Marathon ("field of fennel") lies on the east coast of Attica, in an area in which a whole series of holiday resorts have developed in recent years, extending from Schiniás by way of Paralía Marathónas (Marathon Beach) and Néa Makrí to Ayios Andréas and Máti.
Marathon was celebrated in antiquity as the place where Theseus
killed the bull of Marathon and the scene of the first great battle between Greeks and Persians in 490 B.C. In this battle the Athenians, supported by a contingent from Plataiai, defeated the numerically much superior army of the Persian Empire.
Ten years later the Persians launched a further attack, but were again defeated at Salamis (480 B.C.) and Plataiai (479 B.C.). It was the birthplace of Herodes Atticus (A.D. 101-177), famous in his day as a rhetor but better known for his munificence in financing such buildings as the Odeion and Stadion in Athens, the Stadion at Delphi and the Nymphaeum at Olympia.
Apart from the present-day village, the name of Marathon is associated with two ancient sites, the Soros (burial mound) of the Athenians and the Soros of the Plataeans at Vranás, and with the modern reservoir (Lake Marathon). The village lies 5km/3 mi from the coast on the road which runs north to Grammatikó.
Bus services from Athens. Local boats from Rafína to the islands of Euboea, Ándros, Tínos and Kéa.
The extensive beaches south of Marathon offer excellent bathing and recreational facilities.
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