the Attic plain. Along with three other towns Marathon belonged to the Tetrapolis, which claimed a very early legendary origin and independent existence until the time of Theseus. It is clear that the league continued to exist for religious purposes until at least the fourth century B.C., and probably for a longer time. The plain of Marathon is especially famous as the scene of the decisive battle in which Miltiades led the Athenians and Platæans to victory over the army of Darius under the command of Datis and Artaphernes in B.C. 490. The details of the battle are not easy to determine, as the ancient accounts are confused. It is probable that the Athenians occupied the valley of Vrana, and attacked the Persians either when they were preparing to reëmbark or to execute a turning movement by the road to the south. The Greek force seems to have numbered about 10,000, of whom 192 fell. The numbers of the Persians are unknown, but the traditional 100,000 is certainly much exaggerated; their loss is said to have been 6400. Contrary to custom, the Athenian dead were buried on the field, and over their remains was raised the great mound (or Soros) which is still conspicuous in the southern part of the plain. Its identity, at one time much disputed, was proved by the excavations of the Greek Archæological Society in 1890 and 1891, which brought to light human bones, ashes, vases of the early fifth century B.C. and a sacrificial trench, where offerings had been made before the earth was heaped up. The literature on the subject is very extensive. Besides the standard histories of Greece, may be consulted: Fraser, Pausanias, vol. ii. (London, 1898), where is a large bibliography; Milchhöfer's Text to Curtius and Kaupert, Karten von Attika (Berlin, 1881-95); Macan, Herodotus, iv., v., vi. (London, 1895); and Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol xix. (London, 1899).
MARATTI, mȧ-rät′tē̇ or MARATTA, Carlo, (1625-1713). An Italian painter, born at Camerano, May 13, 1625. He was a pupil of Andrea Sacchi, of the Roman school, and was influenced by the works of Raphael and the Carracci. Considered the most eminent painter in Rome, he long enjoyed the Papal patronage. In 1702-03 Clement XI. commissioned him to restore Raphael's frescoes in the Vatican, and Innocent XI. appointed him superintendent of the paintings in the Vatican. He died at Rome, December 15, 1713, while Prince of the Academy of Saint Luke. Most of his pictures are small easel paintings in oil, his best works being portraits. His design is academic, his color pleasing, his brush-handling weak; his style resembles that of Guido Reni, and lacks originality of character. He etched a number of important plates. Among his best paintings are the following: “Madonna,” Palazzo Doria, Rome; “Annunciation,” Turin Gallery; “Adoration of Shepherds,” Basel Museum; “Holy Night,” Dresden Museum; “Saint John at Patmos,” “Sleeping Child,” “Portrait of a Cardinal,” Old Pinakothek, Munich; “Presentation in the Temple,” “Portrait of Clement IX.,” Hermitage, Saint Petersburg; “Madonna in Glory,” “Hagar and Ishmael,” Madrid Museum; portrait of Cardinal Cerri, National Gallery, London.
MAR′AVE′DI, Sp. pron. mä′rȧ-vā̇-dē′ (Sp., from Ar. Murābitīn, name of a Moorish dynasty, pl. of murābiṭ, hermit). The name borne by certain Spanish coins. One of gold weighing about 60 grains was issued by the Moorish emirs in the eleventh and twelfth centuries; subsequently the maravedi constituted the lowest denomination in the Spanish coinage, varying in value from one-seventh to one-third of a cent.
MARBEAU, mȧr′bō̇′, Jean Baptiste (1798-1875). A French philanthropist, born at Brives. In 1841, while a city official at Paris, in making some investigations of the charitable institutions, he was struck with the lack of provision for the care of babies under two years of age whose mothers were compelled to go out to work. He wrote a book, Des crèches, advocating the establishment of day nurseries. The first was established at Chaillot November 11, 1844. An association of crèches was formed in 1846. Throughout the rest of his life, while specially interested in crèches, he took an active part in furthering various charities. Among his writings are: Etudes sur l'économie sociale (1844; 2d ed. 1875); Des crèches, ou le moyen de diminuer la misère en augmentant la population (1845; many later editions); Du paupérisme en France et des moyens d'y remédier (1847); De l'indigence et des secours (1850). He died at Saint Cloud, October 10, 1875.
MAR′BECK, or MERBECK, John (?-c.1585). An English musician and theologian, organist of Saint George's Chapel, Windsor, in the reign of Henry VIII. and his successor. He early read Calvin's writings, adopted his views, and joined an association in support of the Reformed doctrines. Among the members were a priest, a chorister of Saint George's Chapel, and a tradesman, and these men, together with Marbeck, were arrested on a charge of heresy. Their papers were seized, and in Marbeck's handwriting were found notes on the Bible, a concordance in English, and a copy of an epistle of Calvin against the mass. They were all condemned to the stake, but Marbeck, on account of his musical talents and through the interposition of Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, was pardoned and restored to his place as organist. He lived to see the triumph of his principles, and to publish his work, The Boke of Common Praier Noted (1550); reprinted in facsimile 1844, and in Jebb's Choral Responses and Litanies, 1857). He published also his Concordance to the Bible (1550), which was the first work of the kind in English on the entire Bible. A Te Deum of his and a mass of five voices are found in Smith's Musica Antiqua, now in the British Museum. In 1574 was published The Lyves of Holy Sainctes, Prophetes, Patriarches, and others; and subsequently The Holie Historie of King David, drawn into English meetre (1579), and A Ripping Up of the Pope's Fardel (1581).
MARBELLA, mär-bā′lyȧ. A port of Southern Spain in the Province of Malaga. It is situated amid picturesque surroundings on the shore of the Mediterranean, 35 miles northeast of Gibraltar. It is a well-built town, with a notable Church of the Incarnation. In the neighborhood are granite quarries, and mines of sulphur, lead, and iron; the town has iron foundries and sugar refineries. The harbor is used principally in local coasting trade; it is an ill-sheltered, open roadstead, but equipped with a large iron pier reaching into deep water and a lighthouse visible for twelve miles. The principal exports are
