The municipality of Marathon (33,423 inhabitants in 2011; 22,660 ha) was eestablished in the 2011 local government reform as the merger of the former municipalities of Grammatiko (Γραμματικό, 1,823 inh.), Marathon (12,849 inh.), Nea Makri (Νέα Μάκρη, 16,670 inh.), and Varnavas (Βαρνάβας, 2,081 inh.).
Marathon's name comes from the herb fennel, called marathon (μάραθον) or marathos (μάραθος) in Greek. The name of the athletic long-distance endurance race, the "marathon", comes from the legend of a Greek runner, who was sent from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping, but moments after proclaiming his message, he collapsed from exhaustion. After Miltiades (the general of the Greek forces) had defeated Darius' Persian forces, the Persians decided to sail from Marathon to Athens in order to sack the unprotected city. Miltiades ordered all his hoplite forces to "double-time" march back to Athens. By the time Darius' troops arrived, they saw the same Greek force waiting for them.
In the 19th century and beginning of twentieth century the village was inhabited by an Arvanite (Albanian) population. At the 1896 and 2004 Summer Olympics, Marathon was the starting point of the marathon race. Olivier Touzeau, 15 May 2014
Here is the latest flag of the municipality.
Tomislav Šipek, 22 July 2024
This is the latest Marathon municipality flag. The logo was accepted around 2020, so we can also consider the flag from that era (although it was probably used in public later). The white flag that was presented at FOTW was in use between approximately 2016 and 2020. So this is already the third flag of the municipality in a short period since it was created in this form in 2011. So it is not an alternative flag and replaces the previous flag. Tomislav Šipek, 23 July 2024
images by Tomislav Šipek, 6 April 2019, and Olivier Touzeau, 15 May 2014, respectively
The flag of Marathon (photo) is white with the municipal emblem.
The former municipal flag (photo, photo) had a large dark blue border, and wqs medium blue in the center, with a thin white border between the two blue parts. On the ligher blue is the name of the municipaliy in dark blue letters and, in the center, the head of Miltiades. Tomislav Šipek and Olivier Touzeau, 6 April 2019
The flag of the former municipality of Marathon (Kokkonis website) was similar in design, but with a thinner white border, the name of the municipality in yellow letters, and a different representation of Miltiades, placed on a white oval. Olivier Touzeau, 15 May 2014
The area was once known as Plesti, but following the 1922 Greek military disaster in Asia Minor and the subsequent repatriation of Greeks from the town of Makri, it was renamed to Nea Makri.
The flag of Nea Makri (Kokkonis website) was white with a burgundy red outer border and the municipal emblem in the center. Olivier Touzeau, 27 May 2014
![[Flag of Marathon]](../images/g/gr-atma0.gif)
![[Flag of Marathon]](../images/g/gr-at-ma.jpg)
![[Flag of Marathon]](../images/g/gr-at-ma.gif)
![[Flag of former Marathon municipality]](../images/g/gr-at-m2.gif)
![[Flag of former Nea Makri municipality]](../images/g/gr-at-m3.gif)
