Pheidippides is the Greek runner associated with the legend that inspired the modern marathon’s name.
According to the traditional story, Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in 490 BC. He delivered the message and then died, although ancient sources and later retellings differ about the details.
The modern marathon was introduced at the 1896 Athens Olympics after French philologist Michel Bréal proposed a race based on the legend. The event therefore combines ancient history, later storytelling, and modern sporting invention rather than representing a documented ancient Olympic race.
Herodotus’s account describes a long-distance run by Pheidippides from Athens to Sparta before the battle, not the famous post-battle run to Athens. That distinction is why the name is best understood as rooted in legend and historical tradition.