Greek Spectacles and Games a supplementary sourcebook on Greek sports Siobhán McElduff Table of Contents

Javelin

We don’t know if a win in the javelin throw was based on the length of the throw or some degree of accuracy was involved. The following speech revolves around the issue of who is at fault when someone’s child is accidentally killed by a javelin in a gymnasium. Here the father whose son was killed, argues that the thrower was at fault because he aimed at a target and hit his son. This suggests that javelin throwers were aiming at targets rather than simply trying to throw their javelin as far as possible:

For the defendant has had the audacity and shamelessness to say that he who struck and killed neither wounded nor killed, whereas he who neither touched the javelin nor had any intention of throwing it missed every other point on earth and every other person, and pierced his own side with the javelin. Why, I should myself sound more convincing, I think, were I accusing the lad of willful murder, than does the defendant in claiming that the lad neither struck nor killed. My son was ordered at that moment by the master in charge, who was taking the javelins of the throwers into his keeping, to pick them up; but thanks to the carelessness of he who cast it, he was greeted by that boy’s there lad's weapon; though guilty of error in respect of no single person, he died a wretched death. The lad, on the other hand, who mistook the moment at which the javelins were being picked up, was not prevented from making a hit. To my bitter sorrow, he struck a target; and although he did not kill my son deliberately, there are better grounds for maintaining that he did than for asserting that he neither struck nor killed.

Antiphon, Second Tetralogy

Javelins were around two metres long and had a throwing strap to help with the throw as the following image shows:

Attic red figure cup, c. 470 BCE; found in Southern Italy.

Greek Athletics II: Equestrian events

Chariot racing

This was the most expensive sport to compete in. Greece is not very suited to either horse rearing or chariot racing, being mountainous and rocky: horses were luxury items not suited for the type of work most Greek farmers needed done and chariots are not suited for transporting one around Greece. Race horses and chariot horses were massively expensive, fragile, high spirited, rather useless creatures which could only be afforded by the extremely wealthy. Some city-states like Argos²⁴ had their own city stables and entered chariot racing competitions as a community; others relied on wealthy citizens wanting to compete and win glory. Owners rarely raced their teams themselves: it was usually the job of professional charioteers, who might be either freed or slaves. (Charioteers in Greece never had the sort of fame that they had in Rome – we know far more about certain horses than the charioteers.) Chariot racing took place in a hippodrome; unlike Roman chariot racing it did not have a spina, a central barrier to prevent head-on crashes, making it incredibly dangerous. This was not helped by the large number of entries in each race, which ensured maximum chaos; in addition various hippodromes added features to scare horses. In the following extract Pausanias first describes the hippodrome at Olympia, before going on to talk of others. (The hippodrome at Olympia has not yet been discovered.)

When you have passed beyond the stadium, at the point where the judges sit, is a place set apart for the horse-races, and also the starting-place for the horses. The starting-place is in the shape of the prow of a ship, and its prow is turned towards the course. At the point where the prow adjoins the porch of Agnaptus it broadens and a bronze dolphin on a rod has been made at the very point of the ram. Each side of the starting-place is more than four hundred feet in length, and in the sides are built stalls. These stalls are assigned by lot to those who enter for the races. Before the chariots or race-horses is stretched a cord as a barrier. An altar of unbaked brick, plastered on the outside, is made at every Festival as near as possible to the centre of the prow, and a bronze eagle stands on the altar with his wings stretched out to the fullest extent. The man appointed to start the racing sets in motion the mechanism in the altar, and then the eagle has been made to jump upwards, so as to become visible to the spectators, while the dolphin falls to the ground. First on either side the barriers are withdrawn by the porch of Agnaptus, and the horses standing thereby run off first. As they run they reach those to whom the second station has been allotted, and then are withdrawn the barriers at the second station. The same thing happens to all the horses in turn, until at the ram of the prow they are all abreast. After this it is left to the charioteers to display their skill and the horses their speed. 14. It was Cleoetas who originally devised the method of starting, and he appears to have been proud of the discovery, as on the statue at Athens he wrote the inscription:

Who first invented the method of starting the horses at Olympia,
He made me, Cleoetas the son of Aristocles.

It is said that after Cleoetas Aristeides added an extra device was added to the mechanism. The race-course has one side longer than the other, and on the longer side, which is a bank, there stands, at the passage through the bank, Taraxippus, the terror of the horses. It has the shape of a round altar, and as they run along the horses are seized, as soon as they reach this point, by a great fear without any apparent reason. The fear leads to disorder; the chariots generally crash and the charioteers are injured. Consequently the charioteers offer sacrifice, and pray that Taraxippus may show himself propitious to them. The Greeks differ in who they think Taraxippus was. Some hold that it is the tomb of an original inhabitant who was skilled in horsemanship; they call him Olenius, and say that after him was named the Olenian rock in the land of Elis. Others say that Dameon, son of Phlius, who took part in the expedition of Heracles against Augeas and the Eleans, was killed along with his horse by Cteatus the son of Actor, and that man and horse were buried in the same tomb. There is also a story that Pelops made here an empty mound in honour of Myrtilus, and sacrificed to him in an effort to calm the anger of the murdered man, naming the mound Taraxippus (Frightener of horses) because the mares of Oenomaus were frightened by the trick of Myrtilus. Some say that it is Oenomaus himself who harms the racers in the course. I have also heard some attach the blame to Alcathus, the son of Porthaon. Killed by Oenomaus because he wooed Hippodameia, Alcathus, they say, here got his portion of earth; having been unsuccessful on the course, he is a spiteful and hostile deity to chariot-drivers. An Egyptian said that Pelops received something from Amphion the Theban and buried it where is what they call Taraxippus, adding that it was the buried thing which frightened the mares of Oenomaus, as well as those of every charioteer since. This Egyptian thought that Amphion and the Thracian Orpheus were clever magicians, and that it was through their enchantments that the beasts came to Orpheus, and the stones came to Amphion for the building of the wall. The most probable of the stories in my opinion makes Taraxippus a surname of Horse Poseidon. There is another Taraxippus at the Isthmus, namely Glaucus, the son of Sisyphus. They say that he was killed by his horses, when Acastus held his contests in honour of his father. At Nemea of the Argives there was no hero who harmed the horses, but above the turning-point of the chariots rose a rock, red in color, and the flash from it terrified the horses, just as though it had been fire. But the Taraxippus at Olympia is much worse for terrifying the horses. On one turning-post is a bronze statue of Hippodameia carrying a ribbon, and about to crown Pelops with it for his victory

Pausanias, Description of Greece, 6.20.10-19

Greek elites were far more constrained in how they could compete with each other than Romans; the various games and especially chariot racing and other equestrian events allowed them a way to show off their wealth on an international stage without incurring the hatred and envy of their fellow citizens – after all, they could say they were doing it for the community. The Spartans were especially fond of chariot racing and entered in huge numbers: in 420 BCE Spartans entered 7 chariots; Athens only entered 1. As a come back Alcibiades (454-404 BCE), an extremely wealthy and well-born Athenian citizen, entered 7 chariots into the Olympics in 416 BCE. Alcibiades was not without his critics,²⁵ who pointed out that he presented the precious vessels that Athens kept in Olympia as his own, thus making a mockery of the city:

In order to make it clear, however, that he was insulting the whole city of Athens; in addition to Diomedes, he asked the leaders of the Athenian deputation to lend him the processional vessels, saying that he intended to use them for a celebration of his victory on the day before the sacrifice; he then abused the trust placed in him and refused to return them, as he wanted to use the golden basins and censers next day before Athens did so. Naturally, when those strangers who did not know that they belonged to us saw the state-procession taking place after that of Alcibiades, they imagined that we were using his vessels: while those who had either heard the truth from the Athenians present or else knew the ways of Alcibiades, laughed at us when they saw one man showing himself superior to our entire community.

Against Alcibiades 29

He was also prosecuted for apparently stealing one of those 7 chariot teams from Argos, which kept a city owned team:

11 His breeds of horses were famous the world over and so was the number of his racing-chariots. No one king or commoner ever entered seven of these at the Olympic Games but he alone. And the fact that he came first, second, and fourth (as Thucydides says; Euripides, says third),²⁶ all that ambition can aspire to in this field was exceeded by the fame of this action. The ode of Euripides to which I refer runs thus:

I sing of you, O child of Cleinias; Victory is fair, but fairest is what no other Greek has achieved, To come first, and second, and third in the contest of racing-chariots, And to come off unwearied,^27 and, wreathed with the olive of Zeus, To furnish a theme for the herald's proclamation."

12 Moreover, this splendour of his at Olympia was made even more conspicuous by the rivalry of the cities on his behalf. The Ephesians equipped him with a tent of magnificent adornment; the people of Chios furnished him with food for his horses and innumerable animals for sacrifice; those of Lesbos with wine and other provisions for his abundant entertainment for the masses. However, a serious insult — or abuse on his part — connected with this rivalry was talked about even more. It is said that there was at Athens one Diomedes, a reputable man and a friend of Alcibiades, and very eager to win a victory at Olympia. He learned that there was a racing-chariot at Argos which was the property of that city, and knowing that Alcibiades had many friends and was very influential there, got him to buy the chariot. Alcibiades bought it for his friend, and then entered it in the competition as his own, telling Diomedes to not bother him. Diomedes was full of indignation and called on gods and men to witness his wrongs. It appears also that a law-suit arose over this matter, and a speech was written by Isocrates for the son of Alcibiades "Concerning the Team of Horses." In this speech, however, it is Tisias, not Diomedes, who is the plaintiff.

Plutarch, Life of Alcibiades 11-12

In the following speech (the one Plutarch references above) his son defends Alcibiades on this charge of stealing these horses:

About the same time Alcibiades saw that the festival at Olympia was extremely respected by all men and that the Greeks gave demonstrations of their wealth, power, and culture there, He saw also that the athletes were admired and that the cities of the victors shared in the glory. Moreover he thought that performances here in Athens happen on behalf of the family in front of fellow citizens, but performances at these games on behalf of the city towards the whole of Greece. With this disposition, he was not interested in the athletic events, although he was inferior to no one in physical strength, for he knew that some athletes were of low descent or lived in unimportant cities. He did take to breeding horses, an activity for the happy few, something that would never be in the possibilities of an ordinary man. He not only outrivaled all his opponents, but all the victors ever before him, for he sent so many chariots that even the greatest cities could not participate with so many, and they were of such formidable quality that he finished first, second and third. Moreover, he was so generous and munificent at the offerings and the other expenses of the festival that everything what the others spent with public money, seemed less than the expenses from his private pocket. In this way he ended his visit to the games: he made the successes of his predecessors look small against his, those who won in his time no longer received admiration and for those who wished to breed horses in the future, he left no possibility to exceed him.

Isocrates, The Team of Horses 32

We don’t have an account of a real chariot crash, of which there must have been many, owing to the fact that the Greek hippodrome did not have a central spina and often raced large numbers of chariots. What we do have is this description of a chariot crash from Sophocles tragedy Electra, describing a crash at Delphi. It is told by the pedagogue of Orestes to his sister Electra.

I was sent for that purpose, and will tell you everything. Having gone to the renowned festival, the pride of Greece, for the Delphian games, when he heard the loud summons to the foot-race which was first to be decided, he entered, a brilliant form, a wonder in the eyes of all there; and, having finished his course at the point where it began, he went out with the glorious share of victory. To speak briefly although there is much to tell, I know not the man whose deeds and triumphs have matched his; but one thing you must know: in all the contests that the judges announced, he took the prize and men thought him happy as often as the herald proclaimed him an Argive, by name Orestes, son of Agamemnon, who once gathered the famous army of Greece.²⁸ Thus far, it was well; but, when a god sends harm, not even a strong man can escape. For, on another day, when chariots were to try their speed at sunrise, he entered along with many other charioteers. One was an Achaean, one from Sparta, two masters of yoked chariots were Libyans;²⁹ Orestes, driving Thessalian mares, came fifth among them; the sixth from Aetolia, with chestnut colts; a Magnesian was the seventh; the eighth, with white horses, was of Aenian stock; the ninth, from Athens, built by gods; there was a Boeotian too, driving the tenth chariot.

They took their stations where the appointed judges placed them by lot and arranged the chariot; then, at the sound of the brazen trumpet, they started. All shouted to their horses, and shook the reins in their hands; the whole course was filled with the noise of rattling chariots; the dust flew upward; and all, in a confused throng, plied their goads unsparingly, each of them striving to pass the wheels and the snorting steeds of his rivals; at their backs and at their rolling wheels the breath of the horses foamed and struck them. Orestes, driving close to the pillar at either end of the course, almost grazed it with his wheel each time, and, giving rein to the trace-horse on the right, checked the horse on the inner side. Hitherto, all the chariots had escaped crashing; but presently the Aenian's hard-mouthed colts ran away, and, swerving, as they passed from the sixth into the seventh round, dashed their foreheads against the team of the Barcaean. Other mishaps followed the first, shock on shock and crash on crash, till the whole race-ground of Crisa was strewn with the wreck of the chariots.

Seeing this, the wary charioteer from Athens drew aside and paused, allowing the billow of chariots, surging in mid-course, to go by. Orestes was driving last, keeping his horses behind - for his trust was in the end; but when he saw that the Athenian was alone left in, he sent a shrill cry ringing through the ears of his swift colts, and gave chase. Team was brought level with team, and so they raced, first one man, then the other showing his head in front of the chariots.

Before this ill-fated Orestes had passed safely through every round, steadfast in his steadfast chariot; at last, slackening his left rein while the horse was turning, unawares he struck the edge of the pillar; he broke the axle-box in two; he was thrown over the chariot-rail and was caught in the reins; and, as he fell on the ground, his colts were scattered into the middle of the course. But when the people saw him fallen from his chariot, a cry of pity went up for the youth, who had done such deeds and was meeting such a death - now dashed to earth, now tossed feet uppermost to the sky- till the charioteers, with difficulty checking the career of their horses, loosed him, so covered with blood that no friend who saw it would have known the unfortunate corpse. Straightway they burned it on a pyre; and chosen men of Phocis are bringing in a small urn of bronze the sad dust of that mighty form, to find due burial in his fatherland.

Sophocles, Electra 681-754.

Other equestrian events



Coin celebrating the victory of Anaxilas of Rhegium (S. Italy), 480/4 BCE) in the mule cart race. The Olympics briefly added two equestrian events, the apene, a mule cart race and the kalpe, a trotting race for mares, where the riders leapt off the horses and ran along side them for a portion of the race. The mule cart race in particular was felt to be rather undignified; a poet once turned down a commission for an Olympic victor in this event – until the victor offered him twice as much money.

Certain contests, too, have been dropped at Olympia, the Eleans resolving to discontinue them. The pentathlon for boys was instituted at the thirty-eighth Festival; but after Eutelidas of Sparta had received the wild olive for it, the Eleans disapproved of boys entering for this competition. The races for mule-carts, and the trotting-race, were instituted respectively at the seventieth Festival and the seventy-first, but were both abolished by proclamation at the eighty-fourth. When they were first instituted, Thersius of Thessaly won the race for mule-carts, while Pataecus, an Achaean from Dyme, won the trotting-race. The trotting-race was for mares, and in the last part of the course the riders jumped off and ran beside the mares, holding on to the bridle, just as at the present day those do who are called andabatai. The andabata, however, differ from the riders in the trotting-race by having different badges, and by riding stallions instead of mares. The cart-race was neither very old nor yet a graceful performance. Moreover, each cart was drawn by a pair of mules, not horses, and there is an ancient curse on the Eleans if this animal is even born in Elis.

Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.9.1-2.

Horse racing was very dangerous: the Greeks had no stirrups nor anything like modern saddles, so you were basically clinging on with your knees – which got harder the more horses sweated. The races were 6 laps of the courses – so the distances varied according to the length of the hippodrome. As Greek horses were considerably smaller than ours, they were ridden by child jockeys (almost certainly slaves). So unimportant were the jockeys considered that horses could win even if they threw their riders; we know this from Pausanias’ discussion of a famous race in 512 BCE at the Olympic Games.

The mare of the Corinthian Pheidolas was called Aura [Breeze] according to the Corinthians and at the beginning of the race she threw her rider. But nevertheless she went on running properly, turned round the post, and, when she heard the trumpet, quickened her pace, reached the judges first, realized that she had won and stopped running. The Eleans proclaimed Pheidolas the winner and allowed him to dedicate a statue of this mare.

Pausanias, Description of Greece 6.13.9

Although the Greeks have left behind little in the way of evidence for training humans, we have a text on how to select and train a horse which was written by Athenian Xenophon (4^th century BCE). It is mainly about training horses for battle, but does incidentally give some information on riding and training horses in general:

Nor must we omit another topic: how the rider is to accommodate himself to these different movements. Thus, when the horse breaks off into a gallop, the rider ought to bend forward, since the horse will be less likely to slip from under and so throw his rider off. So again in pulling him up short the rider should lean back and thus escape a shock. In leaping a ditch or tearing up a steep incline, it is no bad plan to let go the reins and take hold of the mane, so that the animal may not feel the burden of the bit in addition to that of the ground. In going down a steep incline the rider must throw himself right back and hold in the horse with the bit, to prevent himself being hurled headforemost down the slope himself if not his horse. It is a correct principle to vary these exercises, which should be gone through sometimes in one place and sometimes in another, and should sometimes be shorter and sometimes longer in duration. The horse will take much more kindly to them if you do not confine him to one place and one routine. Since it is a matter of prime necessity that the rider should keep his seat while galloping full speed on every sort of ground, and at the same time be able to use his weapons effectively on horseback, nothing could be better, where the country suits and there are wild animals, than to practise horsemanship in combination with the chase. But when these resources fail, a good exercise may be supplied in the combined efforts of two horsemen. One of them will play the part of fugitive, retreating haphazardly over every sort of ground, with lance reversed and plying the butt end. The other pursues, with covers on his javelins and his lance. Whenever he comes within javelin range he lets fly at the retreating foeman with his blunted missiles; or whenever within spear thrust he deals the overtaken combatant a blow. In coming to close quarters, it is a good plan first to drag the foeman towards oneself, and then on a sudden to thrust him off; that is a device to bring him to the ground. The correct plan for the man so dragged is to press his horse forward: by which action the man who is being dragged is more likely to unhorse his assailant than to be brought to the ground himself…

How these desirable results are, in our opinion, to be produced, we will now try to explain. In the first place, then, you ought to have at least two bits. One of these should be smooth, with discs of a good size; the other should have heavy and flat discs studded with sharp spikes, so that when the horse seizes it and dislikes the roughness he will drop it; then when the smooth is given him instead, he is delighted with its smoothness, and whatever he has learnt before upon the rough, he will perform with greater eagerness on the smooth. He may certainly, out of contempt for its very smoothness, perpetually try to get a purchase on it, and that is why we attach large discs to the smooth bit, the effect of which is to make him open his mouth, and drop the mouthpiece. It is possible to make the rough bit of every degree of roughness by keeping it slack or taut….

To quote a saying of Simon,³⁰ what a horse is forced to do he does blindly, and his performance is no more beautiful than would be that of a dancer taught by whip and goad. The performances of horse or man so treated would seem to be displays of clumsy gestures rather than of grace and beauty. What we need is for the horse to display his finest airs and paces at set signals. Supposing, when he is in the riding-field, you push him to a gallop until he is bathed in sweat, and when he begins to prance and show his airs to fine effect, you promptly dismount and take off the bit, you may rely upon it he will of his own accord another time break into the same prancing action. Such are the horses on which gods and heroes ride, as represented by the artist. The majesty of men themselves is best discovered in the graceful handling of such animals. A horse so prancing is indeed a thing of beauty, a wonder and a marvel; riveting the gaze of all who see him, young and old. They will never turn their backs, I venture to predict, or weary of their gazing so long as he continues to display his splendid action.

Xenophon, On Horsemanship excerpts