The leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in Boston has written of then tragedy of the attack on the marathon there. He draws a connection between the inspiration behind the race and the 'marathon spirit' today. You can read his letter in it's entirety here.
We reflect on the meaning of the Marathon runners which, even though forgotten most of the times, becomes especially poignant in the face of today’s tragedy: the first Marathon runner was a herald of victory—he covered the distance from the battleground of Marathon to Athens in order to announce to his fellow citizens the joyous news: Νενικήκαμεν! “We have won!” Historians claimed that in the battle of Marathon the European civilization won over an empire that devalued freedom and democracy. It was a victory of humanity against the forces of evil and that mentality which depreciated the values of individuality for which the Athenian city-state proud itself.
