The Battle of Marathon, in 490 BCE, was the first time that the Persians were decisively defeated in an open battle. It marked the end of the first Persian invasion of Greece, forcing them to retreat to Asia.

The Persian army was far superior in number to those of the Athenians and Plataeans combined. Led by Miltiades the Younger, the Greek hoplites directly attacked the Persian camp, surprising them, eventually inflicted heavy losses on them.

Legend has it that Pheidippides, an Athenian messenger, ran a distance of 42 kilometers from the Marathon battlefield to Athens to announce victory over the Persians. When he arrived, he shouted: Nenikikamen (We have won), after which he died instantly.

In memory of this hero, at the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the modern Olympic program included the Marathon race, which runs a distance of 42.195 km (the exact distance between Marathon and the Acropolis of Athens).