New-York tribune., 1908-08-01
THE OLYMPIAD.
Il Surrey of the Famous Games IN
Ancient Greece.

Professor Gilbert Murray, in The London Nation
The immense fame of the Oympiad festivals
comes largely from their having been chosen
giving an era, or means of dating other events.
The Romans had apparently a fixed tradition Of
the founding OF their city; they could date his
torical occurrences by the year 40 HFG6 COHUtfd.
There such fixed for the Greeks.
Some historians dated from the fall of Troy;
but opinions varied within some six hundred
years TO the time of that occurrence Itself
There were divers other systems. Some dated
by the Archons at Athens, or by the priestesses
in the temple of Hera at Argos. But, apart
from other objections. neither system was in
ternatonal, and both implied that the reader
must know his list Of archons or prlestesseS by
heart. The arChonS were more satisfactory tlan
the priestesSeS, because they had, at least,
fixed term OF office. A priestess might hold
office for year or for thirty. But, obviously
the great four yearly festivals formed better
basis for dates than either, and among such fes-
tivals the Olympian were probably the best
True, the Pythian games at Delphi were fully
famous ana inspired far more religious feeling.
But the temple Delphi was too much exposed
TO disturbance and piIlage. Olympia lay quiet,
out of the main track of war and political
trouble. And Olympia professed, truly or
falsely, 10 have record of all conquerors since
the great reconstltutlon or the games IN ii6
3. c.. The games themselves are just declining
from their prime glory at the time when we
hear most about them, in the fifth century b. c.
quality in a man that, if any great athlete hap
lJens 10 play a part in history the historians
generally mention his victories in the games
But it was no longer an age in which Shaw, the
life guardsman, could seriously be regarded as
more admirable warrior Inan the Duke OF w
lington. And in Pindar the writer from whom
hear most praise of the games, there is a
constant undercurrent OF regret irritation, al
most beWlderment, that the world is no longer
attaching proper Importance to the great box
ing and horseracing mobiles and TO him, their
prophet. Pindar, an arlStoCrat himself, was the
poet of Dorian aristocracy. He was the bard of
those great houses which, in spite OF their not
infrequent occupation in trade their occasional
leading forth of adventurous colony, re-
mained for the most part grumbling and half
forgotten, while the main stream of Hellenic life
swept past them. They were men Of courage
and muscle great hunters. runners, boxers; if
need came, great warriors, though only in the
manner of their ancestral tradition, with none
of your modern book learning or siege tactics
Their object was to be good men, and they
meant by goodness what their grandfatherS
had meant If they were outstripped in the race
of life. 1t was as their great ancestor Ajax had
been beaten by the unworthy Odysseus Pindar
added another quality TO the goodness, or
4rct6 which he required Of his patrons; they
must "spend"-spend their money and strength
and effort freely. for the attaining and main
tanning of their 4Tete.
1t was a great ideal in its day. and Pindar
conceves of il greatly. The misfortune IS that
in the fifth century II has ceased to correspond
to outward facts. The time which created 1t
the period after the great race migratlons,
especially after the Dorian conquest of the
Peloponnese. Mr.. Louis~Dyer has shown how
the Olympian festival IS derived from an ancient
pre-Dorian gathering OF number of neighbor-
ing villages at a centre which they called
.'Pvlos'': gathering of the ordinary four yearly
type with common worship and sacrifice, open
competitive games. and opportunities for set
ting by discussion ana aFbltratlon any inter-
communal difficulties. general truce was, of
course necessary for any such common meet
ing and was enforced. as usual, by taboos and
curses. Eventually the whole territory OF Ellis,
in which the festival was held, was declared
sacred" or in modern language, neutral, and
any invasion of IL forbidden
After the Dorian conquest this festival be-
came widened and glorified. The Peloponnese
became full OF conquering warriors out of work.
athletes of war, with no one left TO make war
on The games had much closer relation 10
war than modern athletics have; and the idea of
1retf. or goodness in a man a warrior had
become prominent and forceful in the Greek
world The conauerors of the PeIoponnese liked
the opportunity OF practising Afete and display
ing it one against another, Only the mobiles. a.