Everyone from school should remember the story of how, during the Greco-Persian war, the army of the Athenians defeated Asian army at Marathon, after which a messenger was sent to the capital, who died immediately after running at 35 kilometers. Allegedly, it was after this that the concept of "marathon distance" appeared. But there is only one snag: today many athletes overcome it without any problems without any harm to health. What was wrong with the runner from Ancient Greece?
The man who brought the news of the victory of the Greek army from Marathon to Athens was called Phidippides (or Philippides, or Tersippus, or Eucles). The bottom line is that different ancient authors give it completely different names. The first to write about him was the ancient Greek philosopher and writer Mestrius Plutarch, who was born in 46 AD. The only trouble is that the Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC. Thus, Plutarch, to put it mildly, was not a witness of those events and wrote about them after more than 500 years. This alone is enough to doubt the reality of the words of the philosopher.
Most likely, the story of the hero-messenger Phidippides, who ran 35 km from Marathon to Athens, brought the inhabitants good news and died of exhaustion - this is a legend, a literary fiction, which was composed by Plutarch specially. After all, it sounds pretentious and dramatic, and people love such stories. Especially when it comes to the heroic epic. And as you know, every hero must die. Of course, such a legend was hardly invented by Plutarch from scratch, and something similar took place in reality.
Was there really a messenger? Definitely yes. Moreover, a certain messenger named Phidippides, apparently, really lived in the era of the Greco-Persian wars (they went from 500-449 BC). In particular, such a person is mentioned by the "father of history", philosopher, writer and historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus, who was born in 484 BC. And although Herodotus did not find the Marathon battle itself, he lived in the same era and, moreover, lived surrounded by people who witnessed those events.
So the "father of history" in his writings also mentions Phidippides, who, according to his description, was an excellent runner. But Herodotus did not run the athlete from the Marathon to Athens, but from Athens to Sparta with a request to send troops to help. At the same time, Phidippides coped with the run in 3 days, breaking 238 km in only one direction... Perhaps Herodotus also embellished the achievements athlete, but in any case, this description clearly demonstrates how good it was with the physical fitness of the Greek soldiers and messengers. It is possible that there was actually no runner Phidippides during the Marathon, but the point here is most likely something else.
With a certain degree of probability, Plutarch, who already lived in our era, could read the works of Herodotus and "be inspired" to create his own story of Phidippides. As a result, a beautiful and sad legend about the self-sacrifice of an athlete was born. Moreover, many authors have done this throughout history (and continue to do so in our time!). Although the victory over the Persians at Marathon was an important event, the Greeks would hardly have sent a messenger exhausted by the battle to Athens.
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However, from the point of view of medicine, even a prepared person could well have died after an unsuccessful run. In theory, an athlete's heart could not withstand the "acceleration" of adrenaline as a result of unsuccessful stopping and improper breathing control. Unfortunately, Plutarch himself did not consider it necessary to support the story with any explanatory comments.
Continuing the topic, read about why men in ancient Rome were not allowed wearing boots and long pants.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/100121/57387/
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