Page 26 - Resources

water-carrier. He won at the Olympics in 2 hours, 58 minutes and 50 seconds,

despite stopping on the way for a glass of wine from his uncle waiting near the
village of Chalandri.[citation needed]
The current "official" distance of 26.22 miles for the marathon came from the
marathon at the 1908 Olympic Games in London, which was set to measure exactly
26 miles and to start on ‘The Long Walk’ – a magnificent avenue in the grounds of

Windsor Castle. At his own request it was scheduled to be started by King Edward
VII personally. It was only on the day before the race that it was extended by 385
yards from its set 26 miles so that the King could start the race in the Great
Courtyard of the Castle (385 yards up the hill) because he had a cold and his

doctors had advised him not to go out. This way the runners would still cross the
finishing line in front of his wife Queen Alexandra in the Royal family's viewing box in
the Olympic Arena - White City Stadium at Shepherd’s Bush in the west of central
London) - so the length became 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards).
Marathon (μάραθον) is the Greek word for fennel. It is believed that the town was

originally named so because of an abundance of fennel plants in the area. The
sophist and magnate Herodes Atticus was born in Marathon. In 1925, a dam was
constructed by the American company ULEN in a valley above Marathon, in order to

ensure water supply for Athens. It was completed in 1930. About 10 km² of forested
land were flooded to form Lake Marathon. The Dionysos-Nea Makri road, part of GR-
83, passes through a traffic-light-controlled one-lane driveway on the crest of the
dam wall. The plain area lies to the southeast.
The beach of Schinias is located southeast of the town and it is a popular

windsurfing spot and the Olympic Rowing Center for the 2004 Summer Olympics is
also located there. At the 1896 and 2004 Summer Olympics, Marathon was the
starting point of the marathon races (for both women and men in 2004). The area is
susceptible to flash flooding, because of forest fires having denuded parts of the

eastern slopes of Mount Penteli.

ANCIENT OLYMPIC GAMES

The games were held at Olympia every four years but wars ceased when the games
were on.

Women had their own games.

The modern Olympics were started by Baron de Coubert in Athens in 1896.

Programme of Events

Day 1 Trumpeters’ and heralds’ contest

(Greek Grandeur, Hebrew Heart) 24