Athens Classic Marathon Athens Classic Marathon The Athens Classic (authentic) Marathon is an annual marathon road race held in Athens, Greece, normally in early November. The race attracted 43,000 competitors in 2015 of which 16,000 were for the 42.195 km course, both numbers being an all-time record for the event. The rest of the runners competed in the concurrent 5 and 10 kilometres road races and the racewalking contest. The marathon course is based on the legend from which the race gained its name: Pheidippides, a messenger in Ancient Greece, ran from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greeks' victory
Erichthonius of Athens The most sacred building on the Acropolis of Athens, the Erechtheum, is dedicated to Erichthonius. Erichthonius of Athens In Greek mythology, King Erichthonius (; Ancient Greek: Ἐριχθόνιος) was a legendary early ruler of ancient Athens. According to some myths, he was autochthonous (born of the soil, or Earth) and raised by the goddess Athena. Early Greek texts do not distinguish between him and Erectheus, his grandson, but by the fourth century BC, during Classical times, they are distinct figures. Erichthonius of uncertain etymology is possibly related to a pre-Greek form *"Erekteu-". The connection of Ἐριχθόνιος with ἐρέχθω, "shake" is a