The First Marathon: The Legend of Pheidippides

The Backstory: Twenty-five Hundred years ago the Persians became angry with the Greeks and decided to declare war on them. As the Athenian and Persian armies faced off on the plain of Marathon, it became clear to the Greeks that they were greatly outnumbered and that reinforcements were needed.

They decided to ask Sparta for help. The only problem was that the city-state of Sparta was 140 rock strewn miles away and that consequently the use of horses was out of the question. They turned therefore to their runners and decided that Pheidippides was the man for the job. It took him 36 hours of nonstop running but he made it. Amazingly, he gave his message and then turned and ran back to the battle field.

The Spartans never turned up in time, but the Greeks miraculously won anyway. THEN, in what can only be called a major management snafu, Pheidippides was asked to run to Athens to tell everyone at home that their army was victorious. Needless to say, his electrolytes must have been seriously out of whack by then; after delivering his message, Pheidippides clutched his chest and died.

When we study an area like ancient Greek history, I always try to keep things lively by throwing in some great picture books with fabulous stories. The First Marathon: The Legend of Pheidippides is one such book. Marvelous story and Susan Reynolds tells it so well that all of us were immediately drawn in.

THE SKINNY:::

Great story, well told. Information such as Greece's geology and Persia's motivation in the conflict is painlessly integrated into the story so that kids learn without even knowing it.

Rather than glorifying war, the author puts the emphasis on honor, steadfastness and physical fitness.

Bright and dramatic artwork by Daniel Minter is kid-friendly, and the costuming and settings are historically accurate (although abstract).

Finally, I love how Ms. Reynolds takes the sad ending -- Pheidippides sort of overdoes the running -- and turns it into a positive by showing that the man is still honored today, thousands of years later, whenever a Marathon is run.

The First Marathon: The Legend of Pheidippides
by Susan Reynolds, Daniel Minter (Illus.)

Reading Information
Word Count: 2,404
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reading level: 5.5/ points: 0.5
AR quiz: 106017