Ques. Why is a notice of these games appropriate in this place?

Ans. Because they were closely connected with the religious observances of the Greeks. They were begun and ended with solemn sacrifices, and formed a part in the celebration of the principal festivals held in honor of the gods. These remarks apply also to the Greek drama.

Ques. What games were solemnized in Greece?

Ans. They were of four kinds: the Olympic, the Pythian, the Ne´mean, and the Isthmian.

Ques. Who instituted the Olympic games?

Ans. They were very ancient; their first institution was attributed by the Greeks to Hercules. They were revived by Iphitus, king of Elis, who obtained for them the solemn sanction of the Delphic oracle. The Olympian games were celebrated at intervals of forty-nine and fifty lunar months alternately, so that they fell sometimes in the month Apollonius, (July); sometimes in the month Parthenius, (August). The time of their celebration was a period of sacred truce, sufficiently prolonged to enable persons to attend the games from every part of Greece, and return to their homes in safety. The interval between the celebrations was called an Olympiad, and the Greeks usually counted time in this manner. The Olympiads were reckoned only from the year 776, B.C., although the games had been revived by Iphitus more than a century earlier. The Olympic festival lasted five days. The games consisted of chariot, horse and foot races; leaping, wrestling, boxing, throwing the discus or quoit, etc. All persons were admitted to contend in these games who could prove that they were free, of pure Hellenic blood, and that their characters had never been stained by any base or immoral act. So great was the importance attached to race, that even the kings of Macedon were obliged to prove their Hellenic descent before they were allowed to enter as competitors. It is almost impossible for us to realize the importance attached by the Greeks to a victory gained in any of these exercises. The prize itself was a crown of wild olive. This was cut from a tree in the sacred grove of Olympia, which was said to have been brought by Hercules from the land of the Hyperboreans. A palm branch was at the same time placed in the victor’s hand, and his name was proclaimed by the herald. On his return home, more distinguished honors awaited him. He entered his native city, not by the gate, but through a breach made in the walls for his reception. Banquets were given to him by his friends, at which odes were sung in honor of his victory. The horse and chariot races held the highest rank, and singularly enough, the honor of the victory belonged to the owner of the horse or chariot, although he himself should not have been present at the games.

The Greek historians relate that three couriers were received by Philip of Macedon on the same day, each being the bearer of joyful tidings. The first announced that his general had gained a great victory; the second, that his horse had won the prize in the Olympic games; while the third brought news of the birth of his son, afterwards Alexander the Great. This passage is sufficient to show what importance was attached to such a victory, when we see it thus classed as an event of equal importance with the success of an army, and the birth of an heir to a great kingdom.

Alcibiades on one occasion entered seven four-horse chariots in the Olympic games, and carried off the first, second and third prizes. The poet Euripides celebrated this victory, and Alcibiades, after offering solemn sacrifices to Jupiter, feasted the entire multitude assembled to witness the games. Ladies were admitted to dispute the prizes at Olympia, and many are mentioned as successful competitors. Cynisca, the sister of Agesilaus, king of Sparta, first opened this path of glory to her sex, and was proclaimed conqueror in the four-horse chariot race. This victory, till then unexampled, was celebrated with all possible splendor. A magnificent monument was erected in Sparta in honor of Cynisca, and the LacedÆmonians, who were generally indifferent to the charms of verse, engaged a poet to transmit this new triumph to posterity. The princess dedicated a brazen chariot in the temple of Apollo at Delphi; in this votive offering, the charioteer was also represented; which proves that she had not driven the chariot herself at the games. This is a feat which, it is believed, no woman ever attempted. The portrait of Cynisca, drawn by the great Apelles, was afterwards placed in the same temple.

Ques. Were any other exercises admitted at the Olympic games?

Ans. Yes; there was also an intellectual competition, which was perhaps more lively and ardent than any other, as the victory in such a contest was more highly esteemed. The best writers and poets of Greece repaired to the Olympic games, believing that the approbation of so illustrious an assembly was the most certain means of establishing a great reputation in a little time. It was thus that Herodotus read his history to assembled Greece. It was received with enthusiastic applause, and the names of the nine muses were immediately given to the nine books which compose the work. Dionysius was not so fortunate. This prince believed himself the most excellent poet of the time, and employed professional readers to recite some of his pieces at Olympia. When they began to read these verses their clear and harmonious voices pleased the ear, and they were listened to at first with great attention, which gradually decreased as they went on, until the whole assembly burst forth into hooting and shouts of laughter, so absurd did the pretensions of the royal poet appear.

What we have said of the Olympic Games, may be applied with some little variation to those solemnized in other places.

Ques. By whom were the Pythian Games instituted?

Ans. According to Greek fable, by Apollo himself, in commemoration of his victory over the serpent Python; according to the more probable historic account, they originated at the time when the Delphic oracle had already gained some reputation. The Amphictyonic council was charged with the superintendence of the games, which were celebrated at first every ninth, and afterwards every fifth year. The crown bestowed was of bay.

Ques. Where were the Ne´mean games celebrated?

Ans. At Ne´mea, a city of Argolis, celebrated as the haunt of the lion slain by Hercules. They were said to have been restored by that hero, and were celebrated every third year. The crowns bestowed on the victors were of parsley, because these were originally funeral games, and it was customary to lay chaplets of parsley on the tombs of the dead. The ruins of Ne´mea are to be seen near the modern village of Kutchumadi.

Ques. Why were the Isthmian Games so called?

Ans. They were named from the Isthmus of Corinth, where they were celebrated. They were instituted in honor of Melicertes, who was changed into a sea deity. After falling into neglect, these games were restored by Theseus. They were celebrated every five years, and continued to be solemnized even after the destruction of Corinth by the Romans. The victors were at first rewarded with garlands of pine leaves, but this custom was changed, and the pine was replaced by a crown of withered parsley.