OLYMPIC GAMES. The most famous of the four great national festivals of the Greeks. They were celebrated in the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia (q.v.) every four years. Mit, owing to the fluctuations of the Greek lunar calendar. the time varied from the beginning of August to the middle of September. At first the contests only occupied a single day. but in later times five or six days wore net•ded to eomplete the sports. The origin of the pines was lost in antiquity. and legend attributed the foundation to Hercules„ Pelops, who was worshiped with special honor as a hero at Olympia, and other mythical char acters. They were said to have fallen into neg lect until King lidding of Elis and Lyeurgots of spalta established the 'truee of God' at the celebration of the games and restored them to honor. It was not till much later. however. that the official list of victors began with Combos, who won the foot-race in me. 776. The authority of the list. Iniwever, is small for any period before the fifth eentnry, as it does not seem to taro been y011)1001 before that time, and there are many indient ions that it was not based on ancient records. According to the accepted belief, the earliest and for halo the only conii.st wag the station or short foot-race. In Olympiad II (ay. 72-1) the dianlos. or race of two Riadia. was in troulm441.and at the next celebration the doliehos, or long run. its the same year the contestants abandoned the loin cloth and appeared naked, a custom which prevailed ever after. In B.C. 708 the polio/Hon and wrestling were introduced, in n.c. 6S8 boxing, and in ti.c. 680 the race for four-horse chariots, to which were added in B.C. G48 the race for ridden horses, and the pancra liam, a combination of boxing and wrestling. In n.e. 632 contests for boys were established, which from B.C. 610 consisted of running, wrestling, and boxing. In B.C. 520 the foot-raee for men in armor was added, and in the fourth and third centuries other novelties, especially in horse-racing, were from time to time at tempted. From B.C. 396 there was a contest of trumpeters and heralds, and the successful competitor in the latter was allowed to show his skill in announcing the victors in the other contests. During the greater part of their existence the games were in charge of the Eleans, though the city of Pisa, in whose ancient terri tory Olympia was situated, frequently disputed this right, until early in the sixth century Pisa was destroyed by Elis and Sparta. The chief officials were the Hcllenodil;at, whose number varied from one or two to twelve, though the usual number seems to have been ten. Early in the year of the games envoys from Elis were sent through out the Greek world to invite the States to join in honor to Olympian Zeus. but at first the games seem to have had merely a local char acter, though they soon became a national fes tival. To them the States sent Thcoriw, sacred embassies, to bring their offerings and vie with one another in the splendor of their equipment and entertainment. The crowd of spectators in cluded representatives of all branches of the Greek race, and many barbarians were drawn by the reputation of the spectacle. Merchants and trailers were there in abundance, while poets, orators, and artists exhibited their powers to a gathering which could easily secure a world wide fame to a successful display.
The competitions were open only to those of (;reek descent. and free from of impiety, blood.guiltiness. or grave bre:tell of the laws. All contestants were required to train faithfully for ten months before the games. while the last thirty days must be spent at Elis under the eyes of the officials. though it is possible that this was only required of novices. .1nst before the games the list of entries was prepared. and from that time withdrawal wa s puuishod with fines. The order of the events is uncertain, and possibly varied at different times, hut the first athletic roiliest was almost certainly the stadion, and the name of this victor served to designate the Olympiad. The first day of the festival was given to sacrifices, especially to Zeus, while the otlieials and contestants took a solemn oath. the former to judge fairly. the latter that they had observed the prescribed training and would coin iuete with fairness. The second day probably began with the foot-races. and for these the
crowd gathered in the Stadion. an oblong plain inelisseil by banks of earth. The course was marked at both ends by a marble sill. about sit feet long and inches wide, in which were two grooves to give a foot bold in starting. The finish was always at one end. hut the starting point varied for the single and double courses. The length of the emirs.. was MO Olympic feet of 0.32015 meter, or about 630 English feet. In the long run the double course seems to have been covered twelve times. Another group of contests was formed by wrestling, boxing, and the pancratimn. In the first, the object was to throw the antagonist three times, but the struggle was not continued on the ground. Box ing became more and more brutal, for while at first the pugilists wound straps of soft leather over the lingers as a shield and to deaden the blows, in later times hard leather, sometimes even weighted with metal, was used. Still the highest praise was won by athletes who owed their success to such perfect defense that they exhausted their opponents without striking a blow or receiving a scratch. In the paneratium. the most severe of the sports, both wrestling and boxing were employed, and the contest continued until one of the contestants acknowledged his defeat. For these contests the competitors were paired by lot, and it was regarded especially creditable to pass through the successive rounds without the rest afforded by drawing a bye, which might occur whenever the number of contestants was uneven. The horse-races were run in the ippodrome (q.v.). of which no traces have been discovered, but which is said to have had a length of four stadia. As this would mean that a complete circuit was nearly a mile, and as we are told that the four-horse chariots made twelve circuits, it follows that the race must have been far more a test of endurance than of speed, or else, which is more probable, that these figures have suffered in transmission. This sport was naturally confined to the wealthy, but was very popular, and the successful owner re ceived high honor in his State, while princes commemorated their victories on their coins. After the horse-racing came the pentathlon, or five-fold competition in running, jumping, throw ing the javelin and the discus. and wrestling. The exact order of the competition and the method of determining the winner are unknown, but it is clear that it was necessary to show decided all-round ability. The running was the short race, or Stadion, and the jumping was for distance, not height, but was probably analogous to the modern hop, step, and jump. for the ground was softened to a distance of 50 feet, and we hear of two men who cleared 52 and 55 feet. respectively. The was a light spear, and was thrown with the aid of a strap which was wrapped about the shaft, by which a rotary motion and greater distance and accuracy was secured. The discus was a plate of bronze, probably lens-shaped, and much heavier than the one now in use in athletic games (It!, pounds), as the best throw recorded is 95 Olym pic feet. The last event of the games seems to have been the race in armor, twice the length of the Stadion. At first the runners wore the full armor of a hoplite, but later they carried only the shield. On the last day of the festival the victors received in front of the temple the crowns of wild olive from the sacred tree, which were the only prize, and a fterwhrds were han queted by the State of Elis at the Prytaneion. The victor returned home in triumph to enter the city in a ehariot, often through a breach in the walls, with songs and proeessions, praises were sung by poets. and in many cities he lived thereafter at piddle expense.
The games were at their height during the fifth and fourth centuries, when the contestants were of the best blood in Greece. Gradually, however, a change took place, as the training became more and more a profession, and in Roman times, although the crowds and the splendor continued, the competitors were nearly all the professional athletes against whose mode of life physicians and moralists alike directed their censure. Vet the games continued until A.D. 394, when they were finally suppressed by the Emperor Theodosius, supposedly on the ground that they were opposed to the interests of Christianity.