Running in Ancient Greece Athens to Sparta and then back to Marathon in 490 BCE. He was sent to gain the help of the Spartans against the attack of the Persian army in Marathon. In 1896, at the first modern Olympics, the very first modern-day marathon was run. To honor the history of Greek running, Greece chose a course that would mimic the route run by Pheidippides. The race course covered . The route started at a bridge in the town of Marathon and ended in the Olympic stadium reference perseus project. Another event in the ancient Olympic Games was the pentathlon. The pentathlon
Battle of Thermopylae evacuated Athens. The Greek fleet—seeking a decisive victory over the Persian armada—attacked and defeated the invaders at the Battle of Salamis in late 480 BC. Wary of being trapped in Europe, Xerxes withdrew with much of his army to Asia (losing most to starvation and disease), leaving Mardonius to attempt to complete the conquest of Greece. However, the following year saw a Greek army decisively defeat the Persians at the Battle of Plataea, thereby ending the Persian invasion. Both ancient and modern writers have used the Battle of Thermopylae as an example of the power of a patriotic army defending