We began the day with a 40-minute drive to Marathon. Most people enjoyed getting a bit more sleep, listening to music, and looking at some of the sights Gabriele pointed out along the way. After arriving at Marathon, we learned the story of the battle at Marathon. It was between the Athenians and Persians. At the time, the Persians were the most feared army because of their size and being undefeated. While preparing for the attack, the Athenians sent a runner to Sparta to ask for support. This is where the marathon race originates. Another interesting fact about the site of the battle was that those who perished were buried there instead of being removed and buried back in Athens. We saw the hill that marked where they were buried and continued the tradition of St. Olaf students running a lap around the hill (instead of an entire marathon).
We then continued on to the Marathon museum where we saw a room dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis. There were many statues similar to what we see in Egyptian history. There was also a statue holding grains of wheat that was thought to depict Demeter.
Following the museum, we got on the bus for another hour to Eleusis, the city that honored Demeter. The story goes that Demeter took human form and became the caretaker of a human child. She tried to make the child immortal by holding it above fire and was caught by the parents, forcing her to reveal her true form and swore them to secrecy. This is how the secret cult of Demeter, the most populous cult, legendarily began. We had read about secret religions, including the secret cult of Demeter, so it was really interesting to visit the site that our reading was discussing.
Oles in Greece 2020 