How can we know what really happened in ancient times when often we cannot even be sure we are getting an accurate account of current events? The farther back we go in time, the more opportunity there is to speculate on what really happened, or is thought to have happened. Often the result is a revised history that bears little or no resemblance to the original source.
Herodotus of Halicarnassus, the first great historian in the Western tradition, is our primary source for the wars between the Greeks and the Persians (492 to 449 B.C.). The Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. decided forever the fate of Europe. The mighty Persian Empire launched an all-out attack against the mainland Greeks because they had supported a revolt by fellow Greeks in Asia Minor. A large force of Persians under King Darius landed on the Plain of Marathon. The Athenian army was only one-third the size of the Persian army; and yet they won by surrounding the enemy. They then prevented a surprise Persian attack on Athens by quickly marching back to the city to warn them in time. The Athenians won the day all around.
To illustrate how an historical event can be converted into a popular legend, let us look at the origin of the racing term Marathon. After the Greek victory over the Persians on the Plain of Marathon, the story goes that the famous runner Pheidippides ran some 26 miles (42 km) from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory but then died of exhaustion shouting, “We have won!” This is the generally accepted story. However, over the centuries the story has become so distorted and confused that sometimes it is difficult to know what really happened. Even the scholarly Cambridge Ancient History (CAH) reflects the subtle changes that can take place when later historians drawing on an “original” source add their own comments and interpretations. For example, with reference to the numbers of the Persian force, we come across the following ambiguous statements: ”...so large a number is hardly credible...Perhaps we may estimate...Let us say, etc…” We are also informed that Pheidippides (or Philippides) “probably” ran 134 miles (“Say nearly 150"), although he may have gotten a ride somewhere along the way (evidently the writer of this CAH article was not a runner).
Popular versions add to the confusion. One writer has Pheidippides running from Marathon to Sparta (140 miles), then back (140 miles), then to Athens (25 miles), at which point he collapses and dies after gasping “Rejoice.” In another account, Pheidippides not only runs to Sparta and back but is then ordered to run to Marathon with the good news of the Athenian victory, where he presumably perished. Not only are the distances all wrong, but we have the odd spectacle of the Athenian runner racing back to Marathon with the good news that the Greeks at Marathon had just defeated the Persian army, a fact of which they were well aware, having just accomplished this feat (presumably the writer meant to say “Athens”).
The Marathon-to-Athens run probably never even took place. Herodotus tells us only that the Athenian generals sent Pheidippides from Athens to Sparta for help. He completed the 145-mile journey in about a day and then returned to Athens with the news that the Spartans were unable to help at that time. Herodotus makes no mention of a messenger being sent to Athens after the battle. The athletic achievement of Pheidippides and the quick march of the Athenians from Marathon to the defense of Athens have obviously been combined into one story.
If you think Herodotus’ account of Pheidippides’ run is incredible (about 280 miles round trip), consider the Greek-born ultra-marathoner Yiannis Kouros, who ran over 186 miles in exactly 24 hours in 1979. Pheidippides would have a tough time keeping up with today’s ultra-marathon runners.
Science is no help. In the September 2004 issue of Sky and Telescope magazine, astronomers claimed to have discovered the true date of the Marathon-Athens victory run, August 12th, instead of September 12th. The temperature would have been much hotter then and, therefore, say the scientists, the runner likely died of heat stroke. This makes no sense. Almost every weekend thousands of ordinary folk complete marathons without serious casualties. And, in fact, the story of the victory run does not appear until some 500 years later in the works (Moralia) of the philosopher Plutarch.
Herodotus wrote about 50 years after the events he describes, so it is reasonably certain that Pheidippides was a historical figure who accomplished a remarkable athletic feat. However, in time the legend superseded the actual historical event. Human imagination did the rest, and the historical truth was replaced by what people wanted to hear.
