Imperial cult of ancient Rome cult was the burial and the memorials which any respectable Greek family gave their dead, but paid for by their City in perpetuity. Most heroes were the figures of ancient legend, but some were historical: the Athenians revered Harmodius and Aristogeiton as heroes, as saviours of Athens from tyranny; also, collectively, those who fell at the Battle of Marathon. Statesmen did not generally become heroes, but Sophocles was the hero Dexion ("the Receiver") – not as a playwright, nor a general, but because when the Athenians took Asclepius' cult during the Peloponnesian War, Sophocles housed an image of Asclepius until
Running in Ancient Greece of foot races in ancient Greece. The standard distance that these races were measured in was the "stade" (where one stadia is approximately 185 meters). The one-stade race was the most prestigious; the mythical founder of the Olympic Games could allegedly run it in one breath. Other running events included a two-stade race, and the "Dolichos", which was a long-distance race that was 20 or 24 stades long, or about two and a half miles. For races longer than one stade, runners would have to turn 180 degrees around a post at each of the two ends of the stadium