The Olympic
Games
in Antiquity

The Olympic
Games
in Antiquity

Introduction

The athlete

Origins of the modern Olympic
Games, in Olympia, Greece(Peloponnese), 8th century BC.

Identification of the athlete by
his nakedness, a sign of balanceand harmony
Gymnasium and palaestra: theeducation of the body and the mind
Hygiene and body care.
Criteria for participationin the Games
Exclusion of women
Selection and training
On the way to Olympia
Athletes’ and judges’ oath.
6

Sites of the Panhellenic Games:
Olympia, Delphi, Isthmus
of Corinth and Nemea
History and Mythology:
explanations of the birthof the Games
Application of the sacred truce:
peace between cities
Overview of Olympia, the mostimportant Panhellenic Games siteSports on the
programme
The Olympic programme
as a reference
Foot races, combat sports,
pentathlon and horse races.
Cheating and fines.
Music and singing: a particularityof the Pythian Games at Delphi.

8

Other sport competitions
in Greece.

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Cover: © IOC Chaman Atelier Multimédia

3

Winners’ rewards

The end of the Games

Prizes awarded at the PanhellenicGames
Wreaths, ribbons and palm fronds
The personification of Victory:
Nike, the winged goddess
Privileges of the winner upon
returning home
Glory and honour
Prizes received at local contests
Superiority of a victory at thePanhellenic Games.

Over 1,000 years of existence
Success of the Games
Bringing forward the spirit and thevalues of the Olympic competitions
Period of decline
Abolition of the Games in 393 AD
Destruction of Olympia
Rediscovery of the site in the
19th century.

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The Olympic Games in Antiquity

The information we have today about
the ancient Olympic Games come mainly
from the many descriptions of themin ancient literature, as well as from objects
found at archeological digs (statues,
vases, coins and tools).

Introduction
Olympia, cradle of the Olympic GamesThe Olympic Games as we know them today [see “The Modern Olympic Games”
sheet] have a long history which goes back to ancient times. Although someelements of these Games were revived “as they were” when the modern Olympic
Games were created, others were removed or modified.
Everything started in the Peloponnese, in Greece, some 3,000 years ago.
Sports competitions were organised at Olympia and were named after theirlocation, hence their name of “Olympic” Games. Nobody knows exactly
when they began, but the first written mention of them dates back to 776 BC.
It is difficult to know what gave rise to the ancient Games. Numerous versions
attempt to explain them. Historically, the Games were created to provide unity
to the Hellenic world, which, at that time, was split into city-states which wereconstantly at war. Mythology is mixed up with history, and the events that
happened during this period were often explained as being the consequenceof divine intervention.
These Games were held every four years. This four-year period acquired
the name “Olympiad”, and was used as a date system: time was counted
in Olympiads, rather than years.
The Panhellenic Games

1

3

Introduction

The Games organised at Olympia led to the development of the PanhellenicGames. These included:- The Games at Olympia (Olympic Games): every four years- The Games at Delphi (Pythian Games), 582 B.C.: every four years (third yearof each Olympiad)- The Games at the Isthmus of Corinth (Isthmian Games), from 580 B.C.:
every two years (second and fourth year of each Olympiad)- The Games at Nemea (Nemean Games), from 573 B.C.: every two years(second and fourth year of each Olympiad)
These Games were special because they brought the Greek world together(pan = all, hellene = Greek) at a time when Greece was not a single state,
but a series of city-states (politically and economically independent communities).
From Greece and the colonies (in Italy, North Africa and Asia Minor), people
travelled to take part in or attend these Games, inspired by the shared feelingof belonging to the same culture or religion.
The four Panhellenic Games were never held during the same year.

1. Representation of Heracles(Hercules for the Romans)
fighting against the lion
of Nemea.
© IOC / Chaman Atelier
Multimédia

Unlike the modern Olympic
Games, the ancient Games did
not change location and theparticipants did not come fromthroughout the world.

© The Olympic Museum

The Olympic Games in Antiquity

4

Introduction

The sacred truce
On the occasion of the four Panhellenic Games, a sacred truce (Ekecheiria)
was proclaimed. Messengers (spondophoroi) went from city to city announcing
the date of the competitions. They called for all wars to be halted before, during
and after the Games in order to enable the athletes, as well as the spectators,
to travel to and from the Games sites in total safety. A climate of peace wasconsidered important during the period of competition.
Games for the gods
The Panhellenic Games were of major religious significance. Each of the Gameswas celebrated in honour of a specific god:
- Zeus, the king of the gods, at Olympia and Nemea- Apollo, the god of light and reason, at Delphi- Poseidon, the god of the sea and horses, at Isthmus of Corinth.

The principle of the Truce has
been revived for the modern
Olympic Games.

During sporting contests, it
was considered that victory
was accorded by the gods.
This is the biggest differencewith the modern Olympic
Games, which are nonreligious.

Overview of the site at Olympia
Of the four Panhellenic Games, those at Olympia were the most important.
Olympia was not a town or city, but rather a sanctuary. The site consisted of a sacredarea, the Altis, marked by a boundary wall, and a secular (non-religious) area.
The sacred area contained the temples, including the one to Zeus, the altars
on which sacrifices were made, and the Treasuries, small buildings erected by
the city-states in which precious offerings were kept (e.g. vases and statues).
The secular area was outside the boundary wall. It contained the training areasand competition sites, plus all the buildings used for the administrationof the Games or to welcome important guests. Only the priests and the staff
responsible for looking after the sanctuary lived at Olympia. At the timeof the competitions, the atmosphere was very different. In addition to the athletes
and spectators, merchants of all kinds flocked to the site: the number of people
present for the Olympic Games is estimated to have been over 40,000.
Other festivals and contests in Greece
In addition to the Panhellenic Games, major sports competitions were heldin Athens. These were known as the Panathenian Games. They were partof the Great Panathenaea, the biggest festival in Athens, which was held every
four years in honour of the goddess Athena.
Everywhere in Greece and the colonies, there were numerous local competitions,some better known than others. Each city made a point of organising them.
The status of the Panhellenic Games and the large number of local
competitions illustrate the importance of physical exercise and the spiritof competition in Ancient Greek society.

© The Olympic Museum

5
1. Reconstitution of the siteof Olympia (around the 3rd
century BC).
© Toubis

1© The Olympic Museum

The Olympic Games in Antiquity

6

The athlete

The athlete

1.Strigil and aryballos© IOC / Chaman Atelier
Multimédia

When looking at a sculpture or a scene painted on a vase, it is easy to identify the athleteby his nakedness. Indeed, for both training and competitions, athletes were always
nude, to illustrate the ideal of harmony between the body and the mind. According
to this ideal, it was only through training the body that the mind could be developed.
Gymnasium and Palaestra
There was a gymnasium and a palaestra in every Greek city.
These places were where athletes trained and young boys were educated. It wasan all-round education, including exercise for the body as well as the mind. Physicaleducation, music, arithmetic, grammar and reading were all part of the programme.
Hygiene and body care
1

Women were not allowed into the Olympic
Games, and could only be admitted as
spectators if they were unmarried.
However, this did not mean that they did
not practise sport. There is evidence thatrunning contests were held at Olympia andat other antique sites.

When they arrived at the gymnasium or palaestra, athletes stripped completely.
Without the protection of a layer of clothing, they had to take special care of their skin.
To prepare for training, an athlete would cover his body with olive oil and then dust
it with fine sand. The oil and sand combination helped to regulate his body temperature
as well as providing protection from the sun and from the stick that the trainer would
use to beat him if he didn’t perform the exercises correctly!
After training, the athlete would take his strigil, a curved instrument, and scrape
the sweat, oil and sand off his skin. He then finished cleaning himself with waterand a sponge.
During competitions, athletes prepared and cleaned themselves in the same way.
Selection of Games’ participants
There were three main criteria for participation in the Games: one had to be male,of Greek origin and a free man. Women, slaves and foreigners were excluded.
Most of the athletes came from well-off families. While we cannot really speakof amateurs or professionals as we know them today, only the best were allowed
to participate in the Games. Participants trained individually over several months before
travelling to Elis, a city close to Olympia, four weeks before the Games to join the otherparticipants. At this point, a final selection was made to determine those who could
go to Olympia. The athletes took an oath, as did the judges. They promised to takepart in the competitions in an honourable way, abiding by the rules.

The equipment that the athlete
needed was extremely simple:- an aryballos, a kind of small
bottle, often terracotta,
containing oil- a strigil- a sponge
All three items were linked toa ring which the athlete hangson the wall of the Gymnasiumor the Palaestra.

A privileged spectator
One woman stood out fromthe crowd. She was thePriestess of Demeter (thegoddess of agriculture andfertility). She occupied a seatfacing the officials’ stand.

© The Olympic Museum

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The athlete

Famous athletes
If physical exercise was an important part of general education in Antiquity, there werealso highly specialised athletes who followed training programmes and participatedin many contests.
The names of some of the great champions of Antiquity are still known today.
Below are the profiles of a number of them.
The famous wrestler Milo of Croton, was a principal figure during the second halfof the 7th century BC. He won six times at Olympia, seven times at Delphi, ten times
at Isthmus of Corinth and nine times at Nemea! He thus became the most-crowned
athlete of Antiquity, earning the title of periodonikes. Milo was not only celebrated
for his legendary power, he was also known for his insatiable appetite!
Theogenes of Thassos won over 1,300 victories in the ancient contests, in boxingand pankration. He became a very important figure in his home town, where a statue
to him was erected in the marketplace.

Periodonikes
An athlete could be victorious
at the 4 sites of the PanhellenicGames. In this case, he wasgiven the title periodonikes,
champion of the circuit.

The runner Leonidas of Rhodes was a twelve-time winner of the stadium race,
the double stadium and the race in armour. He was one of the few athletes victorious
in three races on the same day. He even managed to repeat this feat over four
Olympiads (from 164-152 BC)!
The pugilist (boxer) Diagoras of Rhodes founded a dynasty of athletes. He wonin 464 BC and his sons and grandsons also went on to become champions at Olympia.
Considered as heroes and role models, such great athletes were celebrated evenafter their death. There are examples of tombs decorated with carvings of the wreaths
won during the athlete’s career. A school was even constructed over the tombof one of them.

© The Olympic Museum

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The sports on the programme

The sports on
the programme

1. Representation of the javelin
throw© IOC / Chaman Atelier
Multimédia

The Olympic Games were celebrated for over one thousand years and underwent
many changes. At their peak (circa 500 B.C.), they lasted for five days and the sporting
contests were a central element.
What were the Games like?
The programme of the Olympic Games consisted of individual sports only, there wereno team sports. The competitions took place in the stadium and the hippodrome.

First day1

The stadium was not oval as we know ittoday, but rectangular. It had a packed
earth floor and its boundaries were marked
by grassy slopes, on which the spectators
sat. The officials (organisers and judges –the Hellanodikai) sat in a stand.

The athletes, as well as the judges, took an oath to respect the rules.
Contests for trumpet-players and heralds followed this ceremony, the winners of which
had the honour of making the announcements during the Games. After the soundingof the trumpet, the name of the event, the arrival of the competitors and the namesof the winners were announced loudly by these veritable “speakers” of their era.

Second day The equestrian events took place in the hippodrome.

The most popular event was the four-horse chariot race (quadriga). There werealso chariot races for young horses and a mounted horse race. It must be notedthat the winners were not the jockeys or the charioteers, but rather the ownersof the horses. This is how Kyniska of Sparta, owner of a stable of horses,
became an Olympic champion.
The pentathlon took place in the stadium in the afternoon. It consisted of five events:
discus, long jump, javelin, running and wrestling.
The discus throw was carried out without a run-up and all the athletes used
the same discus.
For the long jump, stone or metal halteres (weights) were used, of various shapes.
The event was probably made up of five consecutive standing jumps, which required
harmony of movement and a sense of rhythm. To help with rhythm, a flute player wasoften present. Such figures are often represented on vases, next to the long-jumpers.
For the javelin throw, athletes used a small leather strap which was placed aroundthe shaft in a loop, which allowed them to give the javelin an extra rotation.
© The Olympic Museum

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The sports on the programme

These three disciplines were only practised as part of the pentathlon. Runningand wrestling, on the other hand, were also practised as individual disciplines.

Third dayThis day was considered to be the culminating point of the Games.
A great sacrifice took place: one hundred cows were killed in honour of Zeus and otherdivinities. Their meat was shared amongst the community of Games participants
during a feast to which all were invited.

1. Representation of the races© IOC / Chaman Atelier
Multimédia

Fourth day The foot races took place in the stadium. There were several
types of race:

The stadium race covered one length of the stadium, that is roughly 192m.
The diaulos, two lengths or double stadium.
The dolichos, a long-distance race (from 7 to 24 laps).
1

The race in arms (in Olympia it was a diaulos), where the athletes wore a helmet
and greaves, and carried a shield.
The competitors took their place on a starting line marked out by white limestoneslabs. A barrier was lowered to signal the start of the race. The runners ran in a straightline. For the longer races, the runners ran around a marker or a post at each endof the stadium.
The afternoon was dedicated to combat sports: pugilism (boxing), wrestlingand pankration. The drawing of lots decided which athletes would compete
against each other. Unlike today, there were no weight categories. To signal
the end of a fight, one of the contestants could raise a finger: such scenes
are sometimes represented on vases.
For boxing, the pugilists’ hands were protected by long leather thongs.
These ancestors of boxing gloves underwent numerous modifications over time.
Pieces of metal were added on the knuckles, making the punches much more violent.
Wrestlers fought standing up, with bare hands. There were different types of hold.
The person who first touched the ground three times was the loser.
Pankration was a type of wrestling. All moves were allowed, except for biting,gouging out eyes and putting fingers in the opponent’s nose.
© The Olympic Museum

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The sports on the programme

Fifth and last day This day was reserved for honouring victorious

athletes. They were covered in ribbons and received victory palms in the stadium,
before a solemn ceremony in which they were crowned with olive wreaths.
Finally, a banquet was given for them, together with the politicians and judges.
CHEATING AND FINES
When the athletes did not respect the rules, the judge punished them during the race,with a whip. For more serious offences, the athletes had to pay a fine. With this money,
statues of Zeus and Elis were erected, and at Olympia, the names of the cheats were
inscribed on their base. At Olympia, these statutes (the Zanes) were placed along
the passageway that led to the stadium; at Elis, they were placed in the gymnasium.
This reminded the athletes of the example not to follow!
Music and singing
Music and singing competitions were not on the programme of the Olympic Games.
They were a speciality of the Games at Delphi.
Well before the appearance of sports competitions, musical competitions wereorganised in Delphi. These comprised singing accompanied by the cithara (a typeof lyre), flute solos or singing with flute accompaniment. Music and singing remained
a feature of the Pythian Games even after the integration of sports competitions.
Poetry and drama competitions also figured on the programme.

© The Olympic Museum

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Winners’ rewards

Winners’ rewards
Crowns, ribbons and palm branches

1. Nike handing the crownof olive leaves to the winner.
© IOC / Chaman Atelier
Multimédia

At the modern Olympic Games, the first, second and third-placed athletes
are rewarded, respectively, by gold, silver and bronze medals. At the PanhellenicGames, there was only one winner whose prize was a wreath or crown of leaves.
At each of the venues, the crowns were made with different types of leaves:- At Olympia, it was a wild olive leaf crown- At Delphi, a laurel crown 			- At Corinth, a pine crown- At Nemea, a wild celery crown
As well as a crown, the winner received a red woollen ribbon, the taenia. A famous
statue by the sculptor Polycletus (dating from the second half of the 5th century BC)
shows a victor tying the ribbon around his head. Finally, the winner often held a palm
frond, another sign of his victory.
Nike, the Messenger of the Gods
The Ancient Greeks considered that it was the gods who decided to grant victory
to an athlete. Victory was often represented in the form of a winged female character
known as Nike, which means “victory” in Greek. As the servant or messengerof the Gods, Nike flew down to the chosen person, to bring them their divine reward
in the form of a wreath or ribbon.
Fame
Although winners did not receive any financial reward, Olympic champions
became important figures in their town or city, where they often took on a politicalrole.The glory of the victorious athlete brought reflected glory to all the inhabitantsof his home town. When he returned from the Games, he was given a hero’s
welcome and received numerous benefits for the rest of his life.
To show that he had become famous, the victor had the right to have a statueof himself erected. He could also ask a poet to write verses telling of his feats.
Because they were proud of him, his fellow citizens sometimes made coinswith his effigy on them, so as not to forget him and to make him known throughout
the Greek world.

1© The Olympic Museum

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Winners’ rewards

Prizes in local competitions
The prizes awarded in local competitions had a greater material value.
Amphorae filled with olive oil were often given to the winner. During this period,
olive oil was extremely precious and worth a lot of money. Other treasures,such as bronze tripods (big vases with three feet), bronze shields or silver cups
were also given as prizes.
In spite of this difference, the prestige of the Panhellenic Games remained
unequalled. The modest crown of leaves was the highest possible reward
in the Greek world, as it guaranteed its holder honour and respectfrom everyone.

© The Olympic Museum

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The end of the GamesThe end of the GamesFor over one thousand years, the Greeks, and later the Romans, met at Olympia
to celebrate the festival in honour of Zeus and ensure that the Games remained
an important event.
We now know that the Games were still being organised in the 4th century AD.
In 393 AD, the Christian emperor Theodosius I forbade the celebration of pagan cults,
which included the Games.
Nonetheless, the popularity of sports contests and cultural festivities continued
in many Greek-influenced provinces of the Roman empire as late as the 6th century AD.

1. The sanctuary of Olympia
nowadays.
© 2009 / International Olympic
Committee (IOC) / JUILLIART,
RichardOlympia, until its rediscovery in the 19th century

1

Following Theodosius’ decree, pagan cults began to disappear gradually andthe site of Olympia was abandoned. Earthquakes destroyed the edifices and theirruins disappeared gradually under the earth and sand. There are no longer any visible
traces of the site. Thanks to the writings of ancient historians, the memory of the Gamesand their place in the Greek world was not totally forgotten. The Games were known
to have existed, but the knowledge of their exact location had been lost.
In 1776, the English traveller Richard Chandler discovered the site of ancient Olympia.
The principal research digs were carried out a hundred years later by Germanarchaeologists.
Today, archaeological digs have allowed us to discover the past glory of the PanhellenicGames and the significance of Olympia.

© The Olympic Museum

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Activities - Selective Bibliography

Activities
Find

the names of the gods mentioned in these factsheets and create
an identity sheet for each one. Include a short text, a drawing of the god or goddess
and the symbol which allows them to be identified.

Learn to interpret a sculpture or a painting on a vase: describe the characters,
their clothing, their bodies, postures and facial expressions, and the objects(look at illustrations in books or visit museums).

Observe sports scenes shown on vases: guess what the sport is, mime
the movements and postures of the athletes in action.

Readworks by ancient authors, in particular the parts about the Gamesand the athletes: for example, the odes by the poet Pindar (518-438 BC)
or the stories of the writer Pausanias (110-180 AD).

Return to the past! You are a spectator at the Olympic Gamesin Antiquity:- describe a competition of your choice, in the form of an article or comic strip;- prepare a portrait of a victorious athlete, imagining that he comes from a town
in the Greek colonies.

Comparethe Ancient Games with the modern Olympic Games[see sheets “The Modern Olympic Games”]. Draw up a list of differences
and a list of common features.

Selective bibliography
Young readers› Blacklock, D. and Kennett, D.Olympia, Warrior Athletes of Ancient Greece
New York: Walker, 2004.
› Middleton, Haydn. Ancient Olympic Games
Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2000.
› Swaddling, Judith. The Ancient Olympic Games
London: British Museum Press, 2008, 4th ed, 2008.
› Woff, Richard. The Ancient Greek Olympics
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

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Activities - Selective Bibliography› Morley, Jaqueline. How to be an Ancient Greek athlete
Washington: National Geographic Society, 2008.
Teachers› Beale, Alan. Greek athletics and the Olympics
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011
› Finley, M.I. and Pleket, H.W. The Olympic Games
London: Chatto and Windus, 1976.
› Gardiner, E. Norman. Athletics of the Ancient World
Chicago: Ares Publishers INC., 1930
› Miller, Stephen G. Ancient Greek athletics
New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004
› Reid, Heather L. Athletics and philosophy in the ancient world: contests of virtue
London: Routledge, 2012
› Yalouris, N. et al. The Olympic Games in Ancient Greece: Ancient Olympia
and the Olympic Games
Athens: Ekdotike Athenaon S.A., 1977
› Yalouris, N. and Y. Olympia: Guide to the Museum and Sanctuary
Athens: Ekdotike Athenon S.A., 1995
› On the web: www.perseus.tufts.edu› DVD: 448 BC Olympiad authentic Olympic Games of the 5th century BC[Etats-Unis]: Pissanos, 2010. – 1 DVD-vidéo (45 min.). – DVD zone 1› DVD: The first Olympics: blood, honor and glory: the ultimate challengeof champions
USA: The History Channel, 2004
› DVD: Thomas, Antony. The real Olympics: a history of the ancient and modern
Olympic Games
USA: Carlton TV, 2004

Editor© IOC, The Olympic Museum,
Lausanne
3rd edition, 2013
Authors
The Olympic Museum
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