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Marathon, Battle of

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  1. A famous battle in the fifth century b.c., in which the ancient Greeks defeated a much larger army of the Persian Empire.

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According to legend, news of the victory was carried to Athens (see also Athens) from the plain of Marathon, a distance of about twenty-six miles, by a messenger who collapsed and died of exhaustion after delivering his message. The distance of the modern marathon foot race is based on this legend.

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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.