Long-distance running loss of Babylon: Running messengers are reported from early Sumer, were named "lasimu" as military men as well as the king’s officials who disseminated documents throughout the kingdom by running. Ancient Greece was famous for its running messengers, who were named "hemerodromoi", meaning “day runners”. One of the most famous running messengers is Pheidippides, who according to the legend ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory of the Greek over the Persians in the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. He collapsed and died as he delivered the message “we won”. While there are debates around the accuracy
2009 Greek forest fires 2009 Greek forest fires The 2009 Greek forest fires were a series of massive wildfires that broke out across several areas in Greece during the summer of 2009. The fires began in Grammatiko, about twenty-five miles north-east of the Greek capital, Athens on 21 August 2009 and spread quickly towards the suburbs, engulfing fourteen towns within the next three days. 10,000 residents of Agios Stefanos were asked to evacuate the area. Approximately 600 firefighters and soldiers, twelve fire-fighting aircraft and nine helicopters were deployed to extinguish the fire. These fires are the worst since 2007, though no casualties have been