PLATE VII.
Photo by Mr. R. Coupland.
Stadion at Delphi from the Fortifications of Philomelos.
Length about 220 yards.
Photo by Mr. R. Coupland.
Stadion at Delphi from the Fortifications of Philomelos.
A nearer view.
Running needs no comment: the methods are much the same in all ages. The chief distances for races in Hellas were the Stadion or 200 yards,[401] the Diaulos or quarter-mile, and the Long-distance race, which varied from three-quarter mile to about three miles. The race in armour was not taught to boys. Races were often run over soft sand, where the runners sank in, just as long-distance races in England often include a ploughed field or two. The sand made running both a more severe exercise (so that a shorter distance sufficed) and also a better training for war.
For the long jump the Hellenes used the “halteres” or light dumb-bells, to assist their momentum.[402] Even in competitions, a flute-player stood by, to give the competitors the assistance of his music: no doubt it helped them to manage their steps so as to “take off” on the right spot. They alighted into a large sandy pit, dug up by the ever-present pickaxe: the jump was only measured if they came down on to this evenly, leaving a clear trace of their foot.