Athens runs to commemorate 2,500-year-old victory

[Risto the Great]

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=running-in-commemoration-of-a-2500-year-old-victory-2010-10-27

He ran the entire way between Marathon and Athens and could only gasp out the words, ‘Rejoice, we are victorious,’ before he collapsed and died. His story is the basis for the modern Olympics and this weekend Athens is celebrating as thousands of people participate in a commemorative run

I wonder how Greeks celebrate the Battle of Chaeronea. They all pretend to die as Macedonians destroy them???

[Bill77]

It would be great if Macedonians world wide would celebrate the Battle of Chaeronea like we do for Ilinden.

And of top of that, we should have a day of Morning or Remembrance day every year for the time our country was devided.
Lest we forget.

[lavce pelagonski]

true we should

[makedonche]

We should also do a re-enactment with thousands of volunteers/schoolkids of the battle - annually and turn it into a tourist attraction - in ROM of course!

[The LION will ROAR]

Good idea makedonche

I 've posted this Question earlier in

Macedonian Prime Minister's Letterbox

http://www.macedoniantruth.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2360&page=2

What will Macedonia do when the 100 year anniversary arrives of the partition of Macedonia in 1913..???

[julie]

In my wildest dreams, I have a vision of someone finding a legal clause in fine print or legal loophole that they must hand our land back to us in 2013. I also believe in fairies at the bottom of my garden

I think the government (joke) should be planning something along the lines of Makedonche, where a drama would be re=enacted of the partitioning involving all Macedonians/
What has me concerned, will we still have the name Macedonia in 2013

[Blagojce]

Marathon effort at Greek festival
BY DEBORAH FIELD
02 Nov, 2010 07:00 AM

THERE was a roar of applause as Greek marathon runner Aristotle Kakogeorgiou entered the Marathon 2500 Festival at St George Soccer Stadium on Sunday.

The festival commemorated the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon, in which the ancient Greek Phidippides ran 42 kilometres from the Plains of Marathon to the centre of Athens to announce Greece had defeated Persia.

Mr Kakogeorgiou and marathon runner Yvonne Notaris-McKean, of Sans Souci, paid tribute to the battle by running from the Sydney Opera House to the festival.

The pair were greeted on arrival by Rockdale mayor Bill Saravinovski, who ran towards them kissing a Greek flag.

Cr Saravinovski presented Mr Kakogeorgiou, who ran in full panoply, with the keys to the city before he handed his helmet to the mayor.

Festival committee member and head of the council’s mayoress committee, Christine Stavropoulos, said the event was a ‘‘beautiful coming together’’ of Greek and Australian cultures.

‘‘The most beautiful moment was when Aristotle ran into the stadium as the [Orpheas] choir sang an ancient Greek ceremonial song and Bill ran towards him kissing the flag,’’ Ms Stavropoulos said.

‘‘The Battle of Marathon was the first victory in Europe to create democracy and change the whole course of civilisation.’’

About 5500 people visited the festival during the day to help raise funds for the St George and Sutherland Medical Research Foundation.

Foundation CEO David Tipler competed in the Athens Classic Marathon on Sunday to raise $100,000 for research in pregnancy-related disorders and women’s health.

Funds raised from the events will go towards the Leader 50th anniversary appeal for medical research.

Total money raised from the festival is being calculated.

The appeal aims to raise $750,000 for the foundation by next April.

So far, $500,000 has been collected for new research into areas such as intensive care and emergency medicine, trauma and infection.

Kogarah MP, Cherie Burton, presented festival committee president, Chris Paxinos, with a $10,000 cheque to help cover the cost of the event.

The Battle of Marathon is one of history’s most famous military engagements and is regarded as the inspiration for the modern marathon.

TARGET ON TRACK

The Leader 50th anniversary appeal for medical research aims to raise $750,000 for the foundation by next April.

So far, $500,000 has been collected for new research into areas such as intensive care and emergency medicine, trauma and infection.

St George and Sutherland Medical Research Foundation CEO, David Tipler, competed in the Athens Classic Marathon on Sunday and raised $100,000 towards the appeal.

http://www.theleader.com.au/news/local/news/general/marathon-effort-at-greek-festival/1984731.aspx?storypage=2

[Soldier of Macedon]

The pair were greeted on arrival by Rockdale mayor Bill Saravinovski, who ran towards them kissing a Greek flag.

Is this true? If so, how absolutely pathetic and disgraceful. Is this what we're to expect from leaders of Macedonian origin in this apparent Macedonian 'stronghold' of Rockdale?

[lavce pelagonski]

I someone can find a picture of him kissing the falg I would like to see it.

http://www.merredinmercury.com.au/files/30/72/13/000137230/marathon/project/publish_to_web/index.html

[TrueMacedonian]

I am going to request this topic be moved to the Exposing lies and propaganda section due to the lie todays supposed inheritors of the ancient hellenes are propagating with this new invented tradition.

Not too long ago Marathon was inhabited by nothing but Albanians:






If we could raise Demosthenes from the dead and show him what the inhabitants of Athens are today they would look like this to him

[TrueMacedonian]

Let's break down what this invented tradition really is and what was really recent about Marathon and everything about the modern day Olympics. From the link RTG posted - http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.p...ory-2010-10-27

Until Monday, Athens visitors will be able to visit an exhibition comparing Greek and Persian cultures entitled "Democracy and the Battle of Marathon" at Zappion Hall and hear the opera "Marathon-Salamis" at the National Opera until Tuesday.

This Zappion hall was built by none other Evangelis Zappas an Albanian http://www.holiday-in-athens.com/ath...l-garden-zapp/

Here is the topic on the Albanian Evangelis Zappas - http://www.macedoniantruth.org/forum...ad.php?p=39347

On Sunday, the Marathon Marathon Project will be held in the Athens Acropolis Museum under the auspices of the ministry of culture and tourism. This includes an international array of marathon-format events based on the idea of superhuman endeavor.

Well we already know about the Albanians helping Lord Elgin move the Elgin Marbles. Here's some info on the Acropolis and its museum, which was built by a Swiss architect, - http://www.macedoniantruth.org/forum...ight=acropolis

The celebrations reach a climax with the 28th Athens Classic Marathon on Sunday. More than 20,000 athletes from every part of the world are expected to take part in this race from the battlefield of Marathon to the Marble Panathenaikon Stadium, a distance of 42 kilometers.

Here's some interesting grk info on the Panathenaikon stadium -

http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/NewSport/PanathinaikoStadium.html

It was fully rebuilt in 1895 in order to host the first modern Olympic Games, with funding provided by the magnate George Averoff (whose marble statue now stands at the entrance) and on designs by architects Anastasios Metaxas and Ernst Ziller. The stadium was built long before dimensions for athletics venues were standardized and its track and layout follow the ancient hairpin-like model. It can seat about 80,000 spectators.

Some of you know that George Averoff (nice authentic hellenic name huh) was a rich Vlach. But none of you know who Ernst Ziller is. Here's the website of the presidency of the "Hellenic Republic" - http://www.presidency.gr/en/ziller.htm

Ernst Ziller was born on 22 June 1837 in Oberloessnitz in Saxony. In 1855 he was accepted by the Royal School of Architecture at Dresden Technical University from which he graduated in 1858. During his studies he worked for a period of time in Vienna in the office of the Danish architect, Theophilos Hansen. Their meeting would decide his career. A few years later, in 1861, Ziller came to Athens as Hansen's representative, and undertook to supervise the construction of the Athens Academy.

He soon became integrated into Athens society and settled in Greece. He married, had a family and remained here until his death in November 1923. During his first years in Greece, Ziller travelled throughout the country studying the archaeological treasures. After the expulsion of King Otto, work on the Athens Academy was interrupted and Ziller returned to Vienna for a short time.

In 1868 he returned to Greece and in 1872 was appointed Professor at the School of Arts, the predecessor of the National Technical University of Athens. Orders for work came pouring in. Ziller had finally achieved success. The patronage of the king and the fact that he had been employed to draw up the plans for the summer palaces at Tatoi, at Petalious and later the Crown Prince's Palace attracted a large number of the wealthy bourgeoisie to employ him for the building of their mansions and summer houses. The Schliemann, Stathatou, and Pesmatzoglou mansions and the villas of Thon, Sygrou, and others are works of his. At the same time he designed a series of public and municipal buildings and churches. The National (Royal) Theatre of Athens, the theatres of Patras and Zakynthos (now demolished), the museum at Olympia, the market at Pyrgos, and the church of St. Luke constitute only a small part of his achievements. Up to the present day the full scale of his work is not yet known.

Not only did Ziller design more than six hundred buildings, but his work constitutes a milestone in contemporary greek architecture. His architectural work, which extends from the second half of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century, is marked by its creativity and its sense of artistic freedom. His initially classicist style, which was characteristic of the period of mature Athenian neoclassicism, changed to eclecticism and romanticism especially in the architecture of private homes. In State buildings though, the classicist Greek spirit was preserved, while at the same time in church architecture, an attempt was made to maintain the Byzantine tradition.

Ziller is undoubtedly the architect who represents the period of King George I, and his work had an enormous influence on his time.

So here we have it. An Albanian's hall is used for this invented tradition with the stadium financed by a Vlach (and Zappas the Albanian earlier from what I saw in another link) and built by a Saxon foreigner. Demosthenes would be proud

[Risto the Great]

Oh my goodness True Macedonian. Will we ever find an honest to goodness Greek thing to celebrate?

I know, what about "feta" or how about "Greek style yoghurt" ... surely they are something unique.

[George S.]

Battle of Marathon what a joke & macedonians siding with the greeks is nothing but pathetic kissing flags what next kissing the greek bishops arse will come into it.
If the greeks remember the battle of Marathon they must remember Chaeronea because that's where they were slaughtered to a pulp by the macedonians.

[lavce pelagonski]

can anyone find a clip with Bill kissing the greek flag

[Big Bad Sven]

Battle of Marathon what a joke & macedonians siding with the greeks is nothing but pathetic kissing flags what next kissing the greek bishops arse will come into it.
If the greeks remember the battle of Marathon they must remember Chaeronea because that's where they were slaughtered to a pulp by the macedonians.

The year 2004 was the "year of the greek".

In that year we witnessed at the Eurovision song contest Tose Proeski going on grik national TV and kissing the grk cross and waving a grk flag, some sort of gesture of Peace i would assume.

In that same year Grease won the euro-cup beating the czech republic, i remember reading and seeing pictures of macedonians in skopje and ohrid celebrating the grk win and dancing on the streets waving grk flags.