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The ancient Olympic Games (, ta Olympia.), or the ancient Olympics, were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of polis and one of the Panhellenic Games of ancient Greece. They were held at the Panhellenic religious sanctuary of Olympia, in honor of Zeus, and the Greeks gave them a aition. The originating Olympic Games are traditionally dated to 776 BC. The games were held every four years, or Olympiad, which became a unit of time in historical chronologies. These Olympiads were referred to based on the winner of their stadion sprint, e.g., "the third year of the eighteenth Olympiad when Ladas of Argos won the stadion".Tony Parrottet, The Naked Olympics (2004) at 145. Pausinias uses such references frequently in Description of Greece. E.g., "I found that the combat took pace when Pisistratus was archon at Athens in the 4th year... of the Olympiad in which Eurybotus, the Athenian, won the footrace." Pausinias, Description of Greece 2.24.7. They continued to be celebrated when Greece came under Roman rule in the 2nd century BC. Their last recorded celebration was in AD 393, under the emperor Theodosius I, but archaeological evidence indicates that some games were still held after this date.Hamlet, Ingomar. "Theodosius I. And The Olympic Games". Nikephoros 17 (2004): pp. 53–75. See also M.I. Finley & H.W. Pleket, The Olympic Games: The First Thousand Years (1976) p. 13. The games likely came to an end under Theodosius II, possibly in connection with a fire that burned down the temple of the Olympian Zeus during his reign.
During the celebration of the games, the Olympic truce (ekecheiría) was announced so that athletes and religious pilgrims could travel from their cities to the games in safety. The prizes for the victors were olive leaf or crowns. The games became a political tool used by to assert dominance over their rival city-states. Politicians would announce political alliances at the games, and in times of war, priests would offer sacrifices to the gods for victory. The games were also used to help spread Hellenistic culture throughout the Mediterranean. The Olympics also featured religious celebrations. The statue of Zeus at Olympia was counted as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Sculptors and poets would congregate each Olympiad to display their works of art to would-be patrons.
The ancient Olympics had fewer events than the modern games, and for many years only freeborn Greek men were allowed to participate,David Sansone, Ancient Greek civilization, Wiley-Blackwell, 2003, p.32 although there were victorious women chariot owners. Moreover, throughout their history, the Olympics, both ancient and modern, have occasionally become arenas where political expressions, such as demonstrations, boycotts, and embargoes, have been employed by nations and individuals to exert influence over these sporting events.Mark Golden, Greece & Rome, Second Series, Vol. 58, No. 1 (APRIL 2011) pp. 1–13 As long as they met the entrance criteria, athletes from any Greek city-state and kingdom were allowed to participate. The games were always held at Olympia rather than moving between different locations like the Olympic Games. Victors at the Olympics were honored, and their feats chronicled for future generations.
These origin traditions have become nearly impossible to untangle, yet a chronology and patterns have arisen that help people understand the story behind the games.Kyle, 1999, p.102 Greek historian Pausanias provides a story about the dactyl Heracles (not to be confused with the Heracles who was the son of Zeus and joined the Roman pantheon) and four of his brothers, Aeonius, Epimedes, Iasius and Idas, who raced at Olympia to entertain the newborn Zeus. He crowned the victor with an olive wreath (which thus became a peace symbol), which also explains the four-year interval, bringing the games around every fifth year (counting inclusively).Spivey, 2005, pp.225–226Pausanias, Description of Greece, 5.7.6–9 The other Olympian gods (so named because they lived permanently on Mount Olympus) would also engage in wrestling, jumping and running contests.Spivey, 2005, p.226
Another myth of the origin of the games is the story of Pelops, a local Olympian hero. Oenomaus, the king of Pisa, had a daughter named Hippodamia, and according to an oracle, the king would be killed by her husband. Therefore, he decreed that any young man who wanted to marry his daughter was required to drive away with her in his chariot, and Oenomaus would follow in another chariot, and spear the suitor if he caught up with them. Now, the king's chariot horses were a present from the god Poseidon and therefore supernaturally fast. The king's daughter fell in love with a man called Pelops. Before the race however, Pelops persuaded Oenomaus' charioteer Myrtilus to replace the bronze axle pins of the king's chariot with wax ones. Naturally, during the race, the wax melted and the king fell from his chariot and was killed. After his victory, Pelops organized chariot races as a thanksgiving to the gods and as funeral games in honor of King Oenomaus, in order to be purified of his death. It was from this funeral race held at Olympia that the beginnings of the Olympic Games were inspired. Pelops became a great king, a local hero, and he gave his name to the Peloponnese.
One (later) myth, attributed to Pindar, states that the festival at Olympia involved Heracles, the son of Zeus: According to Pindar, Heracles established an athletic festival to honor his father, Zeus, after he had completed his labors.
Archaeology suggests that major games at Olympia arose probably around 700 BC. Christesen's important work on the Olympic victor lists shows that victors' names and details were unreliable until the sixth century. Elis's independent state administered it, and while the Eleans managed the games well, there sometimes was bias and interference. Also, despite modern illusions, the famous Olympic truce only mandated safe passage for visitors; it did not stop all wars in Greece or even at Olympia.. See also Finley & Pleket, pp.98-99.
According to the later Greek traveler Pausanias, who wrote in 175 AD, the only competition held at first was the stadion, a race over about .See Perrott, p.138, and "Olympic Games" in The Oxford Classical Dictionary (2003), p.1066. The word stadium is derived from this event.
Greek sports also derived its origins from the concept that physical energy was being expended in a ritualistic manner, in which Paleolithic age hunting practices were turned into a more socially and glamorized function, thus becoming sport. The Greeks in particular were unique in the regard that their competitions were often held in grand facilities, with prizes and nudity that stressed the Greek idealisms of training one's body to be as fit as their mind, it is this ideology and athletic exceptionalism that resulted in theories claiming the Greeks were the inventors of sport. (2025). 9780197520956, Oxford Univ Press US. ISBN 9780197520956
In the first 200 years of the games' existence, they only had regional religious importance. Only Greeks in proximity to Olympia competed in these early games. This is evidenced by the dominance of Peloponnesian athletes in the victors' roles.Spivey, 2005, p.172 Over time, the Olympic Games gained increasing recognition and became part of the Panhellenic Games, four separate games held at two- or four-year intervals, but arranged so that there was at least one set of games every year. The other Panhellenic Games were the Pythian Games, Nemean Games, and Isthmian Games, though the Olympic Games, being the oldest among the rest, were considered the most prestigious. The Olympic games were held to be one of the two central rituals in ancient Greece, the other being the much older religious festival, the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Participation in the Olympic Games was reserved for freeborn Greek men, although there were also Greek women who were victorious as chariot owners. Authorities differ as to whether females were allowed to attend the competitions. Some say all females were excluded from the sacred precinct where the games took place,Finley & Pleket pp. 17, 26, 45–46, while others cite Pausanias who indicated that parthenoi (maidens) could view the competitions, but not gynaikes (married women), who had to remain on the south side of the river Alfeios.Perrottet, pp.155–156; Pausinias, Description of Greece 5.6.7 & 6.20.9. For a lengthy examination of the issue, see Matthew Dillon, "Did Parthenoi Attend the Olympic Games? Girls and Women Competing, Spectating, and Carrying Out Cult Roles at Greek Religious Festivals," Hermes vol.128, no. 4 (2000), pp.457–480. The evidence regarding the attendance of women in the Olympics is inconclusive. Nevertheless, there is no specific evidence suggesting that women were excluded from attending the other Panhellenic or Panathenaic contests.Dillon (2000), pp.457–458
In 86 BC the Roman general Sulla robbed Olympia and other Greek treasuries to finance a war. He was the only Roman to commit violence against Olympia. Sulla hosted the games in 80 BC (the 175th Olympiad) as a celebration of his victories over Mithridates. Supposedly the only contest held was the stadion race because all the athletes had been called to Rome.
After Augustus was declared a god by the Senate after his death, a statue of his likeness was commissioned at Olympia.Drees, p. 119 Subsequent divine emperors also had statues erected within the sacred Altis. The stadium was renovated at his command and Greek athletics in general were subsidized.Young, p. 132
The games continued past 385, by which time flooding and earthquakes had damaged the buildings and invasions by barbarians had reached Olympia. The last recorded games were held under Theodosius I in 393 (at the start of the 293rd Olympiad), but archeological evidence indicates that some games were still held.
Uninhabited throughout the year, when the games were held the site became over congested. There were no permanent living structures for spectators, who, rich or poor, made do with tents. Ancient visitors recall being plagued by summer heat and flies; such a problem that sacrifices were made to Zeus Averter of Flies. The site's water supply and sanitation were finally improved after nearly a thousand years, by the mid-second century AD.Young, p. 134 "A very wealthy Greek, Herodes Atticus, and his very wealthy Roman wife, Regilla, funded an elaborate fountain which was both a practical solution and a work of art. Water, piped in from a tributary of the Alpheus, entered into a large semi-circular basin. Emerging from 83 gargoyle fountains, it was then channeled all around the site. Behind the basin rose a semi-circular colonnade more than 100 feet high, with a series of niches built into its upper level."
Artistic expression was a major part of the games. Sculptors, poets, painters and other artisans would come to the games to display their works in what became an artistic competition. Poets would be commissioned to write poems in praise of the Olympic victors. Such victory songs or epinicians, were passed on from generation to generation and many of them have lasted far longer than any other honor made for the same purpose.Golden, Mark, p. 77 Pausanias claimed that the destroyed Sicilian polis of Naxos would have been completely forgotten if not for its four-time Olympic champion, Tisandros. Description of Greece 6.13.8 Pierre de Coubertin, one of the founders of the modern Olympic Games, wanted to fully imitate the ancient Olympics in every way. Included in his vision was an artistic competition modeled on the ancient Olympics and held every four years, during the celebration of the Olympic Games.Stanton, 2000, pp.3–4 His desire came to fruition at the Olympics held in Athens in Olympic Games.Stanton, 2000, p. 17
From the 8th century BC onwards, the city-states expanded with the establishment of colonies in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. While their cults and sanctuaries provided a sense of identity, those local identities as well as the increasing contacts with non-Greek populations presented the Greeks with the need to define themselves not only as members of a certain polis but also as Hellenes. That was made possible on the basis of a common language, a body of shared myths and legends, their religious observance, and fondness in athletic festivals, which functioned as important factors for the Greek self-definition. As a result, a small number of religious festivals assumed a panhellenic character and were reserved for members of all Greek city-states; the oldest of them being the Olympic Games. A body of officials, known as Hellanodikai, was responsible for determining the city-state of origin and the Greek identity of the competitors.
The spread of Greek colonies in the 6th and 5th centuries BC is repeatedly linked to successful Olympic athletes. For example, Pausanias recounts that Cyrene was founded c. 630 BC by settlers from Santorini with support. The support Sparta gave was primarily the loan of three-time Olympic champion Chionis. The appeal of settling with an Olympic champion helped to populate the colonies and maintain cultural and political ties with the city-states near Olympia. Thus, Greek people culture and the games spread while the primacy of Olympia persisted.Spivey, 2005, pp.182–183
The games faced a serious challenge during the Peloponnesian War, which primarily pitted Athens against Sparta, but in reality touched nearly every Hellenic city-state. The Olympics were used during this time to announce alliances and offer sacrifices to the gods for victory.
While a martial truce was observed by all participating city-states, no such reprieve from conflict existed in the political arena. The Olympic Games evolved the most influential athletic and cultural stage in ancient Greece, and arguably in the ancient world.Kyle, 2007, p. 8 As such the games became a vehicle for city-states to promote themselves. The result was political intrigue and controversy. For example, Pausanias, a Greek historian, explains the situation of the athlete Sotades,
| 33rd | 648 BC | Horse race (keles), pankration |
| 37th | 632 BC | Boys' stade and wrestling |
| 38th | 628 BC | Boys' pentathlon (discontinued same year) |
| 41st | 616 BC | Boys' boxing |
| 65th | 520 BC | Hoplite race (hoplitodromos) |
| 70th | 500 BC | Mule-cart race (apene) |
| 71st | 496 BC | Mare horse race (calpe) |
| 84th | 444 BC | Mule-cart race (apene) and mare horse race (calpe), both discontinued |
| 93rd | 408 BC | Two-horse chariot race (synoris) |
| 96th | 396 BC | Competition for heralds and trumpeters |
| 99th | 384 BC | Tethrippon for horse over one year |
| 128th | 268 BC | Chariot for horse over one year |
| 131st | 256 BC | Race for horses older than one year |
| 145th | 200 BC | Pankration for boys |
Apparently starting with just a single foot race, the program gradually increased to twenty-three contests, although no more than twenty featured at any one Olympiad.See also "Olympic Games" in The Classical Tradition p.654 and Finley & Peket, p.43. Participation in most events was limited to male athletes, except for women who were allowed to take part by entering horses in the equestrianism events. Youth events are recorded as starting in 632 BC. Our knowledge of how the events were performed primarily derives from the paintings of athletes found on many vases, particularly those of the Archaic and Classical periods.Young, p. 18 Competitors had access to two gymnasiums for training purposes: the Xystos (meaning 'scraped'), an open colonnade or running track, for the runners and pentathletes, and the Tetragono for wrestlers and boxers. "Preparing and organizing the games" Foundation of the Hellenic World
A loincloth known as the perizoma was initially worn by athletes at the ancient Olympic Games. Archaeological evidence from late sixth-century BC reveals athletes sporting this garment during competitions. For most of its history, Olympic events were performed in the nude,See Perrottet, pp.6–7 and "Olympic Games" in The Classical Tradition p.654. a habit which the Greeks felt distinguished them from non-Greeks. Pausanias says that the first naked runner was Orsippus, winner of the stadion race in 720 BC, who simply lost his garment on purpose because running without it was easier.Pausanias Description of Greece 1.44.1. Trans. W. H. S. Jones The 5th-century BC historian Thucydides credits the Spartans with introducing the custom of "publicly stripping and anointing themselves with oil in their gymnastic exercises". He continues saying that "formerly, even in the Olympic contests, the athletes who contended wore belts across their middles; and it is but a few years since that the practice ceased."Thucydides (431 BC) The History of the Peloponnesian War 1.1 (Trans. R. Crawley)
A third foot race, the dolichos ("long race"), was introduced in the next Olympiad. Accounts of the race's distance differ; it seems to have been from twenty to twenty-four laps of the track, around , although it may have been lengths rather than laps and thus half as far.Golden, p. 55. "The dolichos" varied in length from seven to twenty-four lengths of the stadium – from 1,400 to 4,800 Greek feet." Miller, p. 32 "The sources are not unanimous about the length of this race: some claim that it was twenty laps of the stadium track, others that it was twenty-four. It may have differed from site to site, but it was in the range of 7.5 to 9 kilometers."
The last running event added to the Olympic program was the hoplitodromos, or "hoplite race", introduced in 520 BC and traditionally run as the last race of the games. Competitors ran either a single or double diaulos (approximately 400 or 800 metres, 0.25 or 0.5 miles) in full military armour. The hoplitodromos was based on a war tactic of soldiers running in full armor to surprise the enemy.
Boxing (pygmachia) was first listed in 688 BC, the boys' event sixty years later. The laws of boxing were ascribed to the first Olympic champion Onomastus of Smyrna. It appears that body-blows were either not permitted or not practised.To judge from the story of Damoxenos and Kreugas who boxed at the Nemean Games, after a long battle with no result combatants could agree to a free exchange of hits. ( Gardiner, p. 432 ) The Spartans, who claimed to have invented boxing, quickly abandoned it and did not take part in boxing competitions. At first the boxers wore himantes (sing. himas), long leather strips which were wrapped around their hands.
The pankration was one of the most popular sports in the ancient Olympic Games. The pankration was introduced in the 33rd Olympiad (648 BC). Boys' pankration became an Olympic event in 200 BC, in the 145th Olympiad. As well as techniques from boxing and wrestling, athletes also used , Gardiner, p. 445–46 "Galen, in his skit on the Olympic games, awards the prize in to the donkey, as the best of all animals in kicking." locks, and chokes on the ground. Although the only prohibitions were against biting and gouging, the pankration was regarded as less dangerous than boxing.
It was one of the most popular events: Pindar wrote eight odes praising victors of the pankration. A famous event in the sport was the posthumous victory of Arrhichion of Phigalia who "expired at the very moment when his opponent acknowledged himself beaten".
Pausanias reports that a race for carts drawn by a pair of , and a trotting race, were instituted respectively at the seventieth Festival and the seventy-first, but were both abolished by proclamation at the eighty-fourth. The trotting race was for , and in the last part of the course the riders jumped off and ran beside the mares.Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.9.1–2
The chariot races also saw the first woman to win an Olympic event, as the winner was deemed to be the wealthy benefactor or trainer that funded the team rather than those controlling the chariot (who could only be male). This allowed for horse trainer and spartan princess Cynisca to be the first female Olympic victor.Millender, Ellen G., "Spartan Women" p. 500–525. In A Companion to Sparta, edited by Anton Powell, Vol. 1 of A Companion to Sparta. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell, 2018.
Due to the winner being the benefactor, it was also possible for a particularly wealthy person to improve their odds by bringing multiple teams to the races; according to Plutarch, the record belongs to Alcibiades, who brought seven chariots to a single competition, winning the first, second, and either the third or fourth place at once.Plutarch, The Life of Alcibiades
In 67, the Roman Emperor Nero competed in the chariot race at Olympia. He was thrown from his chariot and was thus unable to finish the race. Nevertheless, he was declared the winner on the basis that he would have won if he had finished the race.
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