Marathon is a Village and Plain of Ancient Greece.  It was located about 25 miles northeast of Athens.  It was the site of an Athenian victory to begin a long period of conflict with the Persians.  A Persian army of 15,000 sent by Darius is repulsed by 11,000 Greeks under the leadership of Miltiades 25 miles northeast of Athens between Mount Pentelikon and the Gulf of Marathon.

The marathon's distance was chosen to duplicate the distance run by a Greek soldier, Pheidippides, from the town of Marathon to Athens in 490 BC to bring the news of a Greek victory over the Persians. Upon delivering his message, Pheidippides died.  In this way, he made himself an excelent example of Greek Tradgedy.

The Marathon-Athens distance is actually less than 40 km (25 mi).