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
Battle of Athens (1941) towards the end of the entry for Marmaduke Pattle. The battle began when the 12 remaining Hawker Hurricane aircraft of the Royal Air Force (RAF)'s 80 Squadron, flying in formation over Athens were attacked by a large group of German Luftwaffe planes (which, according to the citizens of Athens, had 200 planes; and according to Roald Dahl, had 152 bombers and fighters), mostly Messerschmitt Bf 109s and Bf 110s along with some Junkers Ju 87s and Junkers Ju 88s. In the resulting battle five RAF pilots were shot down and killed, including the famous Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle and one pilot