The Olympic Festival—The Gymnastic and Equestrian Contests—The Hippodrome—The Judges—The Preliminary Ceremonies—The Course of the Festival—Honours to the Victors—The Delphic Festival and Pythian Games—The Isthmian and Nemean Games—The Athenian Festivals—The Festivals of Dionysus.
In ancient and in modern times alike it has been usual to connect public festivals with some religious observance, even though the actual occasion might be the celebration of the change of the seasons or some regular event connected with agriculture. Greek worship was naturally of a cheerful nature. The sacrifices were usually followed by banquets, which communicated a festive character to an act of worship, and this was often accompanied by singing and dancing, sometimes of a serious and solemn nature, at other times lively and cheerful. As a rule, sacrifices to the heavenly deities were offered early in the day, but the banquet did not take place till the afternoon, and thus opportunity was afforded for devoting the interval to entertainments, among which, along with song and dance, dramatic and gymnastic performances soon began to occupy a place, and gradually to assume the character of regular competitions. Sacrifices to the infernal deities took place in the afternoon or evening, and were, in consequence, followed by a festival at night, which often degenerated into a wild orgy. These festivities, which were partly connected with the worship and partly celebrated for their own sake or connected with ancient national games, were at first a natural consequence of the religious ceremonies and the manner in which a nation of the cheerful disposition of the Greeks would celebrate them. But as these performances and festivities came to be more closely connected with the religious festivals, they gradually became an integral part of them, and were no longer left to the arbitrary disposition of the persons concerned, but were taken in hand by the state or community, and subject to regular arrangement.
The entertainments most commonly added to the religious ceremonies at the festivals were, in the first place, those of a musical character, partly vocal, partly instrumental, or a combination of both; in the second, dances, both choric and pantomimic, lastly scenic representations, gymnastic contests, processions, national games, etc. Among these the musical, choregraphic, scenic, and gymnastic representations were first raised to the dignity of regular competitions. Of course, different festivals were celebrated in different ways; apart from local differences, the very character of the divinity in whose honour the festival was held, and the different phases of the legend, necessitated differences in the mode of celebration and in the regulation of those who were to take part in them; thus some festivals were celebrated by both sexes together, and others by only one, to the exclusion of the other. In one point, especially, the Hellenic differed from our modern Christian festivals. It is a natural consequence of the Christian religion that the great festivals are celebrated at the same time by all believers in all parts of the civilised world, while the Greek religion knew of no such religious festivals common to all Hellenic tribes. There were a number of national festivals which were of equal importance to all Greeks; but these were not celebrated simultaneously throughout the country, but only at one specially appointed place, to which spectators came from all parts, and which thus provided an opportunity for great national meetings recurring at regular intervals. In consequence of the decentralisation of the country, these provided the only means of awakening and maintaining national feeling among the Greeks. Other festivals were peculiar to particular countries, or even to towns or communities; the differences existing in Greek belief, which are often closely connected with national traditions and racial peculiarities, were also marked in the act of worship. Even those regular festivals which were celebrated alike in most of the Greek states were not all held on the same day, but at different times, which was probably due to the fact that Greek antiquity was acquainted with no common calendar. The proceedings at these festivals also differed greatly according to the place. We know very little about the majority; most details have come down to us concerning the Attic calendar and the customs in use there, though even here our knowledge is very incomplete. The great Hellenic national festivals, which were celebrated at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea, and on the isthmus of Corinth, will first claim our attention.
Of these the Olympic festival is the oldest, at any rate as regards its national importance. The festival and the games celebrated there existed long before the year 776 B.C., after which its regular recurrence was used for expressing the date of the year; still, it is only from this time onward that we can regard it as a really national festival. The Pythians did not begin to calculate by their games till the year 586, the Isthmians in 582, and the Nemeans in 573. The Olympic and Pythian festivals recurred every four years, the other two every two years; the Olympic festivals always took place at the first full moon of the summer solstice, the Pythian in the autumn of the third year of an Olympiad; we cannot determine the exact period of the others, and only know that the Isthmian games were held at midsummer, and the Nemean alternately in winter and in summer. The main features of all, next to the usual acts of worship, such as prayer, sacrifices, etc., was the gymnastic contests connected with them. All four had attained so great a reputation even beyond the frontiers of their narrow home that most of the Greek states took part in them by means of official embassies (θεωρίαι) and numbers of spectators came from a distance, and a great market was held there in consequence. This universal interest taken in the festivals gave them a character of inviolability, so that they were able to continue even in time of war, since there was always a truce as long as the games lasted, and all who took part in them were allowed to travel undisturbed, as soon as the heralds of peace had announced the beginning of the sacred month, first in their own state, and afterwards in that of all the Greeks who took part in the contests. We possess far more details concerning the Olympic festival than any other, and, in fact, it exceeded them all in importance. The games constituted the most important part, and it was for their sake that spectators came from most distant parts of the ancient world to the plain of the Alpheus; and, indeed, the myth concerning the origin of the festival is intimately connected with these games. Every free-born Greek was allowed to take part in them. Barbarians were strictly rejected, at any rate in the best period of the Olympic festival, and it was not till the time of the Roman Empire, when its glory had long departed, that this practice was abandoned. They also excluded all who had committed murder or any other great crime, or forfeited the rights of citizenship, and before the beginning of the contest a strict examination was held into the claims of all who desired to take part. At first only youths and men were admitted; from 632 onwards boys were allowed to contend, at any rate in some of the sports. We hear of women taking part or being victors in the Olympic games, but this does not mean that they appeared in person; in the chariot races and riding it was not the custom for the owner of a horse to drive or ride, and thus rich women who were interested in the training of horses could let them run at the Olympic games; and since it was not the charioteer or rider, but the trainer and owner of the horses who was crowned, they might thus obtain the prize.
The contests at Olympia were of a gymnastic or equestrian nature; musical contests were excluded. But the perfect development of gymnastics as shown at the Olympic competitions only took place very gradually. At first the contests consisted only in running, and this was the case for the first thirty Olympiads after the time when the counting began. Then the double-course was introduced, and soon afterwards the long course (724 B.C.). In the year 708 the pentathlon was added, and thus the most important sports—jumping, throwing the spear and quoit, and wrestling—were introduced, along with running, and henceforward were regarded as one of the most attractive parts of the whole contest. In 688 a boxing-match was added; in 680, chariot races with four full-grown horses; in 648, riding races and the pancration. No more contests were added; further changes were only slight modifications, such as the admission of boys, who at first took part only in the running and wrestling, then for a short time in the pentathlon, and afterwards in the boxing-match, and only in very late times (200 B.C.) in the pancration. In the year 520 the race in full panoply was introduced, and in 408 the chariot race with two horses. Attempts were made to introduce mules and mares, but these were soon abandoned; colts were, however, introduced for the contest with four and two horses, and also for riding. It was natural that when there was so large a number of events they could not all, as at first, take place on one day; and, indeed, it would hardly have been worth the journey from such great distances. From time to time, as new sports were added, another day was given to the festival, so that when the number was complete it generally lasted for five days, divided in such a way that the three intermediate days were devoted to the contests, the first and last to the public and private sacrifices, processions and banquets.
The gymnastic contests have been already discussed in a previous section; we must give some details here about the equestrian competitions, among which racing with four-horse chariots was always regarded as one of the most splendid. They employed for the purpose the light two-wheeled chariots used in battle in the heroic age; these had, as a rule, wheels with four spokes, and the car was open at the back and closed in a semi-circular shape in front, with two bent hoops turned back behind, which were used to catch hold of in jumping up. (Compare the vase painting, Fig. [149].) Here we see the preparations for driving; the charioteer, clad in a long garment according to ancient custom, stands behind the two
Fig. 149.