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
2009 Greek forest fires 2003 reform introduced by the former Agriculture Minister Giorgos Drys, under the Panhellenic Socialist Movement's previous administration, which required at least one-quarter of a piece of land must be covered by forest for it to qualify as forest land. The new bill will reinstate the original 15% requirement. 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,