The ancient Olympic Games: A history

PART II

      Participants

Athletes who participated in the games had to be Greeks from all the various regions including the lower part of Italy (Sicily, Great Greece) and the colonies of North Africa and the Greek cities of Asia Minor.

        Events

Even though in the beginning of the Olympic Games, running was the only athlopedia to capture the attention of the spectators and organizers, other games were soon added. Between 724 and 200 BC, they added in chronological order, diavlos, dolichos, the pentathlon, wrestling, boxing, the chariot race (tethrippo), the pangration (a combination of wrestling and boxing), running and wrestling of children, pentathlon of children, boxing of children, running in full uniform and armor, the chariot race on four wheel carriage (apini), the pangration of children and many others.

              Run of the Stadium

Originally, this meant a run of 600 feet and it was done in a limited space and in later years from this particular athlopedia “stadium” they named Stadium the area where all the games were executed. The prototype stadium was 214 meters long and 32 meters wide. The athletes stood in a flat area and approached the starting point, which was marked by standing stones. The judges sat right across from the white marbled altar and the spectators sat on the ground. This game was the most significant run for speed. Ideally the participating athletes had to be light, not very tall so they would have a good balance, muscular, symmetrical lines, straight legs, chest not too wide (like other athletes) and arms a little longer than normal, but muscular and lean. This proto-type is according to Philostratos.

              Diavlos- This athlopedia was a run for speed equivalent to the run of 400 meters today. This game was officially established during the 14^th Olympiad. Originally they were allowing only young men to compete, but eventually, on the 37^th Olympiad, they allowed also children. Considering that the stadium was only 192.27 meters long and diavlos were about 385.5 meters, athletes had to run the entire stadium, first forward and upon reaching the end, turning and running back to the starting point.

              Dolichos - This was a run of endurance and it is approximately equivalent to the five kilometers today. Its beginning, dates back to the days where messengers in Greece were running to announce important news from city to city. The athletes of this game were subjected to special diet and various stringent exercises in preparation.

              Armored Running – In this game, the athletes were running in full uniform and armor. The run was originally done in four stadiums but eventually they did it in two. This was a spectacular athlopedia and that explains the reason we have so many depictions of it on ancient urns. It required a tall runner, with a perfectly muscular body and balance coupled with agility.

              The Pentathlon – The most probable theory is that the pentathlon was invented in 708 BC during the 18^th Olympiad. Pentathlon, as the word reveals, is a Greek word meaning five (penta) athlopedias (Athlon). The combination of the five games included jump, discus, run, javelin and wrestling, in that order. The experts felt that it was very difficult for the athletes to perform in two games of the lower extremes (run and jump) one after the other, so they were separated by the discus and the javelin. Wrestling, which is another very demanding sport, was set apart and left for last.

In Part III, we will continue the focus on the balance of events held and The Judges.