Marathon

Marathon is a broad coastal plain about 40 kilometres north-east of Athens, framed by mountains on one side and a long shallow bay on the other. It looks unremarkable, farmland, olive groves and a fringe of pine near the sea, yet it holds one of the most consequential battlefields of the ancient world and lends its name to the marathon run.

In 490 BC a Persian expeditionary force landed on this shore, and a smaller army of Athenians and their Plataean allies met and routed them. The victory checked the first Persian invasion of Greece and became a defining moment in Athenian identity. According to tradition, a messenger ran from the field to Athens to announce the result and died on arrival, the story behind the modern race, though the historical account by Herodotus tells instead of the runner Pheidippides covering a far greater distance to seek help from Sparta.

The central monument is the Tumulus of the Athenians, or Soros, a grassy burial mound about nine metres high raised over the ashes of the 192 Athenians who fell. It stands on the plain much as it has for two and a half thousand years, simple and moving. Nearby, the Marathon Archaeological Museum and the tomb of the Plataeans fill in the wider picture, and the run itself is commemorated by the route of the annual Athens Marathon, which finishes in the city's Panathenaic Stadium.

The area is more than a battlefield. Schinias, a few kilometres east, is one of the finest beaches near Athens, a long pine-backed strand within a national park and a wetland rich in birdlife; it also hosted the rowing events of the 2004 Olympic Games. Inland, the Marathon Lake and its marble-faced dam make a scenic diversion.

Marathon is best visited as a day trip from Athens by car or KTEL bus, combining the tumulus and museum with a swim at Schinias. It suits travellers drawn to history who want to stand on the ground where a famous story began, then round off the day on one of Attica's best beaches.