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[German version] The Isthmia, held in the sanctuary of  Poseidon on the Isthmus of Corinth from 582 BC, belongs to the   períodos (περίοδος, circulation) of the Panhellenic agons. Myths connect the founding of the Isthmic Games with funeral games for the drowned Melicertes (Paus. 2,1,3) or with Theseus (Plut. Thes. 11e) [1]. Archaeological finds for athletic competitions do not precede the 6th cent. BC [2. (jumping-weight); 1. 76 (chariot)]. As early as 229 BC, the Romans were permitted to take par…

[German version] (παγκράτιον; pankrátion). The third kind of fighting besides  wrestling and boxing in the programme of Greek agones (Sports festivals). Its goal was to “totally dominate” an opponent, with any means but biting and scratching being allowed for the purpose  (Philostr. Imag. 2,6,3). It is distinguishable in iconography from boxing by the lack of fist straps and from wrestling by the representation of fighting on the ground (Philostr. De gymnastica 11). The famous marble sculpture in F…

[German version] (Ξενόμβροτος/Ξενόνβροτος; Xenómbrotos/Xenónbrotos). According to [1. no. 340], X. was victorious in horse riding (the first from his home island of Cos) at Olympia in 420 BC, while his son Xenodicus [1. no. 363] won in the youth class of boxing in 400 BC. Paus. 6,14,12 describes a shared monument to the two, for which there have been attempts to connect it with IvOl 170. As [2. no. 49] has shown, however, this inscription refers only to the victory of the father, whose father also …

[German version] Egyptian images of large ships being rowed allow the reconstruction of an ancient Egyptian technique characterized by an alternating cycle of sitting and standing while working the oars [1. 106-108]. In the rowing scene on the sphinx stele of Amenophis II (18th Dynasty: 1428-1397 BC), the king, as steersman, markedly outperforms his crew of rowers [2. 59]. Under Tutankhamon (18th Dynasty), teams performed on the Nile in a full-scale regatta [3]. In the Greek world, too, rowing competitions were far from unknown, though infrequent [4; 5]. There was an annual rowing …

[German version] (Greek ἅλμα; hálma; Lat. saltus). In Egypt a type of high long jump was known as a children's game already in the Old Kingdom [1. 619 f.]. In Graeco-Roman antiquity there is evidence of the long jump (LJ) as an individual competition only in myth (e.g. Hom. Od. 8,128). In actual athletic practice, however, it always occurs (presumably as the second discipline) in the context of the péntathlon . According to [2. 57-60], this is a continuous quintuple jump (cf. Them. in Aristot. Ph. 5,3) from standing. It was often performed to the accompaniment of flutes (Paus. 5,7,10; 5,17,10; Philostr. gymnastikos 55), as is frequently shown in images [3. pl. LVb, LX]. The jump was take from a spring board (βατῆρ, batḗr) into a 50-foot-long pit (σκάμμα; skámma) with loosened earth in the stadium. The expression ‘beyond the loosened up area’ (ὑπὲρ τὰ ἐσκαμμένα, hypèr tà eskamména: ‘further than allowed’, Pl. Crat. 413b) became a figure of speech [4. 23-30]. Jum…

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[German version] (δίαυλος; díaulos) ‘double flute’ and by analogy ‘double …

(Διαγόρας; Diagóras). …

[German version] Outside the Graeco-Roman world, sporting use of the javelin (ἀκόντιον; akóntion, δόρυ; dóry, Lat. iaculum) is attested only for Etruria [1. 306-314]. In Homer (Hom. Il. 23,618-623; 629-637; 884-897: uncontested victory for Agamemnon; Hom. Od. 4,625-627; 8,229), javelin-throwing is still a separate discipline. Later on, it is almost only conducted as the third discipline in the framework of the  pentathlon. The sling-strap fastened onto the javelin (ἀγκύλη; ankýlē, Lat. …

[German version] (κώρυκος; kṓrykos, Lat. follis pugilatorius). A hanging sack of sand (filling also: flour, fig seeds), used by boxers ( Fist-fighting) and pancratists ( Pankration) as a training aid (Phil. …

[German version] [1] Prophetess of the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi (Πυθία; Pythía). Prophetic seer of the oracle of Apollo Pythios at Delphi. In addition to her genuine designation as Pythía, her function is characterized by such epithets as mántis (Aesch. Eum. 29), prómantis (Hdt. 6,66), or prophȇtis (Eur. Ion 42). The P.'s establishment may have occurred after a period in which male priests were responsible for the promulgation (H. Hom. 3,393-396; [3. 215]). In the oracle's primeval period, the role of the seer was p…

(στάδιον; stádion). …

(Κλειτόμαχος; Kleitómachos). [German version] [1] Academic philosopher Academic philosopher, probably born in 187/6 BC in Carthage, died in 110/109. Original name Hasdrubal (Philod. Academicorum Index 25.1-2). Presumably came to Athens in 163/2 (information in Diog. Laert. 4,67 is wrong). He entered the Academy in 159/8 After an elementary education of sorts with  Carneades [1], and studies in the Peripatos and the Stoa. Occasionall…

[German version] Victors in Greek agones (mainly in Olympia; Olympic champions) were awarded the right to erect life-size bronze statues of themselves at the place of competition (and in their home towns), but because of the great cost (ten times the yearly earnings of a craftsman [1. 125]) this was not taken up by all of them. An athlete would therefore only rarely receive more than one VS (three recorded only for Dicon from Caulonia, Paus. 6,3,11) for all his victories. The practice started with the beginning …

[German version] Evidence that prizes were given out in athletic competitions exists as early as for the Sumerians [1], Egyptians [2] and Hittites [3; 4] (silver ring; banquet; …

[German version] (πένταθλον; péntathlon). First ever multi-discipline event in the history of sport, held in Olympia allegedly from 708 BC for men, and just once for youths in 628 BC. Mythical derivation from the campaign of the Argonauts (Philostr. Perì gymnastikês 3) [1]. The strong iconographic presence and long tradition with sources that are at times difficult to analyse have led to appreciable differences in interpretation both as regards the ru…

[German version] The discus (δίσκος, dískos) was originally a product of copper smelting, a solidified puddle. In origin a desirable Bronze Age commodity, it developed into a piece of sports equipment. In the …

(Δωριεύς; Dorieús). [German version] …

[German version] (ὀλυμπιονῖκαι/ olympionîkai). The victory won at Olympia [IV] was considered the greatest of all victories in the Greek games. Pindar (Ol. 1,3-7) is not the only witness to this, the idea is also confirmed by the frequent accentuation of this place of competition in victory inscriptions [1; 2 passim]. The glory of Olympic champions, in which the home cities also bathed, was proverbial (Plat. Rep. 5,465d). Victory odes ( epiníkia ) were written to them (e.g. Pind. Ol. 4; 5 to Psaumis of Camarina, victor in the chariot race). Statues ([4]; Paus. 6,10,5f.: Iccus of Tarentum, victor in the pentathlon) and inscriptions [1; 2], occasionally also coins, perpetuated the victors…

[German version] [1] see Medon [7] see Medon [7] Decker, Wolfgang (Cologne) …

[German version] With their designation by name, athletes step out of the anonymity of prehistoric sports and become individual figures in the history of sports. Examples of early athletes are Pharao Djoser at the Jubilee race (3rd dynasty, 2624-2605 BC) [1.A 6-9] and especially Amenophis II (18th dynasty, 1438-1412 BC) with his accomplishments in archery [2.44-50], and Šulgi of Ur (end of the 3rd millennium BC) [3; 4. 46-53] and Šulgigalzu [4. 30f.] should also be placed in this array. As individuals, one can u…

[German version] (Πουλυδάμας/ Poulydámas; also Polydamas/Πολυδάμας/ Polydámas) of Scotussa (Thessaly). Victor at the Olympic Games (Ol. 93 = 408 BC) in the pankration…

[German version] ( Agon Capitolinus). In contrast to the Neroneia, the Capitolea festival, introduced by the emperor Domitian in Rome in AD 86 (Suet. Dom. 4,4), considerably outlasted their founder beca…

[German version] The athletics programme of the Greek agones ( Sport festivals) was mostly designed for the age groups παῖδες ( paîdes; boys, approximately 14-17 years), ἀγένειοι ( agéneioi; youths, actually ‘beardless ones’, approximately 17-20 years) and ἄνδρες ( ándres; men). At the Olympic Games, where, it is said, in 632 BC the track event was supposedly the first competition for youths (here called παῖδες, age limit probably 18 years), and the Pythian Games, the two most prestigious games of all, there were only two age groups…

[German version] I. Introductory remark The general term SF is broader than the Greek cultural phenomenon of the ἀγών/ agṓn. The Greeks did not invent SF, but undoubtedly brought them to a peak with the institution of the agṓn. Decker, Wolfgang (Cologne) …

(Δημάρατος; Dēmáratos). [German version] [1] Corinthian aristocrat 7th cent. BC Corinthian aristocrat, member of the  Bacchiadae family. D. made his fortune as a merchant around the middle of the 7th cent. BC, mainly through trade with Etruria. When he had to leave Corinth during the rule of  Cypselus he settled in Tarquinii with his followers and married an Etruscan aristocrat. According to ancient tradition the marriage produced two sons, one of whom became the first Etruscan king of Rome,  Tarquinius P…

[German version] In contrast to the ancient Middle East [1] and ancient Egypt [2. 42-54; 3. 1,139-189, 2, pl. 68-83, 446-450, folding plate A], where impressive reports and depictions of competitions or royal demonstrations in the art of bow-shooting (especially from Amenophis II, 1438-1412 BC) have survived, bow-shooting played only a modest role in athletic contests of later Greece [4.365-371; 5.155-158]. However, bow-shooting appears a number of times in both the Iliad (23,850-883; and, followi…

[German version] (πυγμή, πύξ; pygmḗ, pýx; pugilatio, pugilatus). There is already evidence of the discipline in the pre-Greek period (Egypt [1. N 1-2]; Mesopotamia [2. fig. 69; 3. 16f.]) and it was also practised in ancient marginal cultures (Etruria [4. 181-268]; representation on situlae [4. 168-174; 185f.; 226-231]; Lucania [5. 54f.]). In the early Greek Aegean area impressive documents from Thera (fresco of the so-called ‘boxing princes’) [6. pl. 38; 7. 43-45] and the depiction on a rhyton from Hagia Triada [6. pl. 106f.; 7. 43-45]…

[German version] (ἀποβάτης; apobátēs). Relic of an early style of combat portrayed in Homer [1.31], the apobates contest, in which an armed man sprang from a moving chariot, had to run for a distance and then jump back aboard (?) while the driver kept the vehicle moving, evidently later enjoys high favour as a sporting event only in Athens [2.188-189; 3.138-141]. The complex discipline, where, besides equestrian qualities, great skill on the part of the armed runner and precise co-ordination between him and the …

[German version] (δόλιχος; dólichos). Longest running race at Greek sporting events. At Olympia, where the dolichos reportedly came into the program in 720 BC (15th Olympiad) as third sport, it probably covered a stretch of 20 stades ( c. 3,845 m) [1. 108f.]. Over that distance the disadvantage of turning around a central post ( Diaulos), was reduced. Graphic [2] and archaeological (Nemea [3]) evidence to this effect should therefore be taken seriously. A good turning technique created distinct advantages. Successful dolichos-runners were, by way of example, the periodonikai (vic…

(Νεμέα; Neméa). [German version] [1] Nymph after whom Nemea [2,3] was named Nymph, after whom N. [2,3] was named, daughter of the river god Asopus and Metope (Paus. 2,15,3; schol. Pind. Ol. 6,144 Dr.) or of Zeus and Selene (hypothesis c on Pind. Nem.); mother of Opheltes (Aesch. TrGF 3 F *149a). Käppel, Lutz (Kiel) [German version] [2] Name of a river, a basin and a sacred grove This item can be found on the following maps: Athletes | Education / Culture (Νεμέα; etymological meaning ‘pasture’; other etymology possibly after a nymph N. in Paus. 2,15,3). Name of: 1) a river whi…

[German version] (περίοδος/ períodos, περιοδονίκης/ periodoníkēs). The four most significant Panhellenic agons (Sports festivals) at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea and the Isthmus were brought together from the 3rd cent. BC under the term periodos ('circuit'). An athlete who had been victorious at least once in each of those games received the honorary title of periodoníkēs documented only from the 2nd cent. AD (cf. today's Grand Slam for success in the four most important international tennis tournaments of the year). Only c. 60 ancient athletes were entitled to this distinction …

(Μνησίβουλος/ Mnēsíboulos). [German version] [1] Athenian defendant, after 356 BC The Athenian M. was involved after 356 BC in a lawsuit for false testimony ( pseudomartyrías díkē ) on behalf of his brother-in-law Theophemus in an earlier aikeía suit ( aikeías díkē ) (cf. Dem. Or. 47,5 and 53 = Apollodoros; Din. fr. 97 Conomis). Apollodorus [1]; Demosthenes [2] Engels, Johannes (Cologne) Bibliography Davies, 225-226  PA 10265  Traill, PAA 655710. [German version] [2] Condemned Athenian, before 324/3 BC Athenian from the deme of Acharnae, was condemned at first before 324/…

(Θεογένης/ Theogénēs). [German version] [1] Athlete from Thasos, 5th cent. BC Famous fighter from the island of Thasos, Olympic champion in 480 BC (against Euthymus of Locri [1. nos. 191; 214; 222]) in fist-fighting [1. no. 201] and in 476 BC in pankration [1. no. 215]. This constellation of victories was first documented for T. on an inscription in Delphi [2. no. 37] dating from the 2nd cent. BC, which attests that the athlete was adored by his home polis for as long as four generations after his death. Pausanias tells of three victories in Delphi, ten in the Isthmia a…

[German version] (ἀγωνοθέτης; agōnothétēs). While nothing is known of the office and function of the agonothete in pre-Greek times, Achilles as patron of the funeral games in honour of Patroclus already entirely fulfils the duties of later agonothetes (Hom. Il. 23,257-897) [1.81-82]. As patron he provides and distributes valuable prizes from among his own possessions, and repeated calls are made on his abilities as arbiter (disputes, distribution of special prizes). At the same time, he is active a…

[German version] (Πυθιονῖκαι/ Pythionîkai, 'victors at the Pythian Games'). Victors at Olympia were in many cases also successful at the Pythia [2] [1]. A list of Pythionîkai was drawn up by Aristotle [6] and his relative Callisthenes [1] [2. 139-144; 3]. Some of the inscriptions written in their honour have survived (FdD 2,1; 2,400; [2. 141-144]). Twelve of the odes of Pindarus [2] are dedicated to Pythionîkai. In Delphi, important anathḗmata (Anathema) have been found, such as the 'charioteer' given by the Sicilian tyrant Polyzalus  [4. no. 13] and the votive g…

[German version] (Sport; κέλης/ kélēs). Although there is evidence, for instance from Egypt [1], of riding on horseback as early as the mid-2nd mill. BC, it was only in Greece that it became a sporting discipline, riding competitions having apparently taken place at the Olympic Games (Olympia IV) from 648 BC. Like chariot-racing (Circus II, Hippodromos [1]), riding was the province of the nobility. Among the 31 preserved names of Olympic victors in riding are well-known names such as Hieron [1] I, t…

[German version] Running first appears in Sumeria as a royal attribute [1]. The Egyptian pharaoh showed his running ability in the ritual of the Jubilee Feast (Egyptian ḥb-sd) [2]. The first evidence of competition is among the Hittites, where the office of royal bridle-holder was awarded as a prize in a competitive race [3]. Soldiers of the Egyptian king Taharka performed a race over a distance of c. 100 km after a long period of daily training in 686/685 BC [4]. Running was an essential part of Patroclus' funeral agon (Hom. Il. 23,740-797), held by the 'fleet-footed' (πόδας ὠκύς, pódas ōkýs)…

(Φρύνων; Phrýnōn). [German version] [1] Olympic victor Victor at Olympia. Moretti [1. no. 58] dates his victory (in the pankration rather than the stadion) [2. 213: A 68] to the 36th Games = 636 BC. According to ancient tradition he died in 607/6 in a duel with  Pittacus of Mytilene over the ownership of  Sigeum. His activities as an oikistḗs (founder of a colony) suggests an aristocratic origin ([3. 63], otherwise [4. 160 note 59]). Decker, Wolfgang (Cologne) Bibliography 1 L. Moretti, Olympionikai, 1957 2 D.G. Kyle, Athletics in Ancient Athens, 21993 3 H.W. Pleket, Zur Soziologie…

[German version] Augustus founded the penteteric Actia in commemoration of the decisive victory won by him over Marcus Antonius in the sea battle off Cape Actium on 2 September 31 BC (Str. 7,325; Suet. Aug. 18; Cass. Dio 41,1); they were probably celebrated for the first time on the anniversary of the battle in 27 BC [1.105-106] and elevated to the status of periodos. Cited in many victory rolls during the Imperial Age, sometimes in the same breath as the Olympic and Pythian games [2.275]. They comprised a programme that included gymnastics, the arts (Stat.…

[German version] (Egyptian nbj; Greek κολυμβᾶν/ kolymbân; Latin natare). Swimming was a basic cultural skill as early as in ancient Egypt ([1]; likewise later in Greece, Pl. Leg. 689d; in Rome, Suet. Aug. 64,3: Augustus teaches his grandsons to swim) and was part of the education syllabus of high-ranking people, even of the king's children (biography of nomarch Cheti, end of 3rd millennium BC [2. document 3]). There are also sufficient sources for the Ancient Near East to assume that swimming was known …

This item can be found on the following maps: Dark Ages | Macedonia, Macedones | Mycenaean culture and archaeology | Oracles | Punic Wars | Athletes | Aegean Koine | Education / Culture (Ὀλυμπία/ Olympía, Latin Olympia). I. History [German version] A. Prehistory O. was located in the Pisatis (eastern Peloponnese), i.e. in the region of Pisa. The existence and location of Pisa  was already disputed in antiquity. However, the town is an important element in the myth of the origin of the shrine of O. and the games held there (Oenomaus [1], …

[German version] I. Egypt and the Ancient Middle East In ancient times, wrestling, an age-old form of martial art, was widespread. The earliest representations in Egypt go back as far as the First Dynasty ( c. 3000 BC) [1. 533-564, L 1]. In seven Middle Kingdom graves of district princes in Banī Ḥasan there are depictions of in all some 500 wrestling pairs, some arranged in cinematographic sequences [1. L 15-21; 2. 70-72]. Wrestlers are also documented for the New Kingdom, including at sports festivals; Nubians among others are me…

[German version] I. Introduction The modern generic term 'sports' for physical exercise in the broadest sense, comprising the multi-faceted cultural phenomenon in a generally understandable way, was coined in England in the 18th cent.; it goes back to the late Latin deportare with the secondary meaning 'to enjoy oneself'. Within Classics and sports history as an institutionalized part of sports studies, concentrated work far beyond the traditional area of Graeco-Roman Antiquity has been established in recent decades [1]; the earlier a…