GR24 EC - HERITAGE – Meet Marathon

Marathon 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. It was said that he ran the entire distance to Athens without stopping, discarding his weapons and even clothes to lose as much weight as possible, and burst into the assembly, exclaiming "we have won!", before collapsing and dying.
Today it is part of East Attica regional unit, in the outskirts of Athens and a popular resort town and center of agriculture.

Our students visited the museum of Marathon, that presents the history of the area from the Prehistoric era until the Roman period.
They had a picnic at the beach of Marathon, probably at the same place where the great battle of Marathon took place.
They visited the burial mound that houses the ashes of 192 Athenians who fell during the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC.
They stood at the place where the original Marathon starts, which was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896

The students from all countries discover Marathon and its history through its museum and its landmarks. They visited the place where maybe the most famous Olympic sport was born. Also, they had a very nice picnic prepared by the Greek team by the sea, all together as a group. We all had a lovely time!