He persians landed in the plains near athens. as their army greatly outnumbered that of the greeks, the greeks hoped to find aid
from nearby sparta. a long-distance runner named pheidippides was sent from athens to sparta to request help, but the spartans were not able to send more soldiers at the time. regardless, the greeks were still able to win the battle. centuries later, legend developed that a runner had been sent from the battle to athens after the greek victory. after reaching athens, the runner proclaimed, "we are victorious!" and then fell to the ground and died. this legendary story is the inspiration for the modern long-distance runs that are performed today.
The Battle of Marathon was fought in 490BC between Athens and Persia in what became known as the first invasion of the Greek mainland by the Persians and was led by Darius The Great.
Before the battle, the Athenians sent a message to request help from Sparta but the Spartans declined involvement due to their observance of a religious festival.
Regardless, Athens and her Allies inflicted a crushing defeat on the Persians that kept them out of Greece for over a decade before Xerxes the Great invaded their shores once more.
This therefore must be the battle that the text speaks of.
