Relevant to a post from yesterday: https://lemmy.world/post/49714184
this post was submitted on 22 Jul 2026
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I mean....... He didn't, more than likely he never really existed. That interpretation of the legend is a misconception that was popularized in 1879 by Robert Browning who claims he ran from athens to sparta, back to athens, fought at marathon, and then ran back to Athens where he died.
In reality the first mention of a runner having to do with the battle was made by Herodotus (aka the father of lies) who claimed Pheidippides ran from athens to sparta in two days..... Only stopping to have a quick chat with some gods.
Around 500 years later Plutarch claimed a runner named Thersippus or Eukles ran from marathon to Athens to deliver news of victory.
100 years after that Lucian of Samosata claimed that Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to announce victory and then died.
Over 1500 years later Browing would conflate all the stories into one legend about Pheidippides.
So, the earliest source for the story comes 40 years after it supposedly happened, and from a person who was famous for for spinning up some pretty tall tales.
Man, fuck Herodotus. That guy's full of shit and has been taken too seriously for too long.
Yeah.... Even contemporary writers would constantly criticize him for mixing fantasy into his writing for entertainment purposes.