II. THE OLYMPIC GAMES IN ANCIENT TIMES.
In historic times the great national festivals were already established. They had undoubtedly grown out of local athletic festivals of very ancient origin. Of these Panhellenic festivals, that celebrated once in every four years at Olympia in Elis was the oldest and the greatest. The nationalization of this festival is assigned traditionally to the year 776 B. C. This date depends on a list of Olympic victors, compiled in the last part of the fifth century by the sophist Hippias of Elis, and handed down by Eusebios. Modern historians are not unanimous in accepting the early part of this register, and the minority have supported their charge of spuriousness by adducing unharmonious facts. In itself the date 776 B. C. is not unreasonable. And when it is considered how comparatively easy and common travel was in Hellas, it is not rash to suppose that the festival, when once it had become celebrated as a local affair was resorted to by travellers, if not as participants, at least as spectators. Certain it is that the Olympic festival was already a Panhellenic institution, when the other three festivals were established early in the sixth century, and that to the close of Greek history it continued the most glorious.
The Pythian games were celebrated on the Krissean Plain in Phokis in honor of Apollo. These games were held for several days in January in the third year of each Olympiad. The prize was a wreath of laurel and a palm.
The Nemean games were held in the groves of Nemea, near Kleonai in Argolis, in the winter and summer alternately of the second and fourth years of each Olympiad. The prize was a wreath of parsley.
The Isthmian games, instituted in honor of Poseidon, took place at Corinth in the spring and summer alternately of the first and third years of each Olympiad. This alternation was arranged to avoid interference with the Olympian and Pythian festivals. The victor’s prize at the Isthmia was a wreath of pine native to the spot.
Beside the four national festivals, minor games of more frequent recurrence existed all over Hellas. How eagerly the victor in a local exhibition must have turned his eyes towards Nemea, the Isthmus, Pytho, and perhaps even to Olympia may be imagined. Each of the four great festivals had peculiar features of its own. Thus, the Pythian games, probably next to the Olympian in importance, were characterized by competitions in music and poetry in addition to the athletic contests. The Isthmian games were distinguished by the addition of boat-racing and swimming contests.
But all were essentially alike. All were designed as glorifications of the strong and agile body. All were marked with patriotism. All were embellished with the greatest products of Hellenic art. All were held in honor of gods. And a fitting tribute and worship they furnished, not the mumbled prayers of a sallow-visaged, stunted race, but the exultant feats of proud, self-reliant men. All were attended by the most studied and artistic pomp. The greatest lyric poets of Hellas, Simonides and Pindar, for instance, celebrated the victors. Of Pindar’s ἐπινίκια or “Odes of Victory,” we possess fourteen Ὀλυμπιονῖκαι for winners in the Olympian games. Twelve Πυθιονῖκαι for the Pythian games, seven Νεμεονῖκαι for the Nemean games, and eleven Ἰσθμεονῖκαι for the Isthmian games. Even the wise men and famous bards of Greece could not resist the desire to be present. It is said that the Spartan Chilon, one of the seven wise men of Greece, died while witnessing these games, being overcome with joy at his son’s victory. Sages like Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, Sokrates, Plato, Aristippos, Diogenes and Thales came, lured not only by the desire of beholding athletic feats, but also eager to engage in debate, or perhaps to explain some new theory of the universe. Statesmen like Themistokles and Kimon resorted to the games and there met the rulers of distant states. Orators and sophists like Gorgias, Lysias and Demosthenes, were present at the Olympian games. The first two made great panegyric speeches. The games on the Isthmus were attended by the great dramatists Aischylos and Ion. Historians like Herodotos carried their scrolls to read before assembled Hellas. Artists came to exhibit their works of art, and perhaps to obtain new customers. Sculptors showed models of their skill, and potters exhibited vases. These games, like the Schwingfest and the shooting-matches of Switzerland, served not only as pleasant occasions of reunion, but tended to the diffusion of national ideas. In the language of John Fiske, “young men of the noblest families and from the farthest Greek colonies came to them, and wrestled and ran, undraped, before countless multitudes of admiring spectators.”
The victor in the foot-race at Olympia was regarded as an honor to his country, and gave his name to the current Olympiad, and on reaching home entered his native city to the notes of a triumphal song written by a Pindar or Simonides. Another significant fact is that the Greek era began with the Olympic games; every period of four years was called an Olympiad.
About twenty miles above the mouth of the Alpheios, in a long, narrow valley surrounded by well-wooded hills, it is joined by the ancient Kladeos, coming from the north. At the angle formed by the junction of the two rivers is the area known as Olympia, the scene of the greatest athletic festival that the world has ever witnessed.
To the north of this plain was a range of rocky hills, the nearest of which was the famous Kronion, conical in shape and about 400 feet in height. As its name signifies, this hill was sacred to Kronos, the father of Zeus. Another low range bounded the valley on the south. The western boundary was the Kladeos. Eastward was the hill of Pisa, and further in the distance were visible the snow-crowned summits of Erymanthos and Kyllene.
During the long centuries that succeeded the extinction of Greek civilization, the precinct of the games, and the equipments, buildings and statues that remained, were gradually covered by a stratum of alluvium from the Alpheios, mixed with a deposit of clay from Kronion. The rest of the world was not interested enough to record the process, and when in modern times scholars saw no trace of the original scene, it was supposed that the Alpheios by its overflowings had destroyed all monuments. Recent excavations, however, have revealed a very precious remnant at the bottom of the alluvium. It was indeed not really a misfortune that during periods when the products of old civilizations were treated with fanaticism on the one hand, and rapacity on the other, the Olympian scene was covered with earth rather than left exposed to the hand of Middle Age barbarians.
The systematic excavation of Olympia was undertaken in 1875 by the German government. The work involved great expense, and the willingness of the Germans to undertake and execute the task has brought them much praise from the scholars of other countries. The excavations were completed on the 20th of March, 1881.
During these six years a space in the form of a square, measuring 1,000 feet on each side, was stripped of the accumulated deposit of twelve centuries; the average depth of this covering was estimated to be over sixteen feet.
Archæologically, this excavation involved expert care and much labor. Neither the care nor the labor was withheld. The result may best be described in the language of an eminent professor of classical archæology:—
“The result of these excavations, carried on there at great cost and with supreme disinterestedness by the German people, has been to enable the traveller at Olympia not only to study the scene of the greatest of Greek athletic festivals, but to trace the celebration from hour to hour and from point to point. He not only sees the hill of Cronion, where the spectators crowded, wades through Olympic dust, and feels the sun of Olympia beat on his head, but he can wander on the threshold of the temple of Zeus, pass from building to building in the sacred enclosure of the Altis, and stand at the starting-point of the runners in the Stadium. Taking the guidebook of the old Greek traveller Pausanias in our hand, we can follow in his steps, and out of broken pillars, truncated pedestals and the foundations of demolished buildings, we can conjure forth the beautiful Olympia of old, with its glorious temples, its rows of altars, its statues of gods and godlike men who conquered in the games, its treasuries full of the noblest works of art and the richest spoils of war. And we can people the solitude with the combatants and with the spectators, a crowd filled with the enthusiasm of the place and with delight in manly contests; a crowd over whom emotions swept as rapidly as chariots through the hippodrome, and who were ever breaking out into wild cries of delight, or loud shouts of scorn and derision. We can see the bestowal of the crowns of wild olive, and can hear the heralds recite the names of those who have been victorious.”
Here, then, in the summer time was held the great athletic festival in honor of Olympian Zeus. At the beginning of authentic history it was already a venerable institution. We have already learned that early in the sixth century the other three Panhellenic festivals were modeled upon it. Many myths very early sprang into existence to explain its origin. Pindar, it is well known, in one of his Olympian odes makes the Dorian Herakles the founder. Of course, the myths do not agree, and if they did would establish nothing directly; indirectly, however, they show that at the time of their first promulgation the festival had attained so approved a system, so wide a celebrity, and so great a prestige as to need accounting for and to be compatible with an exalted origin. And as a matter of fact, system, celebrity and prestige do not fall to the lot of an institution in the period of a single generation.
The festival was from the first under the charge of the Eleians. But so liberal a policy did this nation adopt and pursue that people from neighboring states were glad to send competitors. Rapidly the custom of resorting to the games spread to more distant states. From an Eleian event, the festival became Peloponnesian, and finally Panhellenic. The Athenians and Thebans at a very early date achieved splendid victories in these games. The Theban Pagondas was crowned victor in the four-horse chariot race in the 25th Olympiad, when for the first time this was a feature of the festival. Thus one state after another turned its attention to the venerable celebration, and if it happened that a citizen of one state was crowned victor in a contest, interest in the games was sure to be increased in that locality.
Even in the absence of positive evidence it would be contrary to reason to suppose that the games were originally established as they existed at the time of Pindar. In fact, the different features were added successively. According to a fairly reliable tradition, there was originally and for twelve following Olympiads only one contest: the δρόμος, a foot-race consisting of a single lap of a stadion of two hundred yards. About 720 B. C., according to the tradition, was added the δίαυλος, a race in which the stadion was traversed twice. Soon afterward was added the δόλιχος, or long race, consisting of seven, then of twelve and perhaps twenty-four laps. The next contest to be introduced was the wrestling-match. In the same year that wrestling was introduced, about the 18th Olympiad, the pentathlon made its appearance. This feature, though consisting of five contests—leaping, spear-throwing, diskos-pitching, running and wrestling—was nevertheless a single event, inasmuch as victory in one contest alone was not rewarded; an athlete to be crowned victor in the pentathlon must win at least three of the contests. Boxing and the chariot race are said to have been added in the 23d Olympiad. Thus the games grew more elaborate, and the time over which they extended was increased from a single day to five or six.
The festival was conducted by judges, called Hellanodikai, elected by the people of Elis a year beforehand. The number of these judges was about ten; they were expected to give close attention to their duties. Thirty days before the festival, candidates for the various contests presented themselves before the Hellanodikai for examination. In order that the name of a candidate could be considered, he must prove himself to be of pure Hellenic stock, and must give evidence of having practised in a gymnasium for ten months previously; finally, the candidate must practise for thirty days in the great gymnasium of Elis, under the supervision of the Hellanodikai. The names of those who were able to satisfy the judges were placed on a white board which was exposed to view at Olympia. After an athlete had been entered for a contest, it was considered the greatest ignominy for him to withdraw for any reason; indeed, for so doing he was heavily fined. Theagenes, an athlete of wide fame, was unable to enter the pankration because he had been disabled in the boxing-match; but inasmuch as he had had his name entered for both events, he was fined.
Eleven days before the festival, the Hellanodikai caused to be proclaimed by heralds throughout all the cities of Hellas the truce, sacred to Olympian Zeus, which was to last a month. It was this truce that made the Olympia possible as a Panhellenic institution. During the month that followed the proclamations of the heralds, all wars between Hellenic states were held in abeyance, and travellers were allowed to journey through them unmolested. The awful name of Zeus coupled with the decrees of rulers made this truce effective.
During the eleven days pilgrims from all over Hellas were approaching Olympia. Some of the scenes may be imagined. In the language of Professor Percy Gardner: “From all the shores of the Mediterranean and the Euxine seas the Greek colonies sent deputations to represent them at the games, to bear offerings to the temple, and to perform sacrifices on their behalf. And the Greeks readily took a tinge from the land wherein they dwelt. There were dwellers on the northern shore of the Black Sea, to whom continual intercourse and frequent intermarriage with their Scythian neighbors gave almost the aspect of nomads; and colonists from Massilia, who in dress and blood were half Gauls. There were people from Cyrene, with the hot blood and dark complexions of Africa, and oriental Ionians, with trailing robes and effeminate airs. There were rude pirates from Acarnania, and delicate sensualists from Cyprus.”
To give a detailed account of the competitions at each of the great festivals would involve much unnecessary repetition. That held at Olympia, therefore, may be taken as the type and the ideal of the others. But even at Olympia, the celebrations of which have been most widely written of both by ancient and modern scholars, it is not always easy to determine the exact order of the various contests.
There is hardly a doubt that at the Olympic festival as well as at the others the foot-races were the initial competitions. Plato says that at his time when a contest took place the herald first called on the σταδιοδρόμος to do his part. The reason for beginning with the foot-race was probably an historical one; as has been said, it was originally the sole competition at the Olympic celebration. According to the old Eleian priest legends, the Idaian Herakles, one of the Cretan Kouretes, came to Elis in the reign of Kronos, in the golden age, and arranged a foot-race in which the victor was crowned with wild olive. The legends further state that the place thus honored by the priest of Olympian Zeus was afterward called Olympia, and that in time the celebration was repeated at intervals of four years. Of course the foregoing is a tale invented to explain the priority of the foot-race as well as the founding of the festival. Another legend recounts that at one of these subsequent celebrations Endymion, son of Æthlios, offered the kingdom of Klymenos, whom he had conquered, as a prize to that one of his sons who should be first in the foot-race. Such are some of the myths that helped to sanction and endear an inviolable Olympic custom. It is noteworthy in this connection that in the Odyssey the Phæacians had opened their games with the foot-race.
The technique of foot-racing, the style of running most advantageous, and the training and qualities necessary for it, differ considerably with the distance covered. Accordingly very early in the history of the Olympic festival races of varying length were one by one introduced, and the variety doubtless tended to attract a larger number of competitors and to make the occasion more interesting.
For thirteen Olympiads, however, the race called the δρόμος was the only feature. In this race the stadion was traversed but once. As the course of the stadion was about 200 yards, the δρόμος was what we call a sprint, and required that a runner exert himself to the utmost from start to finish. This simple race remained a favorite mode of competition among the Greeks until a late time—being practised by Alexander.
The δίαυλος, or double course of the stadion, was introduced in the 14th Olympiad. This race required that the runner, after having traversed the 200 yards and reached the goal, should return to the point of starting. As he rounded the goal he described an arc, and on his way back took the opposite side of the track in order that he might not collide with other runners.
Very soon after the introduction of the δίαυλος the ἵππιος δρόμος and then the δόλιχος were instituted. The ἵππιος δρόμος, which implies a horse-race, was in reality a foot-race, the contestant running the distance generally covered in a horse-race—namely, four times the length of the stadion, or 800 yards.
The δόλιχος was added to the Olympic games in the 15th Olympiad, and was, like our long runs, a test primarily of endurance and lung-power. The distance covered varied from seven to twenty-four laps of the stadion, or from less than a mile to about three miles. At Olympia, however, the distance was twelve stadia. As the δόλιχος was run on the same track on which the single and double races took place, it was really only a series of double races.
In the 65th Olympiad, the ὁπλίτων δρόμος was introduced. In this race the competitors wore helmets and greaves, and carried shields on their left arms. Pausanias claims to have seen the statue of Demaratos equipped with a round shield, helmet and antique greaves. At a later period, however, the helmet and greaves were discarded at Olympia, and the race was run with shields alone. The distance covered in this race was two stadia—the length of the δίαυλος. Pindar, the poet laureate of the Olympians, mentions the race with shields, and with poetic privilege ascribes its origin to heroic times. Plato considered the exercise very valuable as war training, and prescribed it as a part of the athletics of his ideal commonwealth. Plato devised two other races involving armor: in one the competitor should be equipped as a heavy-armed hoplite, and should cover a distance of sixty stadia on a level plain; in the other the competitor should wear the light equipments of an archer, and should cover one hundred stadia over hills and valleys.
The running contests at the great games were governed by certain established rules. No fraud or guile was allowed to be used by the contestant on the track for the purpose of impeding his companions. They were very particular that all should start at the same time and from the same line, so that no one might have the advantage over the others. It was also contrary to rule for an athlete voluntarily to slacken his speed and allow his fellow-contestants to win. The competitors were appointed by lot and arranged in groups. These groups raced in heats of four, ranged in the places assigned them by lot. The first group was followed by the second, the second by the third, etc. When all groups had finished, the victors of each again entered the contest and strove for the prize; so that every σταδιοδρόμος had to win twice before he was crowned victor.
The physicians of olden times mentioned two other foot-races which in their opinion afforded excellent gymnastic exercise. The first of these was practised in the sixth division of the stadion and consisted of running first forward and then backward. In this race the body was not turned once, but the distance that was run forward was continually shortened by backward running until the contestant finally stood at the starting-point. In the second race the contestant ran on tiptoe with outstretched arms which he swung violently to and fro. It was practised along a wall so that, should the balance be lost, the runner could hold and support himself against it.
Among the less important foot-races were two that had their origin in certain local celebrations, namely, the torch race and the race of the vintage festival, held at Athens. Similar races took place at Sparta during the great national festival of the Κάρνεια held in honor of Apollo.
In the preparation for these different kinds of foot-races everything was done in the way of training that would tend to make the body as light as possible and increase its rapidity, although the different cities of Greece varied to some extent as regards the question of diet, rubbing and baths.
In practising for the foot-race the contestant, having divested himself of every shred of clothing and anointed his body with oil, was made to exert himself as much as possible. The exertion was often increased by making the run in deep sand instead of on firm ground; the foot having a less firm support, the runner was obliged to work harder and more quickly. In this way these exercises gave to the body not only great power of endurance, but also increased speed, and as a result the δολιχοδρόμοι possessed strong and well-developed legs. The shoulders and upper part of the body, on the other hand, owing to insufficient exercise were small and narrow. On that account Sokrates did not favor the races because they did not produce a harmonious development of the body. The skilled runner naturally strove to preserve an erect carriage while running, and to conform to all established rules regarding the contest. In this connection it may be interesting to mention the strange ideas entertained among the Greeks regarding the influence of the spleen over the powers of the body. This little organ, situated behind the stomach on the left side of the abdomen, and exercising some function which still remains unknown, would in their opinion if diseased prove a great hindrance to a contestant in the race. In order, therefore, to prevent such a catastrophe they resorted to extraordinary means, namely, the use of certain plants which they believed would dissolve or eat away the spleen; or even to surgical operations, such as cutting or burning it out. On the other hand, they believed that a diseased spleen was greatly benefited by exercise in running. Laomedon of Orchomenos is quoted as furnishing an example of this kind.
The attitude of the runners we learn from vases. Those who were contending in the short race or dash swung their arms backward and forward alternately. This is beautifully shown by a painting on a Panathenæan vase in the possession of Koller. It represents four athletes running, hardly touching the ground with one foot, while the other is raised and moved forward in order to cover the greatest possible distance with one step. The hands are wide open; the arms are moved about freely and appear to act as the wings of the body, and their motion is in harmony with that of the lower limbs. Another vase, discovered in the ancient tombs of Volci, also shows a similar method of running. The athletes are moving rapidly, and using their arms as wings. On the other hand, those who were running a long distance clenched their fists and held their arms close to their sides, as do our modern runners. A peculiar custom prevailed during the games. It is said the contestants kept up a loud shouting in order to retain their courage, while at the same time the admiring spectators cheered wildly as some favorite or friend neared the goal. As the Greeks did not possess the modern mechanical means of communication, they had to rely mostly upon messengers; hence the great necessity for expert runners. To this fact is due to a considerable degree the development of agonistic and running contests in Greece. It is said that after the battle of Platæa all the sacred fires which had been profaned by the Persians were extinguished, and that Ἐνχίδας, a Platæan, covered in one day the distance of a thousand stadia from Platæa to Delphi and back again, and brought his fellow-citizens the pure fire from the altar of Apollo. As a result of this terrible strain he sank to the ground and died. The Cretans were especially noted in the δόλιχος. Sotades and Ergoteles were among the most famous. The Arcadian Dromeos was another celebrated runner, having been like the former twelve times victorious in the δόλιχος. Ladas, the famous Spartan runner, was also victorious in the δόλιχος, but according to Pausanias died at the goal on completing a race.
Comparison of the speed of Hellenic athletes with that of modern runners is exceedingly difficult, because the Hellenes had no means of measuring minutes of time; they did not say of an athlete that he ran the δίαυλος in such a time, but that he won (i. e., surpassed his competitors) in a certain Olympic celebration.
Probably the next event was the pentathlon. This competition was introduced into the festival at about the 18th Olympiad. As the etymology of the word signifies, the pentathlon consisted of five distinct competitions, enumerated in a well-known pentameter ascribed to Simonides: leaping (ἅλμα), running (ποδωκείην), diskos-throwing (δίσκον), spear-throwing (ἄκοντα), wrestling (πάλην). That the poet arranged the events in this order cannot be taken as positive proof that this was the real order, as it is hard to see how these words could be arranged otherwise in a pentameter. It is probable, however, that wrestling was the final contest. There is some uncertainty as to what constituted a victory in the pentathlon, but it is evident that the purpose of this competition was to develop what we call “all-round athletes,” and the assertion that the victor must have won three out of the five contests cannot be far from the truth.
In such a combination of exercises it would certainly be good athletic policy to make leaping the first contest. It may be questioned whether an athlete could leap so well after having engaged in the more violent exercises, whereas leaping itself, instead of disqualifying for the other exercises, would on the contrary rouse the animal spirits without bringing on exhaustion, and thereby put the athletes at once in good condition. For the leap requires not only vigor and elasticity, but also courage and determination.
The beneficent results of this exercise were recognized at a very early period by the Hellenes, although in the heroic world the leap was not considered so important as the other modes of contest. In the games of Achilles the leap is not mentioned. In the Odyssey, however, the Phæacians, a light-hearted people, more fond of amusement than of war, are said to be skilled in leaping. It is in historic times, however, that leaping, as an important event in the pentathlon of the public games, acquires its technique, and receives the careful attention of athletes.
What may be called the pure leap, that is the standing leap without accessory aids, was not practised at Olympia. The leaper held in his hands weights resembling our dumb-bells, and known as ἁλτῆρες. To determine the dynamic advantage of these weights is not easy, but it is certain that with them the exercise required more skill, and accordingly more practice, that it called into play more muscles, and that it was more attractive to athletes as a mode of competition.
While little information can be obtained from classic writers concerning the ἁλτῆρες, much can be learned from archæological specimens. Pausanias describes them as having the form of a semi-oval, or inaccurately-rounded ring that could be grasped by the fingers as a shield was grasped. This description corresponds with a drawing of the ἁλτῆρες on a vase in Hamilton’s second collection. Ἁλτῆρες of another shape, however, resembling very closely the modern dumb-bells, are seen on many other vases and gems. These had both ends rounded, and were narrow in the middle in order that they might be easily held. In Hamilton’s first collection are vases giving representations of these ἁλτῆρες. In the Museo Borbonico may be seen on a patera a drawing in which the ἁλτῆρες have still another form: when the hand has grasped the handle of these, beyond the hand, on one side only, a club-shaped part protrudes. The ἁλτῆρες were usually made of lead.
In the pentathla, leaping never took place without ἁλτῆρες, which the athlete usually held directly in front of him, and then, as he sprang, brought behind him, thus helping to propel his body forward.
In addition to the ἁλτῆρες, professional athletes made use of another aid—the βατήρ. The latter was a board on which they stood before taking the leap, and which may indeed have been provided with a spring.
Pausanias especially mentions the fact that the leaping of the pentathli in the Olympic festival was accompanied by airs on the flute. This music was probably to open the pentathlon, the most splendid and stirring of gymnastic contests, as well as to increase the courage of the leapers.
The only leap that belonged to the pentathlon was the standing long jump. There is no trace of anything like the hop, step and jump. The figures of athletes on vases are represented not as running, but as standing and swinging the ἁλτῆρες. Then, too, it would seem that in the running jump the weights would be an impediment rather than an aid. With the aid of the ἁλτῆρες and the βατήρ enormous distances were covered. Phaÿllos of Rhegium is said to have covered more than fifty-five feet at a leap. But the record is incredible. Some German professors, however, are inclined to credit the record on the ground that the ancients had studied the theory of leaping more scientifically than have the moderns. For the sake of comparison the modern records in jumping may be introduced. On May 28, 1890, J. Darby of England, without the aid of weights, made a standing long jump of 12½ feet. At Romeo, Mich., October 3, 1879, with 22-pound weights, G. W. Hamilton made a standing jump of 14 feet, 5½ inches. A record of 23 feet, 6½ inches, in the running long jump has been made twice: by C. L. Reber at Detroit, July 4, 1891, and by C. B. Frye of England, March 4, 1893. A jump of 48 feet, 8 inches, without weights and preceded by a hop and a step, was made October 18, 1884, by T. Burrows of Worcester.
In the palæstra and the gymnasium, leaping was practised in many different ways, as through a hoop, or over a rope. That the high jump also was practised is evident from the fact that the athletes leaped not only over pointed poles fixed in the ground, but also over one another’s heads, after the manner of modern circus performers. Leaping from a higher place to a lower was also practised. Leaping took place in dancing and in various other sports. A dance, consisting principally of leaping was practised at Sparta, particularly by young women and girls. In this the dancers aimed to hit their backs with their heels. Aristophanes alludes to this custom in the following dialogue between Lysistrata and Lampito:
Lysistrata.
Hail! Lampito, dearest of Lakonian women.
How shines thy beauty, O, my sweetest friend!
How fair thy colour, full of life thy frame!
Why, thou couldst choke a bull.
Lampito.
Yes, by the twain;
For I do practise the gymnastic art,
And, leaping, strike my backbone with my heels.
Lysistrata.
In sooth, thy bust is lovely to behold.
It is probable that in the Olympic pentathlon leaping was followed by diskos-hurling,—a contest of great antiquity. An old myth represents Apollo as a diskos-thrower.
The diskos was circular in form with perhaps an average diameter of a little less than a foot, and was made of various materials at different periods and places. The heroic diskos, as has been said, was made of stone, while that of a later period was of metal, and even of wood. The diskos in common use at the Olympic festival was metallic, and resembled a small shield.
In the local gymnasia the size and weight of the diskos varied in order that an athlete might select one in accord with his strength. But in the men’s pentathlon at the public games a standard diskos was required,—uniform in material, form, and weight, in order that the strength and skill of the competitors might be impartially tested and the victory correspondingly awarded. There is considerable doubt as to the dimensions and weight of this standard diskos. It is likely that the weight was between four and five pounds. A specimen found at Ægina and now preserved among the bronzes at Munich is about eight inches in diameter and slightly less than four pounds in weight. But another specimen at present in the British Museum weighs twelve pounds.
There is also doubt as to the distance to which a skilful athlete could hurl the diskos. An extravagant record of one hundred cubits is preserved in the writings of Philostratos. It is probable, however, that one hundred feet was an extraordinary throw and was exceeded only by the best athletes. While it is unlikely that the throws of renowned athletes were carelessly measured at the time, it is probable that many subsequent accounts were more or less exaggerated. It is well to bear in mind that the statue of Phaÿllos was greatly admired among the Greeks because that athlete had thrown the diskos ninety-five feet.
It is interesting in this connection to note that at the International Athletic Games, celebrated at Athens in 1896, the victor in the diskos-throwing competition made a record of 95.64 feet. The diskos used in this competition weighed 4¾ pounds. Although three skilful Greek athletes participated in this competition and exhibited a technique much superior to that of the foreign competitors, yet the victory was won by Mr. Garret, an American, who though never having handled the diskos before threw it to the above distance, thereby surpassing the best throw of M. Paraskevopoulos, the Greek champion, by .64 feet.
To return to the ancient contests, the Homeric heroes practised diskos-throwing without completely disrobing,—the upper garment only being laid aside. But at Olympia after the 15th Olympiad all clothing was dispensed with, and the advantage of entire nudity in this sport came to be clearly recognized. Nudity characterized, of course, the diskoboloi of the other great athletic festivals. Again, while the Homeric heroes did not anoint the body with oil, the athlete of historic times did not consider his preparation complete without it.
After roughening his hands and the diskos with earth, in order to grasp it more firmly and handle it more deftly, the diskobolos ascended an eminence, called the βαλβίς. When about to throw, the body of the diskobolos was bent quite a little to the right and forward. At the same time the head was bent to the right so far that it was possible for him to see the upper left side of his body. The right arm was now moved from below, first backward to the height of the shoulders, and then with a rapid movement forward it described a semi-circle, giving the diskos at once velocity and direction. In throwing the diskos, the diskobolos rested first on the right foot and then on the left. At the moment of hurling the diskos the left knee was slightly bent, while the other was kept backward. As the diskos left his hand he took one or more steps forward, like a person throwing a ball in a bowling alley.
Again we are indebted to the archæologist who has brought to the light of day not only statues but also vases and gems with their elaborate scenes of the diskobolos in various attitudes, for they reveal to us many facts about which the ancient historians are silent.
In classifying these works of art three different attitudes may be recognized:
(1) The diskobolos preparing to throw.
(2) The diskobolos in the act of throwing.
(3) The diskobolos having hurled the diskos and still following it with his eyes, or where he has already been declared victor.
In the Museo Pio Clementino is a statue representing an athlete about to hurl the diskos. In his left hand he is testing the weight of the diskos, but holding the right ready to receive it and hurl it into space. This statue was supposed by Visconti to be a copy of a diskobolos by Naukydes, the pupil of Polykleitos. Many other copies are also seen on vases and gems. On one of Hamilton’s vases the diskobolos holds the diskos in his right hand, supporting its weight in his left.
Of the statues representing the athlete in the act of throwing, we will consider only Myron’s Diskobolos, the beau ideal of athletic motion, famous even in antiquity. Eight copies in a more or less mutilated condition have come down to us. That which was found in the Villa Palombara in 1781 on the Esquiline is the best reproduction of the original. This statue passed from the palace known as that of the Massimi alle Colonne to the Lancelotti Palace, Rome, where it still remains. The attitude of the diskobolos is very nearly that described by Lucian and Quintilian. In the Philopseudes—1, 8, Lucian gives the following description of Myron’s Diskobolos: “Thou speakest of the disk-thrower, who is bending forward for the throw, with his face turned away towards the hand that holds the disk, and with one foot slightly pointed, as if he would raise himself with the action of throwing.”
The statue reveals probably the most approved attitude of a diskobolos just before making a throw. The centre of gravity falls upon the right foot, which, though the leg is bent in a slight curve, rests firmly on the ground; both legs are bent at the knees, but the left more acutely; the right fore-leg is perpendicular, while the left is thrust backward obliquely; the left foot, forming a noticeable curve, is upright and touches the ground only at the tips of the toes; the thighs, close together, slant upward, making an angle of over 45° with the ground; the upper part of the body is bent forward, and is steadied by the left arm whose hand rests against the right knee; the upper half of the body is twisted to the right; the right arm is extended backwards and is straight; the fingers of the right hand, which is somewhat above the level of the right shoulder, firmly grip the edge of the diskos; the head is turned so far to the right that the right side of the body is plainly visible; the eyes are fastened on the diskos.
It is evident that the diskobolos must have swung the disk in a semi-circle, and have hurled it from below forward, and that the whole body must have relaxed and readjusted itself as the right arm moved forward and imparted the pent-up energy to the disk.
The pose of the large cast in the Boston Athenæum, as well as that of the cast in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, is not in accordance with Lucian’s description. Both represent the head as not turned aside but directly forward, with the eyes looking straight ahead. There is, however, in the Fourth Greek Room, a cast of a small bronze statuette, which is preserved in the Antiquarium at Munich. This is in many respects an excellent copy of Myron’s diskobolos. In the catalogue of the casts in the Museum, this statuette is pronounced especially satisfactory from an æsthetic point of view because the line of equilibrium falls perpendicularly through the centre from whatever point of view the statuette is seen.
Besides this copy of Myron’s statue, we find on many vases and gems the diskobolos in the act of hurling the diskos. For instance, on one of Hamilton’s vases we see a diskobolos with a diskos in his right hand, while the right arm is bent and held forward, showing that he is on the point of moving the arm backward, and then forcibly hurling the diskos from below, forward. The left arm is bent over the head, the eyes are fixed on the diskos, the right foot is placed forward, so that the centre of gravity falls on the left, which is obliquely bent at the knee.
We will now consider the third class of statues, gems and vase-paintings representing the diskobolos as having thrown the diskos, and still following it with his eye, or where he has already been declared victor and adorned with the palm. In 1754 there was discovered at Herculaneum the bronze statue of a diskobolos from whose hand the diskos has just flown. He is still standing, however, with the upper portion of his body bent forward, the eyes looking sharply into space, the face full of expectation. The position of the right arm indicates that the hand is only just freed from the heavy diskos. Both feet are placed wide apart, as may be observed in several other instances, at the moment of throwing. In the Galerie de Florence is a gem which represents a diskobolos who has been declared victor. He holds the diskos in his left hand, the palm of victory in his right. At his right stands a prize cup, while at his left is a tripod upon which is a wreath and a palm. A painting from Herculaneum also represents a diskobolos after having thrown the diskos.
If space permitted, many other statues, vase and gem pictures could be cited to show the different positions of the skilled diskobolos. But enough has been said to show that to hurl the diskos through the air at once gracefully and effectively required the greatest skill and dexterity, and was an art acquired only through long practice. In diskos-throwing, distance, not height, determined the victor. He who threw the farthest beyond the mark or σῆμα was awarded the prize.
Diskos-throwing was a good preparation for war, as it developed great skill in stone-throwing—a very important feature in the war practices of the ancients. This exercise must have developed to a remarkable degree the muscles of the upper part of the body, shoulders, arms and hands—especially those of the right side of the body. At the same time the feet were trained in a firm and secure step, and, although the diskos was thrown at no fixed point, the eye was nevertheless used and trained. So beneficial was the exercise in certain cases that it was often ordered by the ancient physicians. Among the Spartans the diskos was especially loved, ostensibly on account of Apollo’s contest with Hyakinthos on Spartan soil.