The Ancient Olympic Games

By Nigel B. Crowther

Olympic Knowledge - Essential Readings Series

January 2024
Olympic Knowledge - Essential Readings Series: The Ancient Olympic Games

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Olympic Knowledge - Essential Readings Series: The Ancient Olympic Games

The Ancient Olympic Games

Nigel B. Crowther
Emeritus Professor - Western University, Canada.

Biography
Emeritus Professor of Classical Studies and former Director and Chair of the International Centre of
Olympic Studies, Western University, Canada. Supervisory Professor (Master’s and Postgraduate
Studies Programmes) for the International Olympic Academy, Olympia, since 2004. Honoured with a
laudatio, a collection of essays that appeared in the journal Mouseion, 16, no.3 (2019). Contracted as an
expert on the origins of football for the FIFA Museum, Zurich, since 2020. Passionate sports fan,
especially for things Olympic and football.

Abstract
This article examines the ancient Olympic Games, from their traditionally accepted beginnings in the
eighth century BC to the fifth century AD. Even though they were a conservative festival, there were
numerous changes over their one-thousand-year history. The Olympics became the largest cultural
gathering in Greece of any kind, as sports permeated all levels of society. The article uses a wide range
of sources, namely literature in the original Greek and Latin, archaeology, art, and epigraphy. Yet the
amount of evidence available is sparse when contrasted with the rich vein of material available for the
modern Games. The article tries to avoid, as best as possible, using the modern Olympics and
preconceived notions to interpret the ancient festival, while pointing out the most important ancient
and modern parallels and contrasts. It discusses, therefore, from the revisionist point of view, the
sources, the foundation myths, qualifying, eligibility, the training period, the sacred truce, visitors, the
facilities, the contests, the winners, the rewards, the organisation, the Roman period, other relevant
festivals, and the last years of the Games. It also examines the ancient Olympics from the point of view
of both athletes and spectators.

Keywords: Antiquity, ancient Olympic Games and Elis, athletics, equestrian.

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Introduction
For too long, scholars have looked at the ancient Olympic Games through rose-tinted spectacles,
seeking parallels with the Victorian values of the first modern Olympics. 1 This article, however, tries to
follow the wise words of the sixth President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Lord
Killanin: that one should look at things as they are, not as one would like them to be. Most of the
misconceptions about the ancient Games, such as those related to amateurism and professionalism,
have long since been put to rest. 2 A study of the primary sources shows that the Olympics were inter-
city, designed for Greeks, and in no way open to all nations. 3 There has survived no evidence of
symbolic rings, a motto, Olympic torch relays, or of course hymns, anthems, or flags. At Olympia, there
was no special significance attached to the sacred fire, a feature of all Greek sanctuaries. The Olympic
flame has been much overhyped in the modern world. There is no known ancient philosophy about
international understanding, brotherhood, and peace, 4 or an equivalent of the Olympic Movement.
According to Donald Kyle, the modern Games “have become more and more removed from the
ancient.” 5

Figure 1: Reconstruction of the site of Olympia (around the first century AD).

The Olympics were not known as Games in the ancient world, although for the sake of convenience
they will be referred to as such in this article. They were in fact Olympic Contests (Agones), an
important distinction, for the spirit of competition (agon) permeated the Greek world in most of
society, not least in the Olympics. 6 It is for this reason that no second or third prizes were awarded.
Moreover, the word athlete is derived from the Greek word athlon, or prize. Competition, not
participation, was important. As the ancient Games spanned more than a thousand years, it is difficult,
if not impossible, to speak accurately of events, facilities, and even popularity without specifying a
particular period. One may compare how many different changes there have been in the modern
Olympics during their comparatively brief life of a little more than a hundred years.

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Literary texts are indispensable for the myths associated with the Games, the events, and the
organisation of the festival. Most of the authors come from the later Roman period, such as Pausanias
and Philostratus in the second century AD, with fewer from the Classical period (fifth and fourth
centuries BC), such as Pindar and Plato. The further away from the topic the writers are in terms of
time, generally the less credulity they inspire. Such accounts, we may note, often refer to the Olympics
to illustrate a given point, not for their own sake. They assume that their readers were fully conversant
with the festival.

Vase paintings (especially from the sixth and fifth centuries BC) have proved to be of value in
understanding both athletic and equestrian events, though we should remember these are not mere
photographs. So too, sculptures from the fifth century BC, such as Myron’s Discobolos and the
Delphic Charioteer (though neither relates specifically to Olympia), help to interpret the contests they
represent. Archaeology has revealed the various physical features of the Olympic site and their
approximate dates, notably the temples and other buildings in the Altis, or sacred grove, 7 the various
developments of the stadium, the starting lines, actual jumping weights and discuses, the palaestra,
the gymnasium, and Roman baths, but little of the hippodrome by the River Alpheus. Inscriptions
(epigraphy) have proven to be lasting memorials for athletes, victors, and the rules of the festival.
Archaeologists are constantly unearthing these carvings on stone, together with papyri, that shape and
reshape our understanding of the ancient world.

The beginnings: foundation myths and reality

Writing several centuries after the Olympics’ beginnings, the poet Pindar (Olympian Odes 1 and 10)
mentions two foundation myths that seem contradictory. In one, it was Herakles who founded the
Games in honour of Zeus to celebrate his victory at Olympia over a local king. In another, Pelops
defeated a local king in a chariot race by bribing his opponent’s charioteer. 8
Some scholars have tried to put such myths in a historical context, 9 while others suggest that the
Olympic organisers invented myths to suit their own purposes; even in the early Roman period, the
geographer Strabo (8.3.30) states that one should not put much credit into these differing tales.

Picture 1: Sixth-century BC vase painting of running.

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From archaeology, we know that there was a sacred area known as the Altis at Olympia, located in the
state of Elis in southwest Greece. It was filled with temples and altars in honour of the gods, notably
the temples of Zeus and his wife Hera. According to Philostratus (De Gymnastica 5), writing during the
middle of the Roman Empire, the first event, the footrace, ended at the temple of Zeus, as the Greeks
considered the Games to be a fitting way to honour their gods. Yet, despite all the religious
associations, cults, and rituals, it has been observed that the Games were not especially religious in a
society where religion was ingrained in almost every aspect of life. 10 It is true that religion predated
athletics at Olympia, but it is debatable whether athletics arose directly from religion, rather than
arising independently. 11
One of the most notable dates in Greek history is 776 BC, the traditionally held start of the ancient
Games, but Olympic chronology can be problematic. Even Plutarch (Numa 1.4) challenged it. Some
ancients believed that the Games began in the ninth century, but these would not be the Olympic
Games as we know them. Based on the archaeological evidence of wells, for example, the consensus
is that the Games began in about 700 BC. According to others, 776 was the date for the first recorded
Games (being close to the beginning of the introduction of writing), though the later Greeks may have
miscalculated it. 12

Eligibility for the Olympics

The ancient Olympics certainly do not fit the modern concept of political correctness. They were open
only to men and boys aged 12 to 17. According to Philostratus (De Gymnastica 25), boys had to belong
to a tribe in a Greek city, with a father and family, and be free and not illegitimate. The same regulations
presumably applied to the men. Over time, the question of Greek ethnicity became more complex, but
even a king of Macedon had to prove his Greek ancestry. In later times, a few Roman aristocrats did
circumvent the rules, perhaps by invitation, or on occasion by sheer force, as in the case of Nero
(below). Foreigners could and did attend the Games as observers of the “quaint Greek customs.” 13

Pausanias (5.6.7) states that the authorities banned married women as spectators at Olympia, although
on textual grounds researchers usually dismiss his statement that unmarried females could attend.
Nevertheless, young girls did have their own festival at Olympia, the Heraia, in honour of the wife of
Zeus, perhaps with a similar structure to the male festival. Yet the existence of only a few known
victors suggests that this was a local festival. By analogy with similar Greek races for girls, the one
event—the stade race—may well have been an initiation ceremony. 14

In the hierarchical Greek society, slaves could act only on behalf of their masters as charioteers and
jockeys at the Games, but of course could never receive the accolades that went to their owners. We
can deduce that, as elsewhere, they had a brutal time at Olympia. 15

Qualifying, the training period, and the sacred Olympic truce

Athletes had to meet personal requirements to enter the Games, as we have seen, but did not have to
reach a specific sporting standard. Even so, only the best athletes would compete at Olympia. They
had to swear an oath in the Council Chamber before their relatives and trainers that they had been in
training for 10 consecutive months and would not sin against the Games. Surprisingly, neither the
athletes’ union that came into being in the first century BC nor the city state took much interest in
aspiring athletes, with only a few examples of cities providing subsidies. Yet cities did reward their
own triumphant participants (below) and tried to recruit from other states. Competitors could enrol for
the Olympics without the official endorsement of their city, or any other authority. 16

One major physical test, however, awaited the athletes before the Games, specifically the 30-day
training period held in Elis, a city that ran the Games for most of their history. 17 Conditions here were
harsh, with flogging for those who broke the rules. The officials prescribed their own training methods,
forcing wrestlers, for example, to fight against inferiors, not equals. The sources do not make clear the
purpose of this training period, but scholars believe that it aimed to ensure equal facilities for all
athletes, although the length of time away from home would have been a deterrent for poorer athletes.
We can conjecture that the officials would use this time to look for illegal substances (that we know did

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exist) and to weed out inferior athletes. Those who survived the training then journeyed to Olympia
about 50 kilometres away—a formal two-day processional walk of contestants, trainers, officials, and
others. This training period differentiated the Olympics from the three other Panhellenic festivals,
namely the Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean Games.

The sacred truce declared by Elis guaranteed safety for athletes and spectators travelling to the
Olympics through a land constantly at war. At its peak, it extended to three months either side of the
festival. Elis fined those who broke the truce, including the powerful state of Sparta in the fifth century
BC. Such was the power of the Olympics. Yet researchers have pointed out that the treaty did not
mean a complete end to wars in Greece, 18 and it certainly had no force in the case of the Persians in
480 BC, for whom it was not relevant. The truce was not unique to Olympia but also existed at the
other Panhellenic Games. Like the flame, it has been overly idealised in modern times. 19

Picture 2: Olympia 2009. Remains of the Temple of Hera.

Visiting Olympia and the facilities

The Greeks knew that the second full moon after the summer solstice (July or August) signalled the
time for the Games to begin, the training period having started a month earlier. Eventually, tens of
thousands set out from every corner of the Greek world to witness the single most important attraction
of any kind in their lives. They came by boat, on mules, on foot, or even by carriage. At Olympia, they
faced transport problems, pestilent flies, the heat of summer, the noise, the smells, and vicious crowd
control officers. The temples and memorials they saw may have been magnificent, but facilities for
spectators and athletes were minimal. During the Games, Olympia became a “tent city”, a veritable fire
trap. Only during Roman times did it provide a water supply and latrines, together with elaborate baths,
and other practical features. The sports facilities were also poor by modern standards. The rectangular
stadium never had seats for spectators (unlike other Greek stadia), probably because it was dedicated
to Demeter, the Earth Goddess. The later Olympic stadium that moved out of the sanctuary, thereby
symbolising a greater separation between sport and religion, could accommodate 40,000 people.
Even larger was the hippodrome, of which little has survived. Other facilities for athletes eventually
included a guest house, a square building known as a palaestra for wrestling (and other combat
events), and a so-called gymnasium that was actually a double practice track for (naked) runners.

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The Olympic experience was barely fit for a slave, but visitors looked forward to the sporting contests,
the physical excellence (arete) of athletes. For many, it was a pilgrimage, as well as a sporting
endeavour, that some undertook on a regular basis. The size of the festival provided an opportunity for
the crowds to listen to writers, artists, and philosophers of the day (not part of the official programme),
and to indulge in trade and other activities that had nothing to do with sport and religion, or indeed the
organisers of the festival. In later times, Olympia was on the tourist route for wealthy Romans, as it
transcended both sport and religion. 20

Winners and losers

Athletes at ancient Olympia competed for symbolic prizes of wild olive, sacred to Zeus, woollen bands,
flowers, and later palm branches. The supreme victor was one who won akoniti (without competition),
when his opponent(s) declined to compete. Withdrawing from competition was acceptable behaviour
to the officials and the crowd, who did not feel cheated of a final showdown. The fact that only token
prizes were received at Olympia has led to the mistaken belief that athletes were true amateurs. Yet,
for victors, there awaited substantial rewards at home, such as money, freedom from taxes, and
honorary benefits. It is noteworthy that in the four-horse chariot race at Olympia, where individuals
and/or cities could make multiple entries, the aristocrat Alcibiades entered seven chariots, three of
which finished in the top four, bringing him considerable political success. It seems that, in this event,
notice was taken of places other than first. Olympia became highly politicised when city states
competed against each other. For the losers, however, there was only ignominy, as they crept home
secretly along the back roads, according to Pindar (Pythian 8.70-98). 21

Such lack of rewards from the festival itself, and the lengthy training period in Elis, must have limited
the number of athletes who actually competed at Olympia, certainly compared to the large numbers
we are familiar with today. Estimates of the total number of contestants, ranging from 200 to 400, are
in keeping with those found at the first modern Olympics in 1896. 22

Organisation: the officials from Elis

In contrast with the modern Olympics, it was not a committee from different countries that ran the
Games, but officials from a nearby community (Olympia itself not being a city in its own right). Hence, it
is important to realise that it was an otherwise insignificant city that controlled the festival in every
respect. For a comparatively brief period in the early days, it was Pisa, then later the more distant city
of Elis, that forcibly took over the Games. Olympia thereafter became a private sanctuary of Elis, as
well as a Panhellenic site. The 10 elected officials, or judges, Hellanodikai, wore purple (the colour of
high office), resided together for 10 months in Elis to learn their trade, proclaimed the sacred truce, ran
the training period, were the only ones to have seats in the Olympic stadium, judged the events, and
fined, flogged, or expelled those competitors who broke the rules. They ordered cheats (for instance
those who bribed their opponents) to erect expensive statues of Zeus, the Zanes, a veritable “Hall of
Shame” leading into the stadium. Although they prided themselves on their impartiality and swore
oaths to Zeus, judges often voted in favour of their own athletes from Elis. The sources reveal an
inordinate number of “hometown” victories. Only after almost 400 years were the officials banned
from competing in events such as chariot racing. 23

The Olympic contests

Excluding the contests for trumpeters and heralds (introduced in the early fourth century BC), whereby
the two victors became part of the subsequent Olympic ceremonies, 24 events were categorised as
gymnic (naked) or hippic (equestrian). Many believe that these distinctions separated the social
classes, the latter belonging exclusively to the upper classes. 25
The programme obviously changed over its long history, but by the middle of the fifth century BC,
hippic events and the pentathlon took place on the second of the five days, foot races on day three,
and the combat events and race in armour on day four. This gave a balance of two and a half days
devoted to sport and two and a half days to ceremony. 26

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The gymnic (naked) events

Even the Greeks seem not to know why athletes were naked—whether it was practical, aesthetic, or
even symbolic of citizenship. 27 Yet it became a distinguishing mark that separated Greeks from
foreigners. Many reasons have been advanced as to why they also covered themselves in olive oil,
ranging from the spiritual to the pragmatic. 28
The first and only event recorded at Olympia in 776 BC, according to tradition, was the stade race of
about 200 metres, which apparently was the only event for 52 years. Clearly the festival was more
religious than sporting during this time. Later, a 400 metre event (diaulos) was added, as was a race of
perhaps 5,000 metres (dolichos), and a race in armour of 400 metres, doubtless of military origin.
There was no marathon event in the ancient world. The stade remained the most prestigious event at
Olympia, especially as an Olympiad was known by the name of the winner of this race. In the early
days, the contestants started races from a simple line that developed into an elaborate stone starting
device (hysplex) for 20 runners, with wooden gates, ropes, and pulleys. There being no oval track, in
races other than the stade athletes turned at the far end of the track around a post, or posts..

The pentathlon consisted of three events that were not otherwise separate, namely the jump, discus,
and javelin (together with the stade and wrestling, if needed). Jumpers performed to music, holding
weights varying from about one to four kilogrammes. A recorded leap by Phayllus (not a specialised
jumper) of over 16 metres suggests that it was either a multiple jump (from a running or standing start),
or an exaggerated distance. Surviving specimens of discuses show that the ancients threw a heavier
and less aerodynamic discus than today’s, with correspondingly poorer results. Whether they
employed revolutions (as literature may imply) or the more restricted style used in 1896 (on the
supposed evidence of Myron’s Diskobolos) is open to debate. 29 Athletes threw the wooden javelin
with a metal tip for distance (not accuracy), with the assistance of a leather strap that would give
added momentum. The stade and wrestling came next if no athlete had won the first three events
essential for overall victory in the pentathlon. It is unclear whether there was a points system for place
(not distance or time), or whether another system such as repechage was used to determine a
winner. 30
The three combat events of wrestling, boxing, and pankration (organised with lots, and byes for
uneven numbers) had no weight divisions or time limits. An area in the stadium was marked off for
them, but without ropes. In upright wrestling, the naked and oiled contestants covered themselves
with dust. With an array of holds, they sought victory, which resulted after three falls—a fall being when
an athlete touched the ground with his shoulders. The ancients relate amazing stories about Milo, who
won five men’s Olympic victories and one for boys. The most brutal event was boxing, which
encouraged blows to the head—as is evident in sculptures and vase paintings. For a time, soft leather
straps protected boxers’ hands, but more offensive “gloves” replaced them. If the officials deemed a
contest to be too protracted, they forced the combatants to fight within a narrower area, using ladders
or poles. The pankration was a combination of martial arts, wrestling, and boxing that had only two
rules: no biting or gouging the eyes. Kicking and reverse chokes were common moves. Athletes
accepted death whenever they entered competition, with no legal consequences. According to Kyle:
“Greeks found orchestrated brutality alluring and spectacular.” 31 One may add that this was also true in
the hippic events. Even so, the Greeks also admired grace, harmony, and beauty in these contests (and
in life). 32

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Picture 3: Olympia 1989-1990. View of the archway into the stadium.

The hippic events

Eight equestrian events took place at Olympia, being popular with spectators, the nobility, and the
Olympic organisers in Elis who lived in a horse-breeding part of Greece. As we have seen, a chariot
race was one of the founding myths of Olympia, and races took place in the area even before the time
of the historical Games.
The most prestigious equestrian contest was the opening event of the Games, the four-horse (side-by-
side) chariot race, held over 14 kilometres (12 laps of 1,200 metres). Dressed in white tunics, the
charioteers raced in the hippodrome from a convex wooden starting device, with no barrier separating
the turning posts, 600 metres apart. This led to crashes that the spectators enjoyed. Jockeys in tunics
(perhaps young slave boys) raced a shorter distance of only a few laps, with no saddle or stirrups.
Other events introduced over a period of several hundred years included races for mule carts, two-
horse chariots that covered over nine kilometres, horses of various age groups, and an obscure (to us)
dismounting event. The owners usually did not compete themselves but hired the charioteers and
jockeys. Success could lead to political enhancement. Even a female could enter a chariot, but could
not be present to pick up the prize.

The Roman period and the latter days of the Olympics

The last half of the Games, or a period of about 500 years, took place under the rule of the Romans
after they conquered Greece in 146 BC. 33 Now the sacred truce became of less value, as the Romans
controlled the Mediterranean world by force. The Games still had their moments of brilliance, but the
city of Elis became subject to the whims and goodwill of the Romans, who were happy to continue the
Games, often for political reasons. 34 Although scholars traditionally consider the Olympics before 400
BC to be the “Golden Age,” Young remarks on the “renewed success” of the Games in the second
century AD, courtesy of the Emperor Hadrian and the magnificent monument known as the
Nymphaion that brought a much-needed water supply to the site. 35 Yet in the previous century, the
Emperor Nero had flouted the traditions of the Games by postponing the festival to suit his own
purposes and winning every event he entered with the aid of the officials. More tolerant Roman
emperors treated the Olympics with greater respect. As competitors emanated from more distant

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places in the Empire, the question of “Greekness” became harder to define. The last known Olympic
victor, in the fourth century AD, came from as far east as Armenia.

According to tradition, the Games ended either in 393 AD, when the Christian Emperor Theodosius I
closed all pagan cults, or in 426 AD, when his successor ordered the destruction of all Greek temples.
Yet no single theory fully explains the end of the Games. Some propose that moral decay, or the rise of
new religions and philosophies, was responsible, or external factors such as earthquakes and floods
that damaged the site. 36 Recent scholarship suggests that the centralised bureaucracy in Rome
gradually made it more difficult for the Games to continue, as they increasingly depended on wealthy
sponsors. The Olympics may also have fallen out of fashion. 37

Other renowned Greek games

The example, if not the success, of Olympia led to the institution in the early sixth century BC of three
other festivals of a similar nature, namely at Delphi, Isthmia, and Nemea. These were also crown
games (stephanitic) that gave a single prize of wreaths in honour of Apollo, Poseidon, and Zeus
respectively. They added a third age category for intermediates. Olympia and Nemea held athletic and
equestrian contests only. Delphi and Isthmia had competitions in music and other cultural events. Like
the Olympics, the Pythian Games were staged every four years, and the Isthmian and Nemean every
two years, forming a four-year cycle. A competitor who triumphed in all four Games in the same cycle
was known as a periodonikes, or victor in the circuit. All four festivals had a truce, but only the
Olympics had the training period, a crucial difference that must have limited the number of contestants
able to attend, especially from the less affluent social classes.

On the evidence of epigraphy, it has been estimated that there were several hundred local, or civic,
festivals (chrematitic) located around the Mediterranean world. The most famous was the Panathenaia
in Athens, with its substantial prizes, judgement, and team events. According to Pausanias (6.11.2-9),
the two-time Olympic victor Theagenes in the early fifth century BC won 1,300 victories at these
crown and civic games in the space of 22 years. Hence, he averaged an incredible six wins a week on
the circuit during his lengthy career. 38

Picture 4: Olympia 2003. View of the gymnasium.

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Concluding remarks
In summary, at the ancient Olympics, throughout their long history, there were no medals, no second
or third places, no females (as participants or spectators), no aquatic contests, no winter events, no
marathon, no teams, no judgement sports, and no arts competitions. Yet, there were oaths for athletes
and judges and a sacred truce (though this is sometimes misinterpreted). Even after the addition of
further crown games (and local festivals), the Olympics reigned supreme. The fifth century BC poet
Pindar (Olympian 1) composed victory odes for winners at all four Panhellenic Games but proclaimed
“there were no Games greater than those at Olympia.”

Thought-provoking questions
1. To what extent can the ancient Olympic Games be considered politically incorrect according
to modern standards?
2. Explain how the ancient Olympics developed from a single race into a mega event in the Greek
world.
3. Discuss to what extent the ancient Olympics were associated with religion.
4. What did ancient and modern visitors have in common when visiting the Olympics?
5. Discuss the statement that the modern Games, however entertaining and laudable, have
become more and more removed from those of ancient Olympia.

Further readings
- Finley, Moses, and Henry Pleket. The Olympic Games: The First Thousand Years. London:
Chatto & Windus, 1976.
- Reid, Heather. Olympic philosophy: The Ideas and Ideals behind the Ancient and
Modern Olympic Games. Sioux City, Iowa: Parnassos Press, 2020.
- Spivey, Nigel. The Ancient Olympics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
- Swaddling, Judith. The Ancient Olympic Games. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2015.

Credits
Figure 1: © Toubis
Picture 1: © IOC / Chaman Atelier Multimédia
Picture 2: © 2009 / International Olympic Committee (IOC) / JUILLIART, Richard
Picture 3: © 1989 / International Olympic Committee (IOC)
Picture 4: © International Olympic Committee (IOC) / NICHOLSON, Catherine

Endnotes
1. Norman Gardiner, Athletics of the Ancient World (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1930) and Harold Harris, Greek Athletes and
Athletics (London: Hutchinson, 1964) fall into this category, despite being useful in parts.
2. David Young, The Olympic Myth of Greek Amateur Athletes (Chicago: Ares, 1984), 44-183.
3. Nigel Crowther, Athletika: Studies on the Olympic Games and Greek Athletics (Hildesheim: Weidmann, 2004), 20-24.
4. Donald Kyle, Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007), 99-101.
5. Donald Kyle, “Greek Athletic Competitions. The Ancient Olympics and More,” in A Companion to Sport and Spectacle in
Greek and Roman History, ed. Paul Christesen and Donald Kyle (Chichester: Wiley and Blackwell, 2014), 22.
6. David Young, A Brief History of the Olympic Games (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004), 4.
7. Michael Scott, Delphi and Olympia: The Spatial Politics of Panhellenism in the Archaic and Classical Periods (Cambridge:
University Press, 2010), 146ff.
8. For an account of the myths, rituals, and funeral games, see Ludwig Drees, Olympia: Gods, Artists, and Athletes, trans.
Gerald Onn (New York: Praeger, 1968), 26-32.
9. Christoph Ulf, “Die Mythen um Olympia: politischer Gehalt und politische Intention,” Nikephoros 10 (1997): 9-51, who
discusses the myths in detail.
10. Mark Golden, Greek Sport and Social Status (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2008), 23.
11. Kyle, Sport, 104-05.
12. For a full discussion, see Paul Christesen, Olympic Victor Lists and Ancient Greek History (Cambridge: University Press,
2007), 45-160.

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13. Kyle, Sport, 229-50.

14. Thomas Scanlon, Eros and Greek Athletics (Oxford: University Press. 2002), 64-120.
15. Golden, Greek Sport, 40-67.
16. Crowther, Athletika, 23-33.
17. Stephen Miller, Ancient Greek Athletics (New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 2004), 113-118.
18. Manfred Lämmer, “The So-Called Olympic Peace in Ancient Greece,” in ed. Jason König, Greek Athletics; Edinburgh
Readings on the Ancient World (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2010), 39–60.
19. Kyle, Greek Athletic Competitions, 23.
20. On visiting and the facilities, see Crowther, Athletika, 35-51.
21. Crowther, Athletika, 281-331.
22. Crowther, Athletika, 179-182.
23. On the Olympic organisers, see Crowther, Athletika, 53-85. This is a major distinction between the ancient and modern
Games.
24. Crowther, Athletika, 183-202.
25. Golden, Greek Sport, 1-39.
26. See Hugh Lee, The Program and Schedule of the Ancient Olympic Games (Hildesheim: Weidmann, 2001), for details of the
Olympic programme.
27. Crowther, Athletika, 135-40, Stephen Miller, Ancient Greek Athletics (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2004),
11-14.
28. Miller, Ancient Greek Athletics, 15-16.
29. Crowther, Athletika, 64-66.
30. Lee, Program, 40-46.
31. Kyle, Sport, 126.
32. Heather Reid, “Athletic Beauty and references in Classical Greece: A Philosophical View,” Journal of the Philosophy of Sport
39. No. 2 (2012): 281-297.
33. Andrew Farrington, “Olympic Victors and the Popularity of the Olympic Games in the Imperial Period,” Tyche 12 (1997): 15-
46.
34. Crowther, Athletika, 7-8.
35. Young, Brief History, 134.
36. Ingomar Weiler, “Der 'Niedergang' und das Ende der antiken Olympischen Spiele in der Forschung,” Grazer Beiträge 12-13
(1985-86), 235-63.
37. Sofie Remijsen, “The End of the Ancient Olympics and other Contests: Why the Agonistic Circuit Collapsed in Late
Antiquity,” Journal of Hellenic Studies 135 (2015): 147-164.
38. Kyle, Sport, 136-75.

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