Marathon, Greece Marathon, Greece Marathon (Demotic Greek: Μαραθώνας, "Marathónas"; Attic/Katharevousa: , "Marathṓn") is a town in Greece and the site of the battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, in which the heavily outnumbered Athenian army defeated the Persians. Legend has it that Pheidippides, a Greek herald at the battle, was sent running from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory, which is how the marathon running race was conceived in modern times. The name "Marathon" () comes from the herb fennel, called "marathon" () or "marathos" () in Ancient Greek, so "Marathon" literally means "a place full of fennels". It is believed
History of Athens Sparta enabled Athens to establish a Second Athenian League. Finally Thebes defeated Sparta in 371 BC in the Battle of Leuctra. But then the Greek cities (including Athens and Sparta) turned against Thebes, whose dominance was stopped at the Battle of Mantinea (362 BC) with the death of its military-genius leader Epaminondas. By the mid-4th century BC, however, the northern Greek kingdom of Macedon was becoming dominant in Athenian affairs. In 338 BC the armies of Philip II defeated an alliance of some of the Greek city-states including Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea, effectively limiting Athenian independence.