The Real Story of the Marathon马拉松的真实由来

We all think we know how the marathon started， but the full story tells of an even more spectacular running feat; and not just by Pheidippides.

我们都觉得自己知道马拉松的由来，但故事的全貌是一场更为了不起的长跑壮举，而且不仅仅是费迪皮迪兹一个人在奔跑。

Everyone knows the original story of the marathon， right？ The runner ran 26 miles1 back from the Plain of Marathon to Athens， bringing news of the Athenian victory over the Persians， and he died of exhaustion after he gasped out his story.

马拉松起源的故事人尽皆知，不是吗？故事的主人公从马拉松平原出发，狂奔26英里，将雅典人战胜波斯人的捷报带回雅典城。他气喘吁吁地报告这一喜讯后，精疲力竭而死。

In fact， the real story is better than the legend， and much more of an inspir-ation to today’s runners. For the Greeks won the Battle of Marathon as much by their running as by their fighting.

事实上，真实的历史比传说精彩，而且更能激励今天的马拉松跑者——因为希腊人之所以能够取得马拉松战役的胜利，既靠英勇作战，也靠长途奔袭。

In 490 BC a Persian army of over 25，000 men （some accounts put the figure as high as 60，000）， plus cavalry and some 600 ships， invaded Greece and began to ravage the coast of Attica. Their plan was simple： to land at Marathon， 26 miles north of Athens; beat the small Athenian army; then sail round the coast to invade the city from the south， where they hoped the gates would be opened to them by traitors within.

公元前490年，波斯军队集结2.5万余名步兵（有些说法称人数高达6万），外加骑兵和大约600艘战船进犯希腊，开始在阿提卡海岸一带大肆劫掠。波斯军队的作战计划简单直接：在雅典以北26英里的马拉松平原登陆；击溃小股雅典军队；乘船绕过海岸，指望城中内应替他们打开城门，由南岸直取雅典城。

The Athenians could only put up an army of 10，000 men， with no cavalry and no ships. Their allies from the tiny city state of Plataia sent 1000 soldiers. The Greeks were hopelessly outnumbered， but when the Persians landed， the Athenians and Plataians marched out to Marathon， a narrow plain by the sea where they could block the road to Athens.

雅典军队能集结的兵力仅有1万名步兵，没有骑兵，也没有战船。同盟之中也仅有小城邦普拉提亚派出1000名步兵。两城联军陷入敌众我寡的绝望境地，但波斯军队登陆时，联军开始向海边狭长的马拉松平原进发，以期封锁通往雅典的道路。

This is where the running epic began. The Athenians needed help from Sparta—the Peloponnese city near the present-day town of Argos. Before they marched to Marathon the Athenians had sent the runner Pheidippides to beg the Spartans for assistance. He was a professional military messenger and must have been quite an athlete， able to cover dangerous ground alone， look after himself， commit accurate messages to memory and answer questions when he arrived.

史诗级的奔跑就此拉开序幕。雅典急需斯巴达驰援，后者这个伯罗奔尼撒半岛上的城邦位于今日希腊城市阿尔戈斯附近。向马拉松平原进军前，雅典军队就已派出战报使费迪皮迪兹赶往斯巴达求援。费迪皮迪兹是专业的战报使，肯定体魄强健，能够凭一己之力跑完危机重重的地带，不但保全自身，还能准确牢记军情，并在到达后回答相关提问。

If the situation was so desperate， why didn’t he use a horse？ Because the quickest route to Sparta was too rough. It had to be done on foot. The distance from Athens to Sparta is 140 miles and Pheidippides apparently did it inside two days.

情势真危急到如此地步，为何不骑马送信呢？这是因为前往斯巴达的最短路径太过崎岖，非步行无法到达。从雅典到斯巴达的路程长达140英里，费迪皮迪兹显然仅用不到两天就跑到了。

The Spartans would not send forces immediately. It was a religious festival in Sparta and they refused to set out until the full moon. It was vital that the Athenians knew the bad news as soon as possible， and Pheidippides must then have run another 140 miles back to Athens with the dire news.

可斯巴达人不愿即刻出兵。此时适逢当地的宗教祭典，斯巴达人称，须等到月圆之日方可出兵。尽早将这一坏消息知会雅典对战局走向至关重要，费迪皮迪兹必须再次飞奔140英里，将恶讯传回雅典。

Faced with Pheidippides’ news， the Athenians decided that their best chance was a rapid attack of their own. At dawn， they formed a phalanx and， to the astonishment of the Persian host2， ran at them in a fierce assault. The Persians were routed and the Greeks pursued them over the three miles back to their ships at the north end of the plain.

收到费迪皮迪兹的警报，雅典人当机立断，认为只有自己发动突袭才能有一线生机。黎明之际，雅典整军列成密集方阵，向波斯军队发动猛攻，打了他们一个措手不及。波斯军队溃败，希腊联军乘胜追击三英里，将敌军逼回停泊在平原北端的战船上。

The Persians rallied at the ships and a second battle developed which lasted several hours. It was here that the greatest of the Greek losses occurred. By noon it was all over. It was a stunning victory， but the Greeks knew this was not the end.

波斯人在战船上重整旗鼓。第二场战斗打响，持续了数小时。正是在这场战斗中，希腊人遭遇了有史以来最为惨重的伤亡。晌午时分，战斗结束。希腊联军取得了惊人的胜利，但他们明白这场战役远未结束。

Now came another astonishing feat of running. The Persian fleet was already at sea， in the second phase of the plan， sailing round Cape Sounion to arrive on the beach at Phaleron and march against an undefended Athens. An advance fleet， probably with cavalry on board （for the dash into the city） had already set off before the battle had begun. Almost certainly， this is what accounts for the legendary 26-mile run of Pheidippides. He was running back to announce the victory， but also to warn the Athenians that the Persian fleet was even now on its way. Quite possibly he did die at this point， perhaps from long-term exhaustion， perhaps from wounds. One of the walls of the Acropolis is named after him， to mark the place where he was said to have collapsed.

现在，另一场奔跑壮举即将上演。波斯船队已经在海上执行第二阶段的作战计划：绕过苏尼翁角，由法勒隆海滩登陆，直取没有设防的雅典城。波斯的先遣船队在第二场战斗打响前已经启程，船上很可能有骑兵（用以冲杀入城）。想必正因如此，费迪皮迪兹才跑出那传奇的26英里。他奔回雅典宣布了捷报，同时向雅典人发出波斯船队即将进犯的警报。他很有可能牺牲在了这一刻，也许是长途奔跑力竭而死，也许是负伤后伤重不治。为纪念他，雅典卫城的一面墙以他的名字命名，据说那里就是他倒下的地方。

More to the point， the Athenian army had to race back to Phaleron before the Persians could land their cavalry.

更要紧的是，雅典军队必须急速回防，赶在波斯骑兵登陆前到达法勒隆。

The Athenians who were freshest set off as fast as they could to cover the distance back to the city. The rest gathered themselves up， some in formal units， others as groups of friends and neighbours， with their shields and equipment slung on their backs， and ran and trotted back as best they could in the heat. We could say it was the first mass marathon—not exactly a fun run3—but all runners will understand the sort of help and support they must have been giving each other， and the reception of the Athenian populace who came out onto the Phaleron road to bring food and supplies to them.