alphaomegacouncil.org/origins-of-the-marathon-2-2/

“Why Does Boston Hold A Marathon on Patriot’s Day?”, Yoni Applebaum, The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/04/the-history-of-the-boston-marathon-a-perfect-way-to-celebrate-patriots-day/275023/



Donate to Support Marathon Educational Program

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Or by sending a check payable to Alpha Omega Council and mailed to:Alpha Omega Council
C/O Chris Brathas, CPA, Treasurer
P.O. Box 752
Foxborough, MA 02035-0752
(617) 877-7129