Battle of Marathon of events, with the competitors running from Marathon to Athens. So popular was this event that it quickly caught on, becoming a fixture at the Olympic games, with major cities staging their own annual events. The distance eventually became fixed at 26 miles 385 yards, or 42.195 km, though for the first years it was variable, being around —the approximate distance from Marathon to Athens. Battle of Marathon The Battle of Marathon (Greek: , "Machē tou Marathōnos") took place in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea,
Battle of Athens (1946) Goulden, in his history of immediate post-war America "The Best Years 1945-1950," discussed the Battle of Athens, how it sparked political ex-GI movements in three other Tennessee counties, as well as other boss ruled Southern states, led to a convention with representatives from several Southern states, and how it raised fears that veterans would resort to further violence. The Battle of Athens came at a time, 1944–1946 when there was much concern that returning GIs would be dangerously violent. Those concerns were addressed in an opinion piece by Warden Lawes author of "Twenty Thousand Years at Sing Sing," in a