Marathon

Marathon, also known as Marathonas, is a small seaside village on the island of Aegina, roughly 4 kilometres south of Aegina Town and its main harbour, on the road that continues down towards the fishing village of Perdika. Aegina lies in the Saronic Gulf around 27 kilometres from Athens and within easy reach of Piraeus, and Marathon developed almost entirely around its pair of adjoining sandy beaches rather than any larger industry. What was once a modest fishing settlement has grown into a low-key holiday resort, with rooms, small studios and a handful of tavernas serving fresh seafood, but it has kept a quieter, more residential character than the busier resorts elsewhere on the island.

A Tale of Two Beaches

The two beaches, generally referred to as Marathon A and Marathon B, sit side by side and share the same shallow, gently sloping seabed, which makes them popular with families and less confident swimmers. Sun loungers, umbrellas and simple snorkelling or diving equipment can be hired at both, and the shoreline is shaded by eucalyptus trees, reeds and low shrubs that soften the midday sun. Several of the tavernas set back from the sand hand out free sunbeds to their customers, which keeps the atmosphere relaxed rather than commercial.

From the water, the beaches look out toward the neighbouring islands of Moni and Agistri and, further off, the coast of the Peloponnese, a west-facing aspect that makes this side of Aegina one of the better places on the island to watch the sun go down. Buses running between Aegina Town and Perdika stop at Marathon along the way, so the village is straightforward to reach without a car; the island runs three main routes out of the harbour and fares are only a couple of euros.

Getting There and Sailing Conditions

Aegina is one of the easiest Greek islands to reach from the capital. Hydrofoils from Piraeus cover the crossing in around 40 minutes, while conventional car ferries take closer to 70 minutes. That proximity is exactly why the island appears on so many Saronic Gulf itineraries, and why Marathon can fill up on summer weekends with visitors from Athens rather than foreign tourists.

For anyone under sail, the Saronic is a gentler proposition than the open Aegean. The northerly Meltemi blows from roughly May to September, but it arrives here weakened, typically force 4 to 6 rather than the force 7 or 8 that can sweep the Cyclades, because the Attica peninsula and Aegina itself break up the fetch. Seas are correspondingly moderate. Marathon's bay faces west and is open to the prevailing breeze rather than sheltered from it, so it works best as a daytime swimming stop; boats wanting a settled night usually move round to the harbour at Aegina Town or across to Agia Marina on the east coast. The island's position close to the Athens Riviera means Marathon folds easily into a wider Saronic itinerary, and it is worth a visit if you're chartering a gulet from Athens looking for an unhurried stop between the capital and the more remote islands further south.

The Island Beyond the Beach

Aegina covers about 87 square kilometres and measures roughly 15 kilometres east to west by 10 kilometres north to south, so nothing is far from Marathon. Its best-known monument is the Temple of Aphaia, a Doric temple of about 500 BC that stands on a pine-covered ridge some 160 metres above the sea near Agia Marina, around 13 kilometres east of the main port. Its plan of six columns by twelve survives in unusually good condition; the carved pediments, showing scenes from the Trojan War, were removed in the nineteenth century and are now displayed in the Glyptothek in Munich, where they were restored by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. Closer to town, the Kolona site preserves the remains of a sixth-century BC temple of Apollo, named after the single surviving column that long served as a daymark for approaching ships.

The island's history runs deeper still. Aegina struck the Aeginetic stater around 700 BC, among the earliest stamped coins in the Greek world, and its ships were awarded the prize of valour at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC. Much later, in 1828 and 1829, the island briefly served as the seat of the newly independent Greek government under Ioannis Kapodistrias, who founded the archaeological museum here on 21 October 1828 and opened a mint that struck the phoenix, the first coin of the modern Greek state. One point worth clearing up for visitors: the famous Battle of Marathon of 490 BC was fought at Marathon in Attica on the mainland, not at this village, despite the shared name.

Modern Aegina is better known for something more everyday, its pistachios. Grown across the island and protected under EU designation of origin rules, the crop covers roughly 29,000 acres and yields about 2,700 tonnes a year, sold from roadside stalls and shops all along the coast road past Marathon. Elsewhere, walkers climb Mount Oros, at 531 metres the highest point in the Saronic Gulf, and small boats run from Perdika out to the uninhabited islet of Moni, about a kilometre offshore, where peacocks and kri-kri goats roam free among the pines.