mark james
IAP Collection, Curator
Pen Turning Lore, Myths and Fables - VII
The First Marathon
The First Marathon
In 490 BC, the Persian navy sailed along the coast of Greece and landed at the bay of Marathon, about 40 miles north of Athens. This was to be the culmination of long-standing skirmishes between the ancient Greeks and Persians: The Battle of Marathon.
The Athenian forces, led by General Miltiades, moved to block the Persians' advance, trapping them on the plains around the bay. While the army kept the Persians pinned down, Miltiades sent a courier to request additional troops. This courier was named Pheidippides, and he was a "hemerodromos": one of the men in the Greek military known as "day-long" runners.
Now many versions of the monumental feat of Pheidippides are well represented as the First Marathon, but some background lore has largely been ignored.
Two Greek Gods have crucial roles in the final outcome of this historic event; Hermes and Pan. Hermes was well known as a powerful but playful god who loved to toy with mortals for his own pleasure; he was a trickster. But Hermes was also the God of language, writing and the alphabet. Pan was subtly powerful, but craved to be admired by the mortals.
So, back to the battle… The Athenian general wrote a message that Pheidippides was to deliver to officials in Sparta, a request for additional troops. The message was written on papyrus, with a golden Kitless pen supplied with ink as a gift from Hermes to his loyal subjects (God of writing, magical ink?… the gift sounded legit) .
Pheidippides began his historic run - 147 miles to Sparta (no potty breaks so he had to bypass the figs). Upon arriving some 35 hours later, the message was delivered, only to reveal that Hermes had played a trick on the mortals; the ink he supplied had disappeared from the parchment - there was no message (Hermes was laughing his loincloth off).
No official request for troops was received, none would arrive in time to save the Athenians. They were on their own and needed to know that. Realizing these facts, Pheidippides began the long journey back to Marathon to warn Militades of the peril they were in; another run of 147 miles.
However, on the journey back Pheidippides was met by the god Pan, who vowed to assist the Athenians in their time of despair if only they would honor him as he long desired. Ah, hmnnn… Ok, "Deal".
Well, Pan came through. He instilled a sense of fear and doom in the minds of the invaders; he instilled - "Panic" (Pan-ic, get it, ya can't make this stuff up). The battle was won, the Athenians turned back the Persians and Pheidippides had one last task: To deliver the wonderful news of the Greek victory to the waiting audience at the Acropolis in Athens. In great Greek Tragedy tradition, Pheidippides accomplished this last run of approximately 26 miles, made the announcement (verbally - can't trust that sneaky God of writing), and dropped dead on the spot. Sigh.
So in honor of Pheidippides, modern day Marathons are run a length of 26.2 miles (we'll just ignore the previous 294 miles he ran), and some sage advice is also revealed…
If you must use a Kitless pen, don't trust your ink to a shady source like the
god Hermes; use a trusty IAP vendor!
And, if you have a magical Kitless Pen, by all means enter it into the
Kitless Pen Contest.
Oh, fun fact: The Greek goddess of "Victory" is… (wait for it, wait for it) - Nike!
And what did Pheidippides yell when arriving in Athens?
"Nike, Nike."
Bet poor Pheidippides wished he had some golden Nike sandals
on his jaunts in the Greek countryside.
god Hermes; use a trusty IAP vendor!
And, if you have a magical Kitless Pen, by all means enter it into the
Kitless Pen Contest.
Oh, fun fact: The Greek goddess of "Victory" is… (wait for it, wait for it) - Nike!
And what did Pheidippides yell when arriving in Athens?
"Nike, Nike."
Bet poor Pheidippides wished he had some golden Nike sandals
on his jaunts in the Greek countryside.
Pen Turning Lore, Myths and Fables I - John Hancock's Signature
Pen Turning Lore, Myths and Fables II - Elon Musk and the Chase for his Roadster
Pen Turning Lore, Myths and Fables III - The Scribe, the Master Segmenter and World Peace.
Pen Turning Lore, Myths and Fables IV - The Path to Pen Turning Enlightenment.
Pen Turning Lore, Myths and Fables V - The Tortoise and the Hare.
Pen Turning Lore, Myths and Fables VI - The War of the Roses.
Addendum: The Four Little Penturner's
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