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MARATHON & RHAMNOUS
[Duration : appr. 5 hrs] Request Form
(MARATHON LAKE, THE TOMB OF MARATHON, THE MUSEUM, TEMPLE OF NEMESIS).
Marathon Tour Details
Starting this tour we move towards the northern luxurious suburbs of Athens like Psihiko, Kifisia, Ekali, St. Stefanos driving through the green surroundings of Pendelikon Mountain until we reach the Marathon Lake (water from a drainage basin of 118 square kilometres with an average runoff of 14,400,000 m³ per year) at Marathon area. This is a lake formed by the Marathon Dam- height 54 m, width 28 m at the base and 4.5 m at the crest, length 285 m. It is constructed from concrete which is unique worldwide because its external cladding of white Pendelikon marble is the same marble used in construction of the Parthenon and the other buildings in the Acropolis. We will make a short stop there to take some photos of the lake being the main water source of Athens.
Approaching the Marathon plain we come across the Tymvos (Tomb) of Marathon –the burial ground of Athenian and Plataians solders who fell in the battle against the Persians (10.000 against 500.000 soldiers) in August 490 B.C. The outcome of the battle, which was victory for the Athenians, was announced to the city of Athens by a soldier named Pheidippides who run the distance from the Marathon Plain to Athens fully armed and died of exhaustion after announcing “Nenikikamen” (we have won). The worldwide known Marathon Race was established in honor of this event. Greek runner Spyros Louis won the Marathon Race at the first Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. Afterwards, we visit the Marathon Museum composed of five rooms with findings dated from Neolithic till after Roman period including the Trophy room.
We complete our tour visiting the area of Rhamnous which was an important frontier of equal reputation with the one of Cape Sounion constructed during the Peloponnesian War to control the ships bringing cereals to the city of Athens. There we can see the remaining of the Temple of Nemesis a Goddess similar to Artemis (Diana).
