The Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon, illustrated by Plutarch in the Life of Themistocles, shows similarities to modern themes of underdogs, such as that in the film Forrest Gump and the book “The Help". In this article I will argue that these ideas are similar because of the common theme depicted in many films, TV shows, and books. Humans tend to root for the underdogs even if they don't believe the underdogs will succeed. The Battle of Marathon was fought by the Athenians and Persians. At the time, the Persian empire was one of the largest empires in the known world and for this reason the Athenians did not expect a victory. The Athenians had fewer men than the Persians and received almost no help from the surrounding city-states. This battle proved to the Athenians that they were as great as the Persians and that the Persians could be defeated (Hanson). The Athenians were essentially the "underdogs" and this is a common theme used in many books, TV, sports, and films. Underdogs are the people least likely to win, yet the Athenians were. A common example is the movie Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump is a child who learns more slowly than others and has to wear leg braces. No one would expect a child with multiple handicaps to be able to accomplish and overcome the things he did, but in the end he did. The same goes for the Athenians, no one expected them to be able to defeat a nation that had conquered so many other nations before, yet they did. Another representation of the underdog theme is evident in the book “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett. Many of the characters in this book are losers, not just the black maids. Skeeter Phelan's character is a 1970s white woman who struggles to find a job because of her gender. Aibileen Clack is an African American housekeeper who takes care of other people's children and is seen as a disease due to the color of her skin. Minny Jackson suffers abuse from her husband. By the end of the book, each character has managed to overcome what may have seemed like impossible situations. Another example of an underdog achieving victory is the Revolutionary War. It may not seem very modern to us now, but it is still relevant to us today.