Pheidippides, 490 BC

2500 years of the Marathon myth

The origin of the modern marathon actually goes back to a messenger who, in 490 BC, brought the news of the victory of the Greek over the Persians from Marathon to Athens. In 2010 we celebrate the biggest jubilee existing in sports: 2500 years of the Marathon myth! In his »Moralia«, Plutarch wrote about an armed man who apparently ran to Athens. »Rejoice, we have won!« were reputedly his last words before he died. This story, true or not, marks the birth of Marathon sport and is the basis of the myth. The myth and history of the marathon run are the focal point of the Vienna City Marathon 2010. Take a journey through time, from the origin of the marathon myth to the modern.