Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/283

 MARATHON. MA'RATHON (Mapae^v -. Eth. Mapadcivios'), a small plain in the NE. of Attica, containinj; four places,named Marathon, Probalinthus (Upo€d- }.iv6os : Eth.XlpoSaXiaws), Tricorythus (Tpi/ci^- pvdos, or TpLKdpvvdos. TpiK6piv6os: Eth. TptKopv- (Tios), and Oenoe (OiVo't; : Eth. OiVaZos), which originally formed the Tetrapolis, one of the 12 dis- tricts into which Attica was divided befiire the time of Theseus. Here Xuthus, who married the daughter of Erechtheus, is said to have reigned; and here the Heracleidae took refuge wlien driven out of Pelopon- nesus, and defeated Eurystheus. (Strab. viii. p. 383 ; Steph. B. s. V. TfTpaTToXts.') The Marathonii claimed to be the first people in Greece who paid divine ho- nours to Hercules, who possessed a sanctuary in the plain, of which we shall speak presently. (Pans. i. 15. § 3, i. 35. § 4.) Marathon is also celebrated in the legends of Th?seus, who conquered the ferocious bull, which used to devastate the plain. (Pint. T/ies. 14; Strab. ix. p. 399; Pans. i. 27. § 10.) Marathon is mentioned in the Homeric poems in a way that implies that it was then a place of importance. (Od. vii. 80.) Its name was derived from an eponymous hero Marathon, who is described by Pausanias as a son of Epopeus, king of Sicyon, who fled into Attica in consequence of the cruelty of bis father (Paus. ji. 1. § 1, ii. 6. § 5, i. 15. § 3, i. 32. § 4). Plu- tarch calls him an Arcadian, who accompanied the Dioscuri in their expedition into Attica, and volun- tarily devoted himself to death before the battle. {Thes. 32.) After Theseus united the 12 independent districts of Attica itito one state, the name of Tetrapolis gradually fell into disuse; and the four places of which it consisted became Attic demi, — Mara- thon, Tricorythus, and Oenoe belonging to the tribe Aeantis, and Probalinthus to the tribe Pandionis; but IMarathon was so superior to the other three, that its name was applied to the wliole district down to the latest times. Hence Lucian speaks of " the parts of Marathon about Oenoe " (Mapadaivos to Trepi Ti]v OiVoTjj', Icaro-Meriip. ] 8). Few places have obtained such celebrity in the history of the world as Marathon, on account of the victory which the Athenians here gained over the Persians in u. c. 490. Hence it is necessary to give a detailed account of the topography of the plain, in which we shall follow the admirable description of Colonel Leake, drawing a little additional information from Mr. Finlay and other writers. The plain of ]Iarathon is open to a bay of the sea on the east, and is shut in on the opposite side by the heights of Brilessus (subsequently called Pente- licus) and Diacria, which send forth roots extending to the sea, and bounding the plain to the north and south. The principal shelter of the bay is afforded by a long rocky promontory to the north, anciently called Cynosura (Kw6aovpa, Hesych.. Phot., s. i) and now Stomi. The plain is about 6 miles in length and half that breadth in its broadest part. It is somewhat in the form of a half-moon, the inner curve of which is bounded by the bay, and the outer by the range of mountains already described. The plain, described by Aristophanes as the " pleasant mead of Marathon" {eifj.wva rhv ipSivra Mapa- 6wvos, Aves, 246), is a level green expanse. The hills, which shut in the plain, were covered in an- cient times with olives and vines (Nonn. Dionys. xiii. 84, xlviii. 18). The plain is bounded at at its southern and northern extremities by two marshes, of which the southern is not large and MARATHON. 267 is almost diy at the conclusion of the great heats • while the northern, which is much larger, offers several parts which are at all seasons impass- able. Both, however, have a broad, firm, sandy beach between them and the sea. A river, now called the river of Marathona, flows through the centre of the plain into the sea. There are four roads leading out of the plain. 1. One runs along the coast by the south-western ex- tremity of the plain. (Plan, o«.) Here the plain of Marathon opens into a narrow maritime plain three miles in length, where the moimtains fall so gra- dually towards the sea as to present no very defensible impediment to the communication between the Jla- rathonia and the Mesogaea. The road afterwards passes through the valley between Pentelicus and Hymettus, through the ancient demus of Pallene. This is the most level road to Athens, and the only one practicable for carriages. It was the one by which Peisistratus marched to Athens after landing at Marathon. (Herod, i. 62.) 2. The second road runs through the pass of Vranu, so called from a small village of this name, situated in the southern of the two valleys, which branch off from the in- terior of the plain. (Plan, hb.) This road leads through Cephisia into the northern part of the plain of Athens. 3. The third road follows the vale of Marathona, the northern of the two valleys already named, in which lies the village of the same nanje, the largest in the district. (Plan, cc.) The two valleys are separated from one another by a hill called Kotroni (Plan, 3), very rugged, but of no great height. This third road leads to Aphidna, from which the plain of Athens may also be reached. 4. The fourth road leaves the plain on the north-east by a narrow pass (Plan, del) between the northern marsh and a round naked rocky height called Mt. Kordki or StavrohoruU. (Plan, 4.) It leads to Rhamnus; and at the en- trance of the pass stands the village of Lower Sdli. (Plan, 12.) Three places in the JIarathonian district particu- larly retain vestiges of ancient demi. 1. Vrond, which Leake supposes to be the site of the deinus of Marathon. It lies upon a height fortified by the ravine of a torrent, which descends into the plain after flowing between Mts. Ar/jaliki and Aforismo, which are parts of Mt. Brilessus or Pentelicus. (Plan, 1, 2.) A little below Vrand are seen four artificial tumuli of earth, one considerably larger than the others; and in a pass at the back of the hill of Kotn'mi, which leads from the vale of Vrand into that of Marathona, there are some remains of an ancient gate. Near the gate are the foundations of a wide wall, 5 feet in thickness, which are traced for nearly 3 miles in circumference, en- closing all the upper part of the valley of Vi'una. These ruins are now known by the name of t fMUvSpa T^s ypaias (the old woman's sheepfold). Near the ruined gate Leake observed the remains of three statues, probably those which were erected by Herodes Atticus to three favourite sen-ants. (Philostr. Soph. ii. 1. § 10.) Marathon was the demus of Herodes, who also died there. The wall mentioned above was probably built by Herodes, to enclose his property; for it would seem from Pliny that Marathon no longer existed as a town or village a century before the time of Herodes. (" lihamnus pagus, locus Marathon," Plin. iv. 7. s. 11.) The early disappearance of the ancient town of Marathon would easily cause its name to be