History Trivia - Pheidippides runs to Athens, heralding victory over the Persians

Sept 10

490 BC The Battle of Marathon took place between the forces of the Persian Empire and those of Athens. The battle was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius, to subjugate Greece.  The Greek army decisively defeated the more numerous Persians, marking a turning point in the Greco-Persian Wars.  The battle is perhaps now more famous as the inspiration for the marathon race. Although thought to be historically inaccurate, the legend of the Greek messenger, Pheidippides, running to Athens with news of the victory became the inspiration for this athletic event, introduced at the 1896 Athens Olympics, and originally run between Marathon and Athens.

506 The bishops of Visigothic Gaul met in the Council of Agde. The canons shed light on the moral conditions of the clergy and laity in southern France at the beginning of the transition from the Graeco-Roman social order to that of the new conquerors.

1167 Empress Matilda died. Daughter of King Henry I, widow of Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, and mother of King Henry II, Matilda (also known as Maud) engaged in a civil war with Stephen of Blois over the crown of England.

1547 The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, the last full scale military confrontation between England and Scotland, resulted in a decisive victory for the forces of Edward VI.