Today is said to be the 2515th anniversary of the battle of Marathon. It probably isn’t, as ancient Greek calendars were more of an argument than a timekeeping mechanism, but it’s as good a day as any to mark the date.
The botanical connection comes from the name. Marathon is named after the herb that grew there. In English it would be the place of the fennel. It’s possible that a form of fennel, or a close relative, was one of the most valuable plants in the ancient world, in the form of silphium. We don’t know what silphium was, so we’re left with descriptions and pictures on coins, but it’s said to have been a fennel-like plant. However, ancient Roman authors also say that it was harvested to extinction, so it may be forever lost.
How to Play
Six plants fill each row
each column, each box of six
no bloom may repeat
Tap an empty cell
then choose your plant from below
watch the garden grow
Or pick a plant first
then tap the cells where it goes
faster hands plant more
Red borders will warn
when two alike share a line
rethink and replant
Ticked plants rest complete
all six placed in rightful soil
fewer choices left
The clock starts to run
the moment your first plant falls
how swift is your hand?
Select a plant, then tap cells
Two ways to play: Tap an empty cell then pick a plant, or select a plant below then tap cells to place it.
Cover image: The mound of the Plataeans at Marathon.
