About a year ago I posted a link about a series of podcasts by prominent (and semi-prominent) historians commemorating the 2500 anniversary of the battle of Marathon.  Next week, Wednesday, 21 September, is the capstone lecture for the series by Professor Paul Cartledge:The Context and Meaning of the Battle of Marathon: Why we have been celebrating the 2,500 year anniversaryWednesday, September 21, 20111:00 PM New York Time (Brief lecture and then Q&A with listeners from all over the world)Speaker: PAUL CARTLEDGEFree Registration:  http://marathon2500-9.eventbrite.com/Paul Cartledge, Hellenic Parliament Global Distinguished Professor in the History and Theory of Democracy at New York University and A.G. Leventis Professor Greek Culture, Cambridge University will lead the celebration today of the 2,500 year anniversary of the Battle of Marathon by reviewing the yearlong lecture series that he's chaired and by answering questions from the global audience about any of the topics discussed during the previous 12 months. A world expert on Athens and Sparta in the Classical Age, Professor Cartledge was chief historical consultant for the BBC TV series The Greeks and the Channel 4 series The Spartans, presented by Bettany Hughes. He is also a holder of the Gold Cross of the Order of Honour (Greece), an Honorary Citizen of (modern) Sparta and a board member of the Reading Odyssey.Marathon2500 Lecture SeriesProfessor Cartledge has chaired the yearlong Marathon2500 lecture series and will be reviewing key themes and answering questions in this final lecture/discussion. People around the world have participated in this commemoration of the battle of Marathon, thanks to the world’s best Hellenic scholars and sports historians who delivered eight lectures on the cultural, intellectual and athletic legacy of the Battle of Marathon. The talks were delivered in a variety of contexts: live audiences at NYU and Georgetown, global webinars and webcasts and all podcasts have been archived for listening on demand. If you have missed this series and are interested, most of the previous lectures are available in a downloadable podcast format:  http://www.marathon2500.org/podcastsI've found these to, by and large, be fascinating and worth the time.Hope to "see" some of you there.Mike