The Ancient
Olympics
by CTCWeb Editors
The Events (con't)
Equestrian
Events
|
Origin |
Pelops, the founder of the Olympic
games, was the first to compete in the chariot race. Aided by
his patron god Poseidon, Pelops defeated Oinomaos, the king of
Pisa. A chariot race was held at the funeral games of Patroklos
as described in Book 23 of the
Iliad. |
|
Equipment |
For chariot races, it was necessary
to have two or four strong horses, or two strong mules. Charioteers
placed the fastest horse on the right side so that they could
make turns around the turning post as fast as possible. Chariots
used in war usually carried two men, a  charioteer and a fighter, but chariots
used in competition only carried a charioteer. The charioteer
did not own the horses, mules, or chariot but, instead, wealthy
men and women who could afford the equipment and its upkeep owned
the horses, mules, and chariots. For this reason, the charioteer
who won an event did not receive the olive crown; this went to
the owner who was named the victor. To prevent accidents, swerving
in front of other chariots was not allowed unless the contestant
was ahead. |
|
Rules |
All equestrian events took place
in the Hippodrome. A full circuit around the Hippodrome was four
stades, or 769 meters, although distances varied at different
sites. At Olympia, a full circuit was eight stades, or
1,539 meters. Two turning posts marked the beginning and end
of a race at either end of the level arena. An embolon,
a wood or stone partition, divided the Hippodrome lengthwise
down the middle. The horseback competitions included the keles
for full-grown horses, the kalpe for mares, and the race
for foals. The chariot races included the tethrippon for
a four-horsed chariot for twelve laps; the apene for two
mules pulling a chariot; the synoris for a two-horse chariot
for eight laps; the synoris for two foals pulling a chariot
for three laps; and the tethrippon for four foals pulling
a chariot for eight laps. |
|
Images |
Click here
to see images of chariot races. |
|
Text |
See Diodorus Siculus,
Library, 14.109.1,
Pausanias, Description
of Greece, 3.8.1,
Thucydides, The
Peloponnesian War, 6.16.2. |
|
Modern Athlete |
Gillian Rolton, a rider from Australia,
who after her teammate’s mount caught a cold and had to
withdraw, won the gold in Show Jumping at the Barcelona Olympics
in 1992. Riding the horse Peppermint Grove, Gill won her second
gold at the Barcelona games in 1996 despite riding with a broken
collarbone. |
Heralds
& Trumpeters Contest
|
Origin |
Introduced as an Olympic event
in 396 BCE at the 96th Olympic games. |
|
Equipment |
Trumpet. |
|
Rules |
Trumpeters and heralds who won
this competition had the great honor of announcing the names
of victors and sounding the start of all events. The trumpeters
blew the trumpet at the Hippodrome. |
|
Images |
Click here to see an image of a hoplite blowing
a trumpet. |
|
Ancient Athlete |
A huge man, Herodoros of Megara’s
Olympic career as a trumpeter spanned over 40 years because he
won ten successive trumpeter championships. Herodoros’ trumpeting
skills served King Demetrios Poliorketes well. By loudly blowing
two trumpets at the same time, Herodoros instilled such bravery
in the hearts of the king’s men that they defeated the town
of Argos. |
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