Metamorphoses of Ancient Historical Tradition. The Battle at Marathon as a phenomenon of Athenians’ Social Memory

Abstract

The battle at Marathon was a significant event in the history of Athens. It is considered here as a phenomenon of social memory, as an event, whose memory was passed on to subsequent generations. Social memory is understood as the preservation and transmission of significant information. This was due to the construction of the trophies and war-dead memorials both at the site of the battle (places of memory) and beyond. At the same time, the preservation of the memory of the Marathon Battle followed by obvious distortions and exclusion of some significant elements from its description. That is what often called "oblivion" or forgetting. It is suggested here that in the process of storing and transmitting information, a certain system of images and representations (pattern) was developed, which determines its perception. The events that do not fit into this system (pattern) were not taken into account.