The Home Life of the Ancient Greeks

by Hugo Blümner

horses, which are yoked to the chariot, and seems about to complete the arrangement of the harness, while an attendant in a short garment is helping him; another attendant leads a third horse, which is probably also to be yoked to the chariot; while the owner holds in his hand the reins and the goad with which to urge on the horses. The usual plan was to fasten the middle horse to a yoke at the end of the pole which is raised in front, while the outer horses were connected with ropes at either side, fastened to a ring in front of the chariot. The reins were all drawn through a ring or loop at the top of the pole, and the pin on to which this ring was fastened was connected with a vertical rod in front of the chariot by a line drawn very tight, the object of which is not clear; perhaps it was to establish equilibrium between the car, which was drawn backwards by the weight of the driver, and the forward pressure given to the pole by the pull of the horses. This picture also shows other details of harnessing, the bridle, etc.

The races took place in the Hippodrome; but the one at Olympia is completely destroyed, and all the knowledge we possess of its situation is due to Pausanias, who gives us no information concerning the length of the course to be run twice by full-grown horses. However, he supplies a detailed description of the starting places, which were very complicated, since no competitor must have an advantage over another by starting earlier or having a shorter piece of ground to cover. For this purpose the two long sides of the Hippodrome were of unequal length, and the one at the end of which were the goal and the seats of the judges was rather shorter than the other; the stands for the chariots were not in a straight line, but in the form of the segment of a circle. The ropes, which prevented the chariots from starting before the appointed time, did not all drop at the same moment, but one after another in such a way that the chariots started first from the more distant stands, and reached a given point at the same time as those from the nearer stands, which started a few seconds later, so that the racing began at this place under equal conditions. The signal was given by the sound of trumpets, and also by some ingenious mechanism which caused a bronze dolphin on an elevated place at the beginning of the course to fall, while an eagle, which till then had rested on an altar, rose into the air with extended wings. At this sign the barriers fell, and the chariots started in the appointed order over the longer side of the course, and then, turning back, returned by the shorter side. This was the exciting contest which has been so magnificently described by Homer in his account of the funeral games in honour of Patroclus, and by Sophocles in the “Electra.” The victor who first reached the goal, near which sat the umpires, received the much-coveted reward of a wreath; but even the next seems to have had some distinction or, at any rate, an honourable mention.

Racing with four full-grown horses was always most popular, but there were also races with two-horse chariots and with colts. Afterwards, when riding races came into fashion, they became extremely popular, although they never attained the great importance claimed by the chariot races in the Olympic games. In both contests it was the trainer of the horse who was regarded as victor, and though it sometimes happened that the owner or his son drove or rode himself, yet it was more commonly done by strangers, very often by professional charioteers and riders hired for the purpose, like our jockeys of the present day. Instead of the wreath, which was not allotted to them, they received a fillet as a token of victory.

The judges (Ἑλλανοδίκαι) were appointed by the Elians, on whose territory the games took place. Their number varied in the course of years. At first, in 576 B.C., two citizens were chosen by lot to arrange and superintend the contests; but a hundred years later there were nine judges appointed, three for the equestrian contests, three for the pentathlon, and three for the rest of the sports; to these nine a tenth was soon added, then for a short time the number was reduced to eight, and afterwards once more increased to ten, which remained the appointed number. They were chosen by lot even in later times. As their decisions were of extreme importance, it was regarded as no small matter to undertake this responsible office; in fact, the judges had to be trained in a special building in the market-place of Elis, in the arcades of which they spent the greater part of the day for ten months, to be instructed in their duties by the guardians of the laws (νομοθύλακες), and in particular to acquire an accurate knowledge of gymnastic rules. When the time of the games arrived, they took a solemn oath in the court-house at Olympia, before the altar of Zeus Herkeios; their period of office extended only over a single festival.

Their duties were to make the arrangements for the contests, and all the festivals connected therewith; to examine the competitors as to their right to enter; to superintend the training of the athletes and their teachers in the gymnasium; to see that the athletes really entered for the contests which they had chosen, and that everything was done according to established custom, and the laws of the games were in no way broken; for this purpose they also had disciplinary power, and a right to impose considerable fines, and even sometimes inflict corporal punishment. Finally, in case of uncertainty, they had to give judgment about the victory, if necessary, by a majority of votes. A combatant who was not satisfied could appeal against their decision to the council (βουλή) of Olympia, but he could not afterwards be pronounced victor; the most he could obtain, should it appear that the judges were in the wrong, was their condemnation to pay a fine. Under the judges were officials who helped to maintain order and carry out their ordinances; and all the attendants present—and this must have been a considerable number, owing to the great concourse of spectators and combatants—were under their orders.

We can form some general idea of the succession of events and the arrangement of festivities during the five days of the festival, although we are not fully acquainted with all the details. A preliminary ceremony was the entrance of the embassies from the various Hellenic states. All the states considered it a matter of importance to send their representatives equipped with as much splendour as possible, and therefore the richest people were always chosen for the purpose. Since a great deal of splendour was shown by these delegates at the festive processions with their chariots and horses, their magnificent utensils, etc., they probably held a grand entry on their arrival, and thus the spectators, at the very beginning of the festival, were able to gratify their love of fine sights. No doubt the whole proceeding began with a sacrifice to Zeus, in whose honour the games were held, and who was regarded as their director. Next, the umpires, the athletes who entered for the contests, and the trainers who had come with them, took a solemn oath in the court-house at Olympia. After a swine had been sacrificed, the competitors had to swear that they possessed the full rights of citizens, that they had fulfilled all the conditions which were necessary for admission, and were ready to submit to the regulations. In spite of this oath, an examination into their claims took place; it was not only necessary to prove the right of citizenship, but also the appointed training for the contests by the athletic diet already described, and on this account the presence of the trainers was desirable, if not indispensable, at the examination and oath. The horses for the races were also examined. It is uncertain whether the lots to determine the groups of competitors were drawn on this first day. The drawing was preceded by a prayer to Zeus Moiragetes, the Director of Destiny; then the charioteers drew lots for their places at starting, and the others for their order of entry. The runners were divided into groups, probably of four; the lot decided the order in which they were to follow one another; and the victors in these races had then to run once more for the prize. This however was probably only the case with the single and double course, since it is not likely that there were so many competitors for the more difficult long course and the race in full panoply. Wrestlers, boxers, and pancratiasts drew lots from an urn, in which small lots, of which a pair was marked with the same letters, were thrown; each competitor drew out one. Those who drew the same letters had to fight together; the victors then fought afresh. If there were more than two victors, they probably drew lots again in the same way. At last there was only one pair left, of which one was victor in the whole contest. It sometimes happened that when these lots were drawn the number of combatants was unequal, and thus one was left without an opponent. He was called the third combatant (ἔφεδρος), and it was a very lucky thing to draw this lot. Of course, it would be a very unusual piece of luck for one person to be third combatant at all the drawings, and thus be able at last to meet, with his strength unbroken, an opponent who would have sustained many contests already; still, to draw this lot even once was to have a distinct advantage. There was, of course, a certain amount of unfairness connected with it, but they seem to have found no other way out of the dilemma; still, in most cases, when the victors and the third combatant drew afresh, it might be left to chance to see that one person was not too highly favoured. Sometimes a competitor was lucky enough to obtain a wreath without any contest at all; for instance, if only two had entered for a particular contest, and one of them did not appear in time or abandoned the fight. Many celebrated athletes could obtain a prize thus by the mere terror of their names.

The gymnastic and equestrian competitions continued from the second to the fourth day; probably the boys contended on the second, the men on the third and fourth days. We know little about the order of events; still, it is probable that on the third day the racing took place first, and in this order—long, single, and double course, then wrestling, boxing, and pancration; on the fourth day the equestrian contests, the pentathlon, and, last of all, the race in full panoply. There would then be several changes of locality, since the equestrian contests took place in the Hippodrome; the races, pentathlon, and other gymnastic sports in the Stadion. There was, of course, a gymnasium at Olympia, but this could not contain the multitude of spectators as well as the Stadion, and, therefore, the wrestling school and gymnasium at Olympia were used exclusively for the previous training of the competitors who came there for the contests. On the last day the prizes were distributed. The prize, as is well known, was the simplest possible—a mere wreath of olive, which a boy, both whose parents must be alive, according to the old tradition, cut with a golden knife from a wild olive tree in the Grove of Altis. Another outward token of victory was the palm branch granted to the victor, and, in consequence, the palm as a token of victory often appears in the statues of the Olympic conquerors. In olden times the wreaths to be distributed were placed on a brazen tripod; but Kolotes, a pupil of Pheidias, constructed a magnificent table of gold and ivory for the purpose, which was usually kept in the temple of Hera. It was the duty of one of the judges to crown the head of the victor with the wreath after it had been previously surrounded by a woollen fillet. During this solemn act the herald announced the name of the victor, as well as of his father and his native city. The importance attributed by the ancients to the victory in the Olympic games was such that this proud moment, when the victor received his reward amid the applause of the whole people, and, as it were, before the eyes of all Greece, was a sufficient compensation for all the troubles and difficulties involved in the preparation for the contest. Still, there were many other honours which fell to his lot, both in Olympia and at home in his own country.

After the name of the victor had been announced, sacrifices and banquets took place. It is not certain whether the great sacrifice of the Elians, a hecatomb offered to Zeus as the supreme director of the contests, took place at the conclusion of the festival, or at the beginning; in any case, numerous sacrifices of thanksgiving were offered by the victors and also by the delegates sent from other states. Very often the victor’s sacrifice was combined with that of his countrymen; for the state to which the conqueror belonged considered itself honoured by his victory, and it was the duty of the delegates to exhibit as much splendour as possible at the sacrifice as well as at the procession connected with it. These solemn processions, which made the last day of the feast a specially magnificent one, were accompanied by flutes and citharas, and, perhaps, also by the singing of choruses. They probably marched at first round the altars, while the flames of the sacrifices were burning on them, and afterwards touched at all the sacred places near the holy Altis.

In the afternoon a great banquet, given by the Elians to the victors, united them all in the town hall (πρυτανεῖον); but even this was not the end of the festivities, for feasting continued in the evening and far into the night at entertainments given by the victors to their relations and friends, who had hurried to the spot. These were more or less magnificent according to the means of the givers, though sometimes the state to which they belonged bore a part of the expenses. These festive gatherings were also honoured by music and song, and it was on these occasions that the songs of victory (ἐπινίκια), specially composed in praise of the victor and his family, were often sung, along with old songs, supposing it to have been possible in this short interval to write, compose, and study one of these hymns of victory. Most of the odes, especially those of Pindar, which have come down to us, were not performed on these occasions, but at the festivities held in honour of the victor in his own country, which were often celebrated there from year to year.

Herewith the official programme of the festivities came to an end, but there was no lack of further entertainment; for the opportunity of appearing before so great a number of their countrymen, and thus attaining sudden fame, was a very attractive one for poets and writers, who in those days were little assisted by the bookselling trade. The custom of holding lectures or reciting poems before the assembled people originated in the 5th century, when it is said to have been introduced by Herodotus, who read aloud a portion of his history at Olympia, though this story is not entirely removed from doubt. It is, however, a fact that from that time onwards recitations of this kind became commoner; thus Gorgias the Sophist, and Hippias the Elian, held long discourses here; and similarly, Prodicus and Anaximenes, Lysias, Isocrates, etc., lectured at Olympia; and in later times this was a frequent occurrence. Occasionally, though less often, works of art were here exposed to view; thus, a painter, Aetion, exhibited his picture of the marriage of Alexander the Great and Roxana, and the astronomer, Oinopides, of Chios, exhibited a brass tablet which was to explain a new method of calculating the time, discovered by him. This last, however, turned out a failure. The publicity of the Olympic festival was also used in other ways. Important decrees relating to solemn pledges, treaties among states, mutual acknowledgment of meritorious actions, decisions to confer crowns, or other matters of importance, which it was desirable to bring into universal notice as soon as possible, were proclaimed by the solemn voice of the herald and then graven in bronze or stone, and set up in the Altis.