Ancient Olympics - The Individual Events of the Ancient Olympic Games

Events in the Ancient Olympics:

The races and other events in the Olympics were not fixed at the time of the first Olympic games, but gradually evolved. Here you'll find a description of the big events at the ancient Olympics and the approximate date that they became part of the Olympics.

• Boxing
• Discus (part of Pentathlon)
• Equestrian Events
• Javelin (part of Pentathlon)
• Jumping
• Pankration
• Pentathlon
• Running
• Wrestling

Foot Race:

At the first recorded Olympic games there was one event, a race, -- the stade (also a measure of the distance of the length of the track). By 724 B.C. a 2-length race was added; by 700, there were long distance races (the marathon came later). By 720, men participated naked, except for the foot race-in-armor (50-60 pounds of helmet, greaves, and shield) that helped young men prepare for war by building speed and stamina. Achilles' epithet, swift footed, and the belief that Ares, god or war, was fastest of the gods indicate, according to Roger Dunkle (1), that the ability to win a race was a much admired martial skill.

Pentathlon:

By the 18th Olympiad, in 708 B.C., the Pentathlon (broad jump, discus, javelin, running, and wrestling) had been added. According to legend, Jason instituted the event and awarded the prize to his friend Peleus.

Donald Kyle (p.122) says the first winner of three events was declared winner. He says that the broad jump, discus throw, and javelin hurl probably occurred first.

Long Jump:

The long jump was rarely an event on its own, but one of the most difficult parts of the Pentathlon, according to Dartmouth's "The Olympic Games in the Ancient Hellenic World" (2), yet the skill it demonstrated was an important one for soldiers who would need to cover long distance quickly during battle.

Javelin and Discus:

Coordination was a requisite for the javelin throw which was often accomplished on horseback. The throw itself was like that used by today's javelin throwers. Likewise the discus was thrown in the same way as today.

Kyle (p.121) says the size and weight of the usually bronze discuses were 17-35 cm and 1.5-6.5 kg.

Wrestling:

Wrestlers were anointed with oil, dusted with powder, and forbidden to bite or gouge. Wrestling was looked upon as a weapon-free military exercise. Weight and strength were especially important since there were no weight categories. Kyle (p.120) says that in 708 wrestling (pale) was introduced to the Olympics. This was also the year the Pantathlon was introduced. In 648 the pankration ("all-in wrestling") was introduced.

Boxing:

In 688 B.C., boxing, a sport familiar from Patroclus' funeral games, was added. According to myth, Apollo invented it to kill Phorbas, a man who had been forcing travelers to Delphi through Phocis to fight him to the death.

The original equipment of boxing were oxhide straps called himantes wrapped around the hand. By the fourth century, gloves replaced himantes. Hitting the opponent's face proved the most effective technique.

Equestrian:

In 648 B.C., chariot racing (based on the use of chariots in battle) was added to the events.

Pankration:

"Pankratiasts...must employ backward falls which are not safe for the wrestler...They must have skill in various methods of strangling; they also wrestle with an opponent's ankle and twist his arm, besides hitting and jumping on him, for all these practices belong to the pankration, only biting and gouging being excepted."
Philostratus, On Gymnastics From Olympic Games Study Guide (3)

In 200 B.C., the Pankration was added, although it was developed much earlier by Theseus in his combat with the Minotaur. The pankration was a combination of boxing and wrestling, where, again, gouging and biting were forbidden. It was a very dangerous sport, however. When a contestant was wrestled to the ground, his opponent (not wearing gloves) could rain blows on him. The downed opponent could kick back.

The Olympic games were not proving grounds for real combat. Just because skills in the Olympics matched valued martial skills does not mean the Greeks assumed the best wrestler made the best fighter. The games were more symbolic, religious, and entertaining. Unlike hoplite, team-style warfare, the ancient Olympics were individual sports which allowed an individual Greek to win glory. Today's Olympics, in a world described as narcissistic, where warfare is distant, involving only small clusters of people, being part of a gold-winning team confers honor just as well. Ritualized sport, whether team or individual, continues to be an outlet for or way to sublimate humanity's aggression.

The Ancient Olympics - Starting Point for Information on the Olympics

(1) [URL = <http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/classics/warathl.htm> (07/04/00)]
(2) [URL = <http://devlab.cs.dartmouth.edu/olympic/Games/Jumping.html#rules> (07/04/00)]
(3) [URL = <http://www.siu.edu/departments/cola/dfll/public_html/classics/Olympic_Games.html> (07/04/00)]