Greek History from NHM
On Saturday, October 13, the Chicago Marathon will once again bring athletes from around the world to race through the city, passing iconic neighborhoods, including the fringes of Greektown. But this marathon, like every marathon, has deeper connections to Greek historyand the Hellenic legacy than its brief passage down Adams Street. In fact, the very name marathon derives from an iconic moment in Greek history, one that is the mythic origin of long distance running and has become synonymous with resilience, endurance, and the unconquerable spirit of freedom
The story of the marathon traces back to the ancient Athenian herald Pheidippides, whose heroic run helped save Greece from invasion. In 490 BCE, as the armies of the Persian Empire, under the command of King Darius, were headed towards Greece on his mission to the great King of Kings mission to conquer the world. His forces landed in a bay near the town of Marathon. The Athenian army came out to meet him, joined by a small number of allies. While a messenger was sent to Sparta seeking reinforcements, Spartans did not send reinforcements, claiming they were in the midst of a religious festival, leaving the Athenians, under the command of the famed general Miltiades, to take on the Persian threat alone.Almost miraculously, the Athenians were victorious. But the Persian threat was not over. Instead, Darius decided to sail from Marathon to Athens to sack the unprotected city.
According to legend, Pheidippides was sent to announce the Athenian victory to the city so that the victory would be known to the citizens of Athens to prevent them from surrendering to the Persians. He ran the 26 miles from Marathon to Athens shouting the word νικῶμεν (we have
won) before collapsing and dying.
While historians debate the accuracy of the Pheidippides story, its symbolic power remains undeniable. Today, every marathon honors this legacy of endurance, resilience, and hope. Though the Chicago Marathon may feel far removed from the dusty plains of ancient Greece, it carries the spirit of that long-ago struggle for survival and freedom.
So, as the runners make their way through Greektown and beyond, their footsteps echo with the weight of history—drawing a line from the ancient world to the modern streets of Chicago, where the spirit of the marathon continues to inspire and endure.
If you want to learn more about connections between the past and the present and Greek and America, visit the National Hellenic Museum, either in-person in our historic Greektown location or online.
