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==History== [[File:Oinoi Frankish Tower - Near Marathon, May 2014 - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Ruins of a Frankish tower near Marathon]] The name "Marathon" ({{lang|el|Μαραθών}}) comes from the [[herb]] [[fennel]], called ''márathon'' ({{lang|grc|μάραθον}}) or ''márathos'' ({{lang|grc|μάραθος}}) in Ancient Greek,<ref name="marathon(the plant)LSJreference">{{LSJ|ma/raqon|μάραθον|ref}}.</ref>{{refn|group=n|The Greek word for ''fennel'' is first attested in [[Mycenaean Greek|Mycenaean]] [[Linear B]] on tablets [[Mycenae|MY]] Ge 602, MY Ge 606 + fr., MY Ge 605 + 607 + frr. + 60Sa + 605b - as {{lang|gmy|𐀔𐀨𐀶𐀺}}, ''ma-ra-tu-wo''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.palaeolexicon.com/ShowWord.aspx?Id=16801|title=The Linear B word ma-ra-tu-wo|publisher=Palaeolexicon. Word study tool of Ancient languages}} {{cite web|last=Raymoure|first=K.A.|url=http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/ma/ma-ra-tu-wo/|title=ma-ra-tu-wo|work=Minoan Linear A & Mycenaean Linear B|publisher=Deaditerranean|access-date=2014-03-19|archive-date=2019-07-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705082730/http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/ma/ma-ra-tu-wo/|url-status=dead}} {{cite web|title=MY 602 Ge (57)|url=https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/5572}} {{cite web|title=MY 606 Ge + fr. (57)|url=https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/5576}} {{cite web|title=MY 605 Ge + 607 + fr. [+] 60Sa + fr. [+] 605b + frr. (57)|website=DĀMOS: Database of Mycenaean at Oslo|url=https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/5575|publisher=[[University of Oslo]]}}</ref>}} so ''Marathon'' literally means "a place full of fennel".<ref name="Marathon(the place)LSJreference">{{LSJ|*maraqw/n|Μαραθών|shortref}}.</ref> It is believed that the town was originally named so because of an abundance of fennel plants in the area. In ancient times, Marathon ({{langx|grc|Μαραθών}}) occupied a small plain in the northeast of [[ancient Attica]], which contained four places, Marathon, [[Probalinthus]], [[Tricorythus]], and [[Oenoe (Attica)|Oenoe]], which originally formed the [[Tetrapolis (Attica)|Tetrapolis]], one of the 12 districts into which Attica was divided before the time of [[Theseus]]. Here [[Xuthus]], who married the daughter of [[Erechtheus]], is said to have reigned; and here the [[Heracleidae]] took refuge when driven out of [[Peloponnesus]], and defeated [[Eurystheus]].<ref>{{Cite Strabo|viii. p.383}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Stephanus|''sub voce'' Τετμάπολις.}}</ref> The Marathonii claimed to be the first people in Greece who paid divine honours to [[Heracles]], who possessed a sanctuary in the plain.<ref>{{Cite Pausanias|1|15|3}}, 1.35.4.</ref> Marathon is also celebrated in the legends of Theseus, who conquered the ferocious bull, which used to devastate the plain.<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''Thes.'' 14; {{Cite Strabo|ix. p. 399}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Pausanias|1|27|10}}</ref> Marathon is mentioned in [[Homer|Homer's]] ''[[Odyssey]]'' in a way that implies that it was then a place of importance.<ref>{{Cite Odyssey|7.80}}</ref> In mythology, its name was derived from an eponymous hero [[Marathon (mythology)|Marathon]], who is described by Pausanias as a son of [[Epopeus (king of Sicyon)|Epopeus]], king of [[Sicyon]], who fled into Attica in consequence of the cruelty of his father.<ref>{{Cite Pausanias|2|1|1}}, 2.6.5, 1.15.3, 1.32.4</ref> [[Plutarch]] calls him an [[ancient Arcadia|Arcadian]], who accompanied the [[Dioscuri]] in their expedition into Attica, and voluntarily devoted himself to death before the battle.<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''Thes.'' 32.</ref> After Theseus united the 12 independent districts of Attica into one state, the name of Tetrapolis gradually fell into disuse; and the four places of which it consisted became Attic demi, Marathon, Tricorythus, and Oenoë belonging to the tribe [[Aeantis]], and Probalinthus to the tribe [[Pandionis]]; but Marathon was so superior to the other three, that its name was applied to the whole district down to the latest times. Hence [[Lucian]] speaks of "the parts of Marathon about Oenoë".<ref>Μαραθῶνος τὰ περὶ τὴν Οἰνόην, ''Icaro-Menip.'' 18.</ref> Few places have obtained such celebrity in the history of the world as Marathon, on account of the victory which the Athenians here gained over the [[ancient Persia|Persians]] in 490 BCE ([[Battle of Marathon]]). After [[Miltiades the Younger|Miltiades]] (the general of the Greek forces) defeated [[Darius I of Persia|Darius]]' Persian forces, the Persians decided to sail from Marathon to Athens in order to sack the unprotected city. Miltiades ordered all his [[hoplite]] forces to march "double time" back to Athens, so that by the time Darius' troops arrived they saw the same Greek force waiting for them. Although the name Marathon had a positive resonance in Europe in the nineteenth century, for some time that was sullied by the [[Dilessi murders]], which happened nearby in 1870. In the 19th century and beginning of twentieth century the village was inhabited by an [[Arvanites|Arvanite]] population.<ref>Chase, Thomas, ''Hellas, her monuments and scenery,'' Sever and Francis, Cambridge, pp. 102–103 [https://archive.org/details/hellashermonumen00chas]</ref><ref>Hichens, ''The Near East, Dalmatia, Greece and Constantiople'', Hodder and Stoght, London, 1913, p. 116. [https://archive.org/details/neareastdalmatia00hichuoft]</ref> [[File:Plain of Marathon 1.jpg|thumb|Plain of Marathon]] [[File:Marathon-See - Staumauer 2011.jpg|thumb|View of the [[Lake Marathon]]]] The [[sophist]] and magnate [[Herodes Atticus]] was born in Marathon. In 1926, the American company ULEN began construction on the [[Marathon Dam]] in a valley above Marathon, in order to ensure water supply for [[Athens]]. It was completed in 1929. About 10 km<sup>2</sup> of forested land were flooded to form [[Lake Marathon]]. [[File:Statue Niké - Marathon (GRA2) - 2022-03-21 - 3.jpg|thumb|right|[[Nike of Marathon|Marathon battle memorial]].]] The beach of Schinias is located southeast of the town. The beach is popular as a spot for [[windsurfing]] and the [[Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre|Olympic Rowing Center]] used for the [[2004 Summer Olympics]] is also located there. At the [[1896 Summer Olympics|1896]] and [[2004 Summer Olympics]], Marathon was the starting point of the [[marathon (sport)|marathon]] races (for both women and men in 2004).<ref name=dw>Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Track & Field (Men): Marathon". In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition''. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 133.</ref><ref>[http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/2004/or2004b.pdf 2004 Summer Olympics official report.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819195306/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/2004/or2004b.pdf |date=2008-08-19 }} Volume 2. p. 242.</ref> Marathon is also the starting point for the annual [[Athens Classic Marathon]]. The area is susceptible to [[flash flooding]], because of forest fires having denuded parts of the eastern slopes of Mount [[Penteli]] especially in 2006.
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