Where does the word Marathon come from?
Marathon is actually the name of a small village near Athens. The Persian fleet had dropped off a large army near this village, the Athenians marched their own forces to meet the Persians but were greatly outnumbered. After dropping off the army, the Persian navy went on their way to reach Athens. The Athenians were about to surrender the city after they saw the Persian fleet approaching. Little did they know their army had defeated the Persians near Marathon. A messenger was sent to run from Marathon back to Athens. Legend had it that he made it to the senate and yelled out “Nike!” or “Victory!” before he died on the senate floor.
