. . Italy and Greece are the cradles and the Origin of many of the elements that make up Western culture. Among them are the Olympic Games, but also less ambitious events, such as the 42,195-meter race that is world-famous today. Marathon. But do you know the origin of the Marathon? The history of the marathon begins many years ago in Athens. The myth says that the name Marathon comes from the legend of Filippides. According to this legend, Filippides was a Greek messenger. His mission was to go from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory of his army against the Persians at the Battle of Marathon (490 BC). Yes, Marathon was the name of a city and also of the battle fought in that place. The distance between Marathon and Athens is about 40 kilometers and this messenger had to travel quickly. You will say that there was not much hurry if they had won, right? Actually, there was. The Athenians believe that they had lost the battle and that this allowed the Persians to invade them. So ...