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Astronomers revise likely date of Marathon run

PostPosted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 7:06 pm
by Quintus Aurelius Orcus
Salvete

Astronomers revise likely date of Marathon run
By Tariq Malik, SPACE.com

A team of astronomer gumshoes has pinned down the date of an ancient Greek battle at Marathon that led to a long-distance run and the sport that survives today in its honor. Analysis of lunar records show the 490 B.C. battle occurred not on the long accepted date of September 12, but a full month earlier, researchers said.
How important is a month for a professional runner more than 2,000 years ago? Apparently it's a matter of life and death.

According the Greek historian Herodotus, Plutarch and others, after the Greek army routed their Persian attackers at Marathon the long-distance runner Pheidippides sprinted the 26 miles (46 kilometers) back to Athens to announce the victory and warn of an attack from the sea. He then collapsed and died.
The rest of the article can be found at this adress: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-07-19-marathon-revision_x.htm
valete optime
Romulus