THINKER'S ALMANAC - September 2

What can a battle that happened more than 2,500 years ago teach us about perseverance?

Subject:  Mindset, Perseverance - Pheidippides’ Long Run

Event:  Battle of Marathon begins, 490 BC

-We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. ~ Aristotle

-Energy and persistence conquer all things. ~ Benjamin Franklin

-It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. ~ Albert Einstein

The three quotations above testify to the importance of persistence as a vital habit of mind.  Having a brain is one thing, but using it to propel your thinking and your body without giving up is another.  Critical thinking is hard work, and critical tasks are labor intensive.  Because of this, we should always be on the lookout for stories that inspire persistence.  Today we’ll look at one such story.

Image by ha11ok from Pixabay

On September 2, 490 BC, the Battle of Marathon began.  The Greeks, vastly outmanned by the Persians, eventually won a miraculous victory, giving the Persians their first-ever defeat.  The Greek victory also marked the start of a golden age for Athens, an age that would see the birth of democracy and of philosophy.

Even more well known than the Battle of Marathon, however, is a legend about its aftermath.  According to the story, a Greek foot-soldier Pheidippides was sent as a messenger from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over the Persian army. As he approached Athens, having run a distance of nearly 25 miles, Pheidippides collapsed and died. He did not die, however, without first completing his mission; with his last gasp, he uttered “nike,” the Greek word for victory.

As is so often the case when it comes to history versus legend, there is a lot more to the story.  According to the fifth century historian Herodotus -- “the father of history” -- Pheidippides' story begins before the battle. He was not an athlete; he was a hemerodromos: a Greek soldier whose specialty was delivering messages by foot over long distances. 

Pheidippides’ first task was to run from Athens to Sparta, a distance of 150 miles, to request the help of Spartan troops in the Athenians’ anticipated battle against the Persians.  The trip took Pheidippides two days.  Once he arrived, the Spartans agreed to join the fight, but not before the arrival of a full moon, which was required by their religious laws.  Pheidippides now faced a new task, notifying his superiors of the Spartans’ delay.  After a brief night’s rest, he rose before sunrise and began his 150-mile trek back to Athens.  Arriving two days later, Pheidippedes delivered his message and joined the 10,000-man Athenian army as it was deployed to Marathon.

Led by General Miltiades, the Greeks were outnumbered six to one against the Persians. In addition, knowing that the Spartans would probably not arrive early enough to help them, the Greeks needed to be strategic. After receiving intelligence that the Persians had sent their cavalry back to their ships in preparation for a plan to surround the Greeks, Miltiades decided to execute a surprise strike at dawn, while the Persian cavalry was absent. The gamble worked.  Even though the Persians had a larger force, they were unprepared for a direct attack.  If not for Pheidippides’ heroic 300-mile run, Miltiades would not have known that he could not count on the Spartans’ help, and what many have called the most critical battle in history might have been lost. 

In the battle’s aftermath, the Greeks did send a messenger back to Athens to announce the great victory; oddly, however, the messenger was not Pheidippides.  As the story goes, the messenger ran the 25 miles to the Acropolis.  Upon arrival he loudly announced,  “Nike! Nike! Nenikekamen” (“Victory! Victory! Rejoice, we conquer!”).  He then collapsed and died.

Today, many people run 26 mile marathons, but those who know the true story of Pheidippides’ run the 246-kilometer (153 miles) Spartathlon, an ultramarathon from Athens to Sparta, run annually since 1983 (1).

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  How do the stories of Pheidippides before and after the Battle of Marathon inspire perseverance?

Challenge - Mind Over Matter: Pheidippides personifies perseverance.  Who is another person who serves as a living example of how strength of mind can help anyone overcome physician limitations?  Explain how this person was able to achieve great things through his or her mindset.

Also on This Day:

September 2, 1802:  On this day, William Wordsworth (1770-1850) wrote his sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802.  Instead of taking a photo or painting a picture, he crafted an image made of words, vividly describing the city of London and the Thames River.  Like a postcard, his poem is permanently postmarked by its title, providing both the time and place it was composed.

September 2, 1901: Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech at the Minnesota State Fair where he used a line that was to become famously associated with him:  “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”  Roosevelt was Vice President at the time, but he became the youngest president ever just eight days later when President William McKinley died from an assassin’s bullet.

September 2, 1945:  Six years and one day after it began, World War II ended with the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed aboard the USS Missouri.  Thus ended history’s deadliest conflict.

Sources:

1-Karnazes, Dean. “The Real Pheidippides Story”  Runner’s World 6 Dec. 2016.