The Origin of the Marathon: Linking Past to Present

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The story of the most popular long-distance event, from its origins in ancient literature to the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, and how a young farmer, Spyridon 'Spyros' Louis (1873-1940), became an unlikely national hero.

Podcaster: Esther

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Further Reading

Lambros, SP. P. and N.G. Polites. The Olympic Games, B.C. 776 - A.D. 1896. Athens and London, 1896.

Lovett, Charlie. Olympic Marathon: A Centennial History of the Games’ Most Storied Race. Praeger, 1997.

Lucas, Josh. “A History of the Marathon Race—490 BC to 1975.” Journal of Sport History 3 (1976): 120-138.

Verinis, James P. “
Spiridon Loues, the Modern Foustanéla, and the Symbolic Power of Pallikariá at the 1896 Olympic Games.” Journal of Modern Greek Studies 23:1 (2005): 139-168.

Related Content

This episode is part of our Running in History Series

Music: "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com)

Spyros Louis wearing the traditional foustanéla

Louis at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, standing next to Prince Paul of Greece