Page 69 - All About History - Issue 53-17

Ancient Olympics

“any free man could take part,
irrespective of social status”

territory he came across a tree of dry wood split Events
open and held with wedges. Milo decided to put
his hands inside the tree, but the wedges slipped Although the stade was the first competitive
and he was held fast. Then the wolves found event, after the introduction of the diaulos in
him. These beasts are particularly abundant in 724 BCE others followed swiftly. Mostly these
the territory of Croton…” were of three types, the first being running:
But it was a boxer who first brought the Games stade, diaulos, dolichos (4.5 kilometres), and a
into disrepute. All participants were required to stade race in armour. The second consisted of
meet in the Olympic Council Building to swear trials of strength: boxing, wrestling, pancration
an oath over the dismembered body of a boar (a deadly combination of barbaric brawling and
that they would not cheat. However, in 388 BCE, bare-knuckle fight), as well as throwing the
Eupolus of Thessaly was found to have bribed javelin and discus, with the third comprising
three opponents. The Hellanodikai fined all four equestrian sports: horse races and races for two-,
men and with the money set up four statues four- and ten-horse chariots as well as a mule-
of Zeus, the so-called Zanēs, on the path down cart races.
to the stadium, with inscriptions naming and In addition, the pentathlon combined elements
Dressed in
shaming the guilty parties. The bases of 16 such of both strength and speed. Once they were
trademark long
Zanēs can still be seen today. introduced, some events, such as the stade race, flowing robes, a
A more coveted memorial was awarded to lasted for the entire life of the Games. Others, charioteer urges
the winner of the stade race. Individual cities such as the mule-cart race, were quietly dropped. on his four-
horse team
were usually named each year after their chief Unlike at other international festivals, such as
magistrate, often leading to confusion for anyone the Pythian Games held at Delphi in honour of runner Pheidippides raced to bring the news
trying to compile more regional chronologies. Apollo or the Panathenaic Festival at Athens, the of the Greek victory over the Persians from
In the late 5th century BCE, the philosopher Olympics contained no formal cultural or artistic Marathon to Athens, a distance of just over 46
Hippias of Elis, wishing to create a universal element. But there were two curious contests kilometres. The race was created for the first
dating system, invented a solution. He named that had little to do with sporting prowess. modern Olympics of 1896, held not at Olympia
776 BCE ‘the year of the first Olympiad, when Introduced in 396 BCE, the competitions for but in Athens, the new capital of a proudly
Coroebus of Elis won the stade’, 772 BCE ‘the trumpeters and heralds became particularly independent Greece. It marked the dawn of a
year of the first Olympiad, when Antimachus popular when they found a new home in a modern Olympic era, secular games that would
of Elis won the stade’, and so on, with the colonnade built after the stadium was relocated be largely unrecognisable to Greece’s classical
intervening years numbered accordingly ‘the more than 80 metres to the east of the Temple forefathers, not least because of their ethos.
second, third and forth year of the Olympiad’. His of Zeus. The acoustic of this so-called Stoa of the Where previously athletes had striven ‘always
system was accepted. From then on, the Greeks Echoes caused any sound to reverberate no less to be best’, now, as their new founder Baron de
effectively began their historical era with the than seven times. Coubertin proclaimed: ‘What is important in
first Olympiad, and the winner of the Olympic One event conspicuous for its absence life is not to triumph, but to take part; what
‘stade’ race and his city were immortalised is the marathon, which was inspired by an is essential is not to have won, but to have © Getty Images
throughout the Greek-speaking world. ancient Greek athletic feat. In 490 BCE, the fought well’.

Scandal mars Pisodorus Leonidas of Rhodes Nero builds a palace The statue of Zeus,
of Rhodes’ win in the wins the stade, diaulos and triumphal removed to a
boys’ boxing match and hoplitodromos arch near the patrician’s palace in
when his trainer is found races, a feat he hippodrome, Constantinople in
to be a woman – his repeats in the next ‘winning’ the ten- 390, is destroyed by
mother, who narrowly two Olympics. His horse chariot race fire, but it has already
escapes execution record nine wins is despite falling inspired Byzantine
as punishment for broken only in 2016 by out and failing to artists’ impressions of
attending. Michael Phelps. complete the course. the face of God.

388 BCE 356 BCE 164 BCE 40 CE 67 CE 391 462 1896

Philip II of Macedon Caligula tries to With Christianity Inspired by the ancient
learns of his chariot remove the statue now the religion Games, English public
victory and the of Zeus to Rome, of imperial Rome, schools and Shropshire’s
birth of his son, but his workmen Emperor Theodosius Much Wenlock Olympics,
Alexander the Great, refuse to continue bans all pagan Pierre de Coubertin
on the same day. when they hear worship, but the organises the first
His later Philippeion unearthly groans Olympic Games modern Olympics in
commemorates his emanating from probably continue in Athens. The Greek Spyros
defeat of Greece. inside it. some form until 425. Louis wins the marathon.
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