Running, Athletic Games Nicosia Commemorative Issue, Republic of Cyprus
Dublin Core
Title
Running, Athletic Games Nicosia Commemorative Issue, Republic of Cyprus
Description
Contemporary athletic games as well as the Olympic games include the marathon competition. For over two thousand years (490 B.C.) the battle of Marathon has astonished the world so much that it has never been forgotten. When the Persian armies of Darius were approaching the city of Marathon with their fleet of 600 ships, the great and celebrated city of Athens sent messengers to the other great Greek cities seeking help. No help came from anywhere except from the small city of Plateas whence one thousand men and one God came uninvited. The messenger Pheidippides who had reached the city of Sparta in two days, and had returned in two days, saw, in a vision, the God Pan telling him that at the crucial hour during the battle he would be by their side. The battle came to an end. Pan was there. He descended from the nearby grotto called "Pan’s cave". He evoked such great fear among the Persians that they called it "Panic". This great fear is now called "Panic" in English, French and many other languages. Meanwhile Athens, together with the women and children, was living in anguish. They were unaware of the outcome of the battle. Suddenly a soldier appeared running unbelievably fast, you could say flying;
he was the messenger Pheidippides. He calls out to them"We won" and collapses dead. Tradition preferred the Marathon Man to die the moment he had uttered the words "We Won", for there is no better death than to die at the height of one’s glory. Any other words than these that he would afterwards say would be of no value. In the Archaeological Museum of Marathon there is a room dedicated to the Neoliothic pottery discovered in the cave of Pan in Orinoe, where the Athenians established his worship in exchange for his assistance at the battle of Marathon. In another room are exhibited the remains of the marathon tomb, the monument erected to honour the 192 Athenians who fell at the battle. In the one hour that the battle had lasted the 10,000 strong Greek army under the command of Miltiades killed 6,400 out of 25,000 Persians. (Extract from: Aristides Michalopoulos
he was the messenger Pheidippides. He calls out to them"We won" and collapses dead. Tradition preferred the Marathon Man to die the moment he had uttered the words "We Won", for there is no better death than to die at the height of one’s glory. Any other words than these that he would afterwards say would be of no value. In the Archaeological Museum of Marathon there is a room dedicated to the Neoliothic pottery discovered in the cave of Pan in Orinoe, where the Athenians established his worship in exchange for his assistance at the battle of Marathon. In another room are exhibited the remains of the marathon tomb, the monument erected to honour the 192 Athenians who fell at the battle. In the one hour that the battle had lasted the 10,000 strong Greek army under the command of Miltiades killed 6,400 out of 25,000 Persians. (Extract from: Aristides Michalopoulos
Source
Cyprus Post, Republic of Cyprus
Κυπριακά Ταχυδρομεία, Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία
Publisher
Library of Cyprus University of Technology
Digital Heritage Research Lab of Cyprus University of Technology
Date
Contributor
Designer: A. Tassos
Rights
Απαγορεύεται η δημοσίευση ή αναπαραγωγή, ηλεκτρονική ή άλλη χωρίς τη γραπτή συγκατάθεση του δημιουργού.
Relation
www.cypruspost.gov.cy
Format
TIFF
Language
EL, EN
Type
Identifier
1967-ATHLETS-35M
Coverage
35.160417, 33.346556
Provenance
Aspioti - Elka, Athens
Files
Collection
Citation
Cyprus Post, Republic of Cyprus and Κυπριακά Ταχυδρομεία, Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, “Running, Athletic Games Nicosia Commemorative Issue, Republic of Cyprus ,” Αψίδα, accessed October 31, 2025, https://apsida.cut.ac.cy/items/show/12609.