this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2026
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[–] Jumi@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago (2 children)

It's a story that went through millennia, I think a bit of inaccuracy is valid. I mean, I only need a few beers to embellish my stories.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

i mean shit it only took... three generations? for my family's old mule story to change from me almost being a medical experiment to me almost being a billionaire potato princess.

[–] Forester@pawb.social 1 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I mean ok but what here do you think has been embellished? we know the distance we know human endurance and average health for the time period. As far as ancient stories go this one is pretty cut and dry factual IMHO. No magic no divine fate just a man running until burnout

[–] TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today 1 points 2 months ago

The first-known written account of a run from Marathon to Athens occurs in the works of the Greek writer Plutarch (46–120 AD), in his essay "On the Glory of Athens". Plutarch attributes the run to a herald called either Thersippus or Eukles. Lucian, a century later, credits one "Philippides". It seems likely that in the 500 years between Herodotus's time and Plutarch's, the story of Pheidippides had become muddled with that of the Battle of Marathon (in particular with the story of the Athenian forces making the march from Marathon to Athens in order to intercept the Persian ships headed there), and some fanciful writer had invented the story of the run from Marathon to Athens. Magill and Moose (2003) suggest that the story of the Marathon–Athens run and Pheidippides's death is likely a "romantic invention". They point out that Lucian is the only classical source with all the elements of the story known in modern culture as the "Marathon story of Pheidippides": a messenger running from the fields of Marathon to announce victory, then dying on completion of his mission

[–] Jumi@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (2 children)
[–] Forester@pawb.social 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If he had a horse he wouldn't have died....

[–] Jumi@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Maybe he had a heatstroke from being in the sun for too long.

[–] SavinDWhales@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Or the horse shied because he was shouting "Nike!" very loud. And, being on the roller skates, it might have fumbled and buried the messenger under it, thereby killing him.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

maybe the horse had roller blades