The legend of Marathon and Thermopylae 8h tour

The historians argue that this victory back in 490 BC was pivotal in the development of Western civilization because it preceded a flowering of Athenian culture that led to great advances in mathematics, drama, philosophy and astronomy. Other ways, we may have not known the world as it is today. Maybe Europe, Asia or America would not exist as we know them today!The legend has it that after the battle ended, Phidipides, a daily runner, was immediately dispatched to deliver the good news to Athens, roughly 26,219 miles away or 42,195 Km: the world’s first marathon. Upon arrival the heroic messenger exclaimed,“Rejoice, we won!” Admire the impressive starting line of the classic Marathon run! Visit the Tumulus of the Athenians bravely ling there and portrays the victory against the Persians in 480 BC. Next, we’ll see the Marathon Battlefield, the Marathon archeological Museum, the prehistoric cemetery that proves the first civilized presence in this location and the museum of the Marathon run. Stop at the Marathon lake and the Marathon dam famous for the unique structure made with the Pentelic marble same as the Acropolis marble. The Marathon dam is operating as the water reservoir for Athens.

It’s time now to take the way to Thermopylae (Hot gates). The time is August 480 B.C.; the place; Thermopylae, Greece, the occasion; the aftermath of a great battle. 10 years after the defeat at Marathon, the Persian invasion of Greece was resumed by King Xerxes in 480 BC. A vast army of Persians was on the march to conquer Greece. A small force of Greeks had been all that stood in their way. And yet, in a pass that narrows to a space smaller than a ball field, the impossible almost happened. For three days, just over a 100 to a 150 Greeks, spearheaded by an elite unit of three hundred Spartans, gave a savage beating to the Persian army that outnumbered them by perhaps 30-to-1. About 200,000 men willing to die for the glory of Xerxes, the Persian Great King, came up against the most efficient killing machine in history.

The

Spartans; The best soldiers the world has ever known! The strategic decision to fight the Greeks at Thermopylae had finally punished the Persians. Xerxes had learned how high the price of the victory would be if he could pay it at all. How hard to think that so few men could devastate so many. Leonidas didn’t want any songs or any tributes. His wish was simple; Remember us! Remember why we died! And the brave 300 Spartans died but their legend stands and echos through the centuries. To conclude, you will visit the battlefield in Thermopylae, the monument of the 300 Spartans and the statue of Leonidas standing exactly opposite

Kolonos Hill (visit) where the persistent Spartans left their last breath. A place too sacred for words. The statue of the 700 Thespian and the hot springs. Lunch at Kammena Vourla, a little town on the water to enjoy an authentic Greek lunch by the sea.