The information we have at our disposal on this subject comes both from excavation material, i.e. finds from old, as well as contemporary rescue excavations, and from the Greek literature and relevant inscriptions.

The information we have at our disposal on this subject comes both from excavation material, i.e. finds from old, as well as contemporary rescue excavations, and from the Greek literature and relevant inscriptions.

We know that the Ancient Greeks did not invent competition or the games. It is worth mentioning, however, that while all other people were competing, no one organized and promoted the Games as an institution, as a model of education or tried to create civilization through them. We cannot, of course, downgrade the important contribution of the peoples of the Near East, Mesopotamia and Egypt, from whom the Greeks learned a lot. The activities in Mesopotamia and Egypt have nothing in common with the contests and the games that were organized during the festivals in Ancient Greece, over and above the inherent trend for distinction aiming at exercise and the promotion of the beauty of youth.¹

Athletic games and other forms of exercise were known in Minoan Crete, with a view to offering entertainment to citizens, as part of religious events.² The reference point for staging contests during the Mycenaean period was Homer’s description in the 23d book of the Iliad. These Games are described in the signed François vase by the potter Ergotimos and the vase maker Cleitias.

In his work, Homer praises the majesty of a society which is, according to him, much higher than his: it is both aristocratic and heroic. The Homeric hero is a good athlete, who loves, more than anything else, the fame and excellence, which he can achieve by participating in the games or on the battlefield. The natural features of the Homeric hero are: strong feet, powerful and muscular thighs, muscular and strong hands, a broad and strong chest and shoulders that resemble those of the gods.³ It is obvious that these features refer to an outstanding athlete.

There is, however, a characteristic feature in Ancient Greek sport, which distinguishes the athlete from any other people or race. In Ancient Greek sport, we see a very close relationship between physical exercise and spiritual life. The physical and spiritual essence is considered as an undivided whole for establishing humanitarian education, which is completed through sport competition in the gymnasia, the palestras and the stadiums.

In the world of Ancient Greece, Agon and Nike were two divinities that incarnated the strenuous and painful efforts of trainees and athletes in the exercise venues and athletic contests.⁴ The word agon expresses competition. In the Homeric epics the term agon indicates the place where the crowds gather and is linked to the word agora⁵ (marketplace), i.e. the place where spectators meet in order to watch sports contests in memory of the dead Patroclos.⁶ In the Iliad, the word indicates the site where someone is competing. In its final version, agon is considered any form of competition for first place that is rewarded with a prize.

The strong desire for exercise and competition was particularly strong and therefore, at the beginning of the 5th century BC, Agon was personified. His statue, which was erected in Olympia, depicted him as a man holding a wreath and dumbbells. A similar representation of Agon is found on the one face of a coin of the island of Peparethos, today’s Skopelos. In Pindar’s victory odes, the word agon refers to any form of competition during the Gymnopaediae, as well as other artistic activities.⁷

If the contest was linked to daily life and athletic activities, victory signified achievement, supremacy, distinction and, finally, recognition. The conquest of victory was a very important event, which reached the borders of dream. For these reasons, the Ancient Greeks did not only give victory flesh and bones, but also placed it among the highest divine generation. Nike in the Pantheon of mythology, although she was the daughter of the Titan Pallas, joined the gods of Olympus in their fight against the Giants, the mortal brothers of the Titans.⁸

It becomes clear from what has just been said that any offering from the gods to the mortals is a gift of the former to the latter. In order to obtain the fruits of victory, hard work is needed, as well as submitting to trials and competition at the games. Each success directly depends on the gods’ intentions. For these reasons, man must win their favour by offering worship and honours. However, when man conquers the highest blessing of fame, he should be defined by modesty. These elements reveal the strong ties of the Ancient games with religion and the special role of the victorious athlete in promoting social objectives, ensuring order and abiding by the city’s laws and institutions.⁹

The lofty social role of the winner is enhanced by the cities, which offer special honours to the winners of the Pan-Hellenic festivals and, in particular, to those who excelled in the Olympic Games. The winner occupies a prominent position in the citizens’ conscience, his descent is praised, his virtues are promoted, his strength, technique and beauty are extolled, whilst similar references and praises are made to his coach.

It is obvious that participating in games and conquering victory required strenuous preparation. In the facilities of the gymnasium and the palestra, within the framework of physical education, young men exercised and prepared for their participation in games, which were an integral part of the major Pan- Hellenic festivals their aim being to conquer victory. Gymnastic education was an element of the broader education of youth in every Greek city of the broader Greek region, a fact that was proudly promoted by the list of winners who took part in the major Pan-Hellenic games. These lists clearly show that in the Pan-Hellenic games athletes from almost all Greek cities participated and were crowned victors.¹⁰

The disposition to participate in games was one of the major features of the Ancient Greek world and was expressed in all facets of daily life. Healthy competition was the keystone of the remarkable Ancient Greek civilization; its competitive disposition can be seen in the Gymnopaediae and artistic contests. The athletic games that were held during religious festivals, with an honorific or funerary character, were the highest expression of healthy competition. The four sacred Pan-Hellenic festivals were: the Olympic Games held in honour of Zeus in Olympia, the Pythian Games held in honour of Apollo in Delphi, the Isthmian Games in honour of Poseidon at Isthmia and, finally, the Nemean Games, in Nemea, in honour of Heracles who, according to tradition, was the first who staged games in honour of Zeus;11 all four held a prominent position.

For over twelve centuries, the sacred Pan-Hellenic Games were at the centre of interest for all Greeks. They came to the sanctuaries in order to honour the gods. At the beginning of the first millennium BC, there were two important religious centres, those of Olympia and Delphi. In both these sanctuaries there were oracular shrines and athletic contests. The most important feature of the contests that were held during the festivals was that they were not simply a spectacle for the enjoyment of pilgrims. The athletic games were held under the supervision of the priesthood, on the gods’ command. It is obvious that the Games were an important part of the festival, a “ceremony” with a religious background, whose purpose was to activate the participants’ natural and mental powers, thus making them free citizens.

The sanctuaries acknowledged their lofty mission and supported one another during critical periods; their collaboration was also noteworthy.¹²

All this happened because sanctuaries, each one separately and all together significantly contributed to the education of the Greeks by cultivating emulation in any form of contest.

Olympia was maybe the most famous sanctuary of Ancient Greece, in the first half of the 5th century BC, as Pindar informs us.¹³ The site of Olympia was never a “city” with the features of the Greek city-states in Antiquity. Olympia did not have a permanent population and was never politically constituted. It was a sanctuary with buildings for worship and votive offerings and impressive artworks. Near the sanctuary, facilities were developed for the staging of the Games. The excavations revealed organized spaces for the preparation of the athletes and the accommodation of permanent staff which was taking care of the sanctuary and the important visitors. Olympia was a neutral religious site, whose conditions had ensured its protection, away from political rivalry. Pilgrims could visit the site, in order to offer sacrifices in honour of the gods and watch the games or participate in them.

The Olympia, the Ancient Olympic Games, was a major athletic event in Antiquity. Every four years, during the summer period, the Greeks came to Olympia in order to honour Zeus with sacrifices and contests. The excavation finds agree with the sources of Greek tradition, regarding the sacred features of its site since the pre-historic period. The beginning of the Ancient Olympic Games is lost in the pre-historic times and linked to contests between heroes and divinities. According to the local traditions, heroes and divinities were the first who staged games on this particular site.¹⁴ The games of the heroes and the gods were an example to be imitated by men who always wanted to resemble them, without having tried to reach their skills and identify with them. The myth tells us that in Olympia Zeus beat Cronus in wrestling, Apollo beat Hermes in the stadium race and Ares, the god of war, in boxing.

In the site of the sanctuary remnants of a settlement dating back to the protoHelladic period (2800 BC) were discovered. The first sanctuary in the region was dedicated to Earth, the wife of Uranus, and was called Gaia. Pausanias follows the same direction in his report, clearly pointing out the presence of a sanctuary, which belonged to the goddess Earth.¹⁵

The presence of Cronus was confirmed by an altar on which sacrifices were made each year.¹⁶ According to tradition, Zeus introduced the Games after his victory against Cronus. According to other opinions, the founders of the Games were purported to be the Kourites and, specifically, their brother Dactyl

Heracles who, after bringing Zeus to Olympia, staged racing contests between his brothers, giving them as prize a wreath of wild olive tree branch. According to another tradition, the founder was the hero Hercules, son of Zeus and Alcmene. Finally, there is also the tradition that wants the founder to be Pelops, who organized games after his victory against Oenomaus in the chariot race.¹⁷

It is obvious from the above that we will have to deal with many difficulties if we wish to define with precision the time and the period when the Ancient Olympic Games began, because they are lost in the mist of time, with heroes, demigods and gods acting as their founders.

According to Pausanias, the reviver of the Games was Iphitos, after the oracle of the Pythia, who wanted to put an end to destruction, internecine wars and the plague.¹⁸ The Olympic Games of Iphitos were dated by the sophist Hippias in 776 BC. Taking into consideration the excavation finds, several researchers support the view that Olympia already held a holy position during the Dark Ages. This view is supported by findings from the archaeological site that date back from 1000 to 800 BC and pertain to small sculpture works that depict horses, warriors, chariots, horsemen and charioteers. It is obvious that these were votive offerings of nobles who participated in Games and were proclaimed victors.¹⁹

The birth of the Ancient Olympic Games still attracts our interest today and motivates discussion. Contemporary historic and archaeological research, with the support of literary sources and excavation finds, converge and determine the 8th century BC as the beginning of the Games in Olympia. This conclusion is supported by the large number of votive offerings from victors and confirms the staging of athletic events in the area. The votive offerings are related to the worship of heroes, a practice that was followed in other sanctuaries. In any case, we are not able to place the legend of Pelops in a time-frame, nor can we decide on its origin. What we can support with certainty is that Pelops was honoured in Olympia more than any other hero, as Zeus was worshipped, by analogy, more than any other divinity.²⁰

Despite the efforts that were made, a precise or relevant dating of the start of the Olympics could not be achieved; we do know, however, that the Games in Olympia have been recorded since 776 BC. The festival that was staged in 776 BC, with Koreibos from Elis as the first winner of the stadium race, was considered to be the first one because the historians of that period recorded from that year onward the winners of the great Olympic festival.²¹ Once again, the contribution of Olympia was important for Ancient Greece, with the uniform dating of Antiquity. The introduction and keeping of a time calendar appears to be extremely interesting. Most importantly it provided a solution for determining the time of the Games, taking in consideration the fact that each city-state had its own calendar, without identifying the time or the name. These were calendars which used as reference the phases of the moon and not the solar year; as a result, it was difficult to define time because it was different in every city. Thus, the Olympic Games of 776 BC were a point of reference between prehistoric and historic times and the starting point for dating any historic event that followed. Thucydides was an exception; his dating was based on the reports of the Ephors of Sparta or the prominent archons of Athens. A similar method was followed by other historians, including Herodotus.²²

The traveller Pausanias came to Greece in the 2nd century AD, where he visited sanctuaries. During these visits he tried to understand how, by which procedure, Ancient Greece, which had suffered so much from the fratricide wars, had managed to organize athletic games with the participation of athletes from the Helladic and broader Greek region.

In order to understand this fact, he focused on the revival of the Games by Iphitos, following the advice of the oracle of Delphi. According to the oracle, the Games had to be reorganized and peace should prevail during the period of their staging.²³ The Olympic Games were an excellent opportunity for a meeting of the Greeks, under the best possible conditions, when the holy truce was announced.

The institution of the truce acted as a catalyst for the smooth organization of the Olympic festival, contributing to political unity in the environment of Olympia, a target that was successfully achieved.²⁴ With respect to the institution, we must note that there was a difference of opinion concerning inventors. Lysias states that the institution was introduced by Heracles.²⁵ Pausanias reports that following the reorganization of the Games by Iphitos, the sacred institution was activated. Art has depicted this event with the crowning of the king of Elis by a female figure that represents the truce.²⁶ The subject is described by the traveller and may be connected to the wreath worn by the three spondophores who were leaving Elis in order to announce the truce,²⁷ Plutarch refers to the contribution of Lycourgos,²⁸ whilst Phlegon of Tralles also adds the name of Cleosthenes, the king of Pisa.²⁹ The three men agreed to institute the truce as part of the reorganization of the Games and inscribed the terms on the surface of a disc that was kept in the temple of Hera.³⁰

Until the 5th century BC, the truce lasted for one month. After the 5th century, it was extended to three months starting from the day when the three spondophores left Olympia in order to complete their important task.³¹ We should specify that the term ekeheiria does not refer to peace in the context of the Games but to immunity. The institution is based on an agreement of the Elians with their neighbours, which other city-states had joined. The sacred site was considered to be neutral and inviolable and no one could enter it when carrying weapons.³² Any violation of the terms was an act of disrespect to the god and sanctions were imposed. Cases of violation of the institution have been recorded. Philip II,³³ the father of Alexander the Great, who had been a victor in Olympia, paid the expected fine when one of his mercenaries prevented the Athenian Phrynon to go to Olympia in order to take part in the splendid feast.³⁴ Another violation case concerns the invasion of armed Spartans in the land of Elis, in 421 BC. ³⁵ After this event, it was decided that Sparta would be excluded from the Games and would have to pay the huge fine, for those times, of two thousand minas.

The announcement of the truce aimed at uniting a people distributed, be it for a short period, from the coast of the Black Sea to the South of France and from the shores of Italy to Northern Africa. The Greeks of the Helladic and broader Greek region came to sacred Olympia, leaving any hostile attitude outside the limits of Elis. During the festival and the Games, the shared blood, language, religion and habits,³⁶ were thus cultivated, enhancing the value of the race “Greekness” and its civilization.

Any visitor, pilgrim or athlete, after his participation in the festival and the other events, started on his way back to his city as a new man. The festival and the Games offered education and were the expression of high civilization. The site of the sanctuary had fully covered the reasons for its establishment. There was no doubt that the sanctuary acted in a beneficial way in order to build closer relations between Greeks, something that we see in many important facets of Ancient Greek history.³⁷

Under the protection of the holy truce, athletes and coaches made the long and strenuous journey to Olympia. No one could attack them or prevent certain people from fulfilling their wish to travel to Olympia in order to honour Zeus and the other gods.³⁸ Miltiades, the victor of the battle of Marathon, offered to the sanctuary the helmet he was wearing during the renowned historic battle, with his name engraved on it. Without a doubt, Zeus was honoured many times, more than the human mind can imagine. After the victory, the reward was not a material good or a sum of money; it was the kotinos, a wreath of wild olive tree leaves. It was a highly symbolic prize, with lofty symbolisms, honour and eternal glory.

The victory ode, from which the Olympic ideals were born, is another distinction fraught with significant meanings. In the ode, the name of the victorious athlete was mentioned, as well as the games in which he participated and the event in which he was proclaimed first victor. By analogy and taking into consideration the athlete’s ties with his family, his race and his city, they too should enjoy part of the glory that belonged to them. The victory odes were something special, a particular kind of poetry. Their only purpose was to glorify the victor. The major representatives of this kind of poetry were Pindar from Thebes, Simonides of Ceos and his nephew Bachylides.³⁹ The man who stood out, both for the number of his poems and their quality, was Pindar.

The great Olympic festival was not simply a religious event, during which athletic games were held, offering the possibility and opportunity to a very large number of visitors to watch them. Both visitors and participants had the privilege of talking and getting to know one another. Together with the simple anonymous citizens, delegates from cities and official missions also arrived and had the opportunity to conclude agreements or renew older ones. The Athenians and the Spartans chose Olympia in order to erect a stele with the terms of the thirty-year peace.⁴⁰ Moreover, it was decided that the hundred-year peace treaty between the cities of Argos, Athens, Mantineia and Elis, concluded in 420 BC, would be updated in Olympia and Athens during the celebration of the Panathenaea.⁴¹ Orators and philosophers were deeply convinced that the meeting of the Greeks during the Olympic Games, every four years, was a perfect opportunity for proclaiming the need of uniting all Greek cities. Following this direction, the orator Gorgias, addressing the crowds, stressed the need to improve relations between Greek cities, aware of the Persian danger.⁴² This was appreciated by the Greeks who erected his statue in Olympia.⁴³ The Olympic Games met all the conditions for reaching the rival Greek cities, stressing that what united them was clearly much more that what divided them.

The fame of Olympia was tremendous. Every four years, a large number of visitors and pilgrims gathered there in order to honour the gods, admire great works of art, listen to historians, wise philosophers and outstanding poets, and also enjoy the well trained bodies of men and youngsters in fair contests. The lyric poet Pindar, aware of the importance of the Olympic Games and their key position in the religious conscience of the Greeks, wrote: “The Olympic Games cover with their splendour all the Greek sites, like the sun that covers during the day all the stars of the Sky.”⁴⁴ In Olympia the Greeks paid tribute to Themistocles, the victor of the Persian Wars, while the applause and the enthusiasm of the crowd rocked the enclosure of the stadium.⁴⁵ The athletic contests were watched by prominent representatives of the Greek intelligentsia, including Thales of Miletus, whose death was announced in the stadium of Olympia during the 56th Olympiad.⁴⁶ According to tradition, Herodotus was in Olympia, in 444 BC, not only in order to watch the Games but also to present his work.⁴⁷ From the opisthodomos of the temple of Zeus, he presented to the audience, which included Thucydides, excerpts of his work and even received a fee of ten talents from the Elians.⁴⁸

Through the practices that were presented and the contribution of the holy truce, fair play in the athletic arena and the promotion of intellectual and artistic excellence, the necessary conditions for minimizing any form of political or belligerent competition were created, contributing slowly and steadily to an approach, with a view to uniting the Greeks. Moreover, there was the common origin and language, the same religion, the same mores, customs, traditions and civilization. As the years went by, any characteristic of similarity contributed to unity.

The interest of the Greeks for the Olympic Games remained strong for many centuries because of the rules and principles that were introduced, in order to ensure the staging of the Olympic Games. The institution of the Hellanodikai played a decisive role in their staging and evolution. It was firmly linked to the birth and progress of the Games and, more generally, to the great event that was held in Olympia every four years. They were, in fact, the organizers of the Games, who were responsible for their smooth progress. The clothing choices, such as the use of the royal purple by the Hellanodikai, directly refers to the royal origins of the institution.⁴⁹ When Pisa was responsible for the festival, the single Hellanodikos came from the city that was responsible for the staging of the Games. Around the first quarter of the 6th century BC, a series of changes were introduced in the athletic program of the festival, necessitating the strengthening of the Games by yet another Hellanodikos. It was a conscious act on the part of Elis, which wanted a more active role in all the aspects of the control and management of the festival. After the war with the Medes, we see many changes in the political environment; the nobles, the aristocrats and the kings lose valuable ground. The changes that were made, at political and social level, also influenced the institution of the Hellanodikai, whose number rose to nine, as many as the tribes.⁵⁰ The extension of the institution to nine members was not simply related to a democratic approach, but also to the practical handling of the enriched competition program of the Olympic Games and the control that needed to be made over such a large number of athletes.

In 472 BC, the Hellanodikai became ten with the addition of another member, the representative of the tenth tribe, which was established after the fall of Triphylia.⁵¹ During the 103rd Olympiad in 368 BC, they became ten, as many as the Elian tribes.⁵² The body of the Hellanodikai adopted its final structure with ten members during the 108th Olympic Games. This number was maintained until the 29th Olympiad in AD 393,⁵³ which led to the end of the Games that had fallen into disrepute, long before Theodosius decree.

The obligations of the Hellanodikai began ten months before the opening of the Games. They had to come to Elis and learn the rules from the guardians of the law, as well as any regulation related to the smooth staging of the Games. During the last month of the ten month period before the festival, they were responsible for the training of the athletes and for the organization of the athletes’ teams. In fact, they separated the athletes into boys and men, depending on their age, the only criterion being their external features, i.e. their appearance.⁵⁴ But who were these athletes? They were citizens who came from all ranks: kings, princes, nobles and generals, as well as farmers, philosophers and simple citizens. In the arena of sacred Olympia there was no class distinction; titles were put aside, they were all equal before the Hellanodikai, who were impartial and incorruptible. It was not by chance that even the enemy of the Eleans, the king of Sparta Agis II, recognized their impartiality. Wishing to downgrade them for their work, he said something which was a great truth. His words, according to Plutarch, were the following: “What is the important task of the Eleans, may I ask? They are fair once every five years.”⁵⁵

On their arrival in Olympia, the Hellanodikai immediately took over their obligations. They received the athletes from the Elean archons who had already conducted a first check of their preparation in order to take part in the Olympic Games.⁵⁶ The Hellanodikai’s characteristics were impartiality, integrity and their clear intention of performing justice. It is interesting to note that all Greek cities showed endless respect to the decisions of the Hellanodikai and this decisively contributed to the grandeur of the Ancient Olympic Games.⁵⁷

The Ancient Greeks had a highly developed agonistic spirit, which was the motivation for important peaceful conquests, both at individual and collective level. The competitive spirit and emulation defined many aspects of everyday life and, as a result, gave it a special character. In the Olympic Games of Antiquity, emulation and the competitive spirit were organized in a way that led to the promotion of lofty cultural values. The Olympia of Antiquity was a very attractive place, a place where the divine was revealed. The Olympic Games and their sacred environment were an excellent opportunity for enhancing political dialogue, as spiritual competition and philosophical emulation were promoted. At the dawn of the 5th century BC, religion and sport, poetry and art composed the organic unity of life. The Games of Olympia now expressed the nurturing of the mind and the body as this sacred site became the Pan-Hellenic centre of art and spirit. The competitive and sporting spirit of the Olympic Games invaded the Greek and broader Helladic space, promoting an important civilization, giving to the Games a particular youthful and incomparable character. The Olympic Games built bridges between the visible and the invisible. The games in the stadium and the palaestra revealed lofty cultural meanings and faith in human existence, physical strength, intellectual development, freedom, democratic equality, competitive justice and fraternization. Without any doubt, Ancient Greece owes this civilization to the Olympic Games.

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1. A. Sjöberg, “Trials of strength. Athletics in Mesopotamia”, Expedition. The University of Pennsylvania Magazine of Archaeology, 27 (1985), 7–9. D.P. Palmer, “Sports and Games in the Art of Early Civilizations”, M.A. Thesis, University of Alberta, 1967, 3. P. Loyd, Mesopotamia, London 1963, 110–121. S.N. Kramer, The Sumerians, Chicago 1963, 110. W. Decker, Sport und Spiel im Älten Agypten, V.C.H. Beck, München 1987. Bull fighting held a prominent position in all activities. The ornate clothing of the contestant, the hairdo, the band that participants wore do not simply constitute expressions of art and decorative motifs that the painter used for his own enjoyment, but elements that showed the participants’ aristocratic origins.

2. T. E. Scanion, “Women, bull sports, cult and initiation in Minoan Crete”, Nikephoros 12 (1999), 33–70.

3. É. Mireaux, La Vie Quotidienne au Temps d’Homère, Paris 1954, 40–50. J. Mouratidis, “Greek sports games and festivals before the eighth century BC”, Doctoral Diss., The Ohio State University, 1982, 25.

4. Philostratos, Gymnasticos 3.31. Pausanias 5.14, 8, 26.6–7, Herodotus 6.127. T.H. Scanlon, “The vocabulary of competition: Agon and the Greek terms for contest”, Arete 1983, 158–159, 147–162. E. Kefalidou, Victor, Iconographic Study of the Ancient Greek World, Thessaloniki 1996, 22. I. Mouratidis, History of Physical Education..., 2008, 92.

5. Hesychios, Agon.

6. Homer, Iliad, 255.

7. Pindar, Olympic Victor, 1.7,6 Nemean Victor, 2.1., 9.8.

8. Hesiod, Theogeny, 383–403, 505–506, 617–735. Apollodoros I 6–7, I. Th. Kakridis, Hellenic Mythology, The Gods, vol. 2, Athens 1986, 26.

9. Plato, Laws 894, Plutarch, Lycourgos 22.

10. L. Moretti, Olympionikai, Rome 1957. G. Hyde, De Olympionicarum Statuis a Pausania Commemoratis, Chicago 1980.

11. I. Mouratidis, History of Physical Education..., 2008, 183 ff, 271 ff, 278 ff, 287 ff.

12. J.M. Hall, Ancient Greek History. The Archaic Period, trans. I. Xydopoulos, Thessaloniki, 2012, 370–375. U. Wilken, Ancient Greek History, trans. I. Touloumakos, Athens 1976, 167.

13. Pindar, Olympic Victor 1.10.

14. W.J. Slater, “Pelops at Olympia” GrRomByzSt 30 (1989), 485–501. M. Golden, “Sport and wage-labor in the Heracles myth”, Arete 2 (1986), 145–58. A. Bernardini, “Mythe et Agon: Héraclés fondateur de Jeux Olympiques”, Olympic Ages 13–22. E. Albanidis, History of Sport, Thessaloniki 2004, 46–47.

15. Pausanias 5.14.10.

16. Pausanias 5.7.6.

17. I. Mouratidis, History of Physical Education..., 2008, 167.

18. Pausanias 5.4.6.

19. N. Coldstream, Geometric Greece, New York 1977, 335. J.M. Hall, Ancient..., 2012, 357, 370.

20. Pausanias 5.13.

21. Eusebios Pamfilou, Chronicles Book I.XXXIII, Pausanias 5-6.

22. Ephoros, extract 115=Strabo 8.3.33. C.H. Wacker, “The record of the Olympic victory list”, Nikephoros 17 (1998), 49, Thucydides 2.2. J.M. Hall, Ancient..., 2012, 62–63.

23. Pausanias 5.4.5. Strabo 8.9.33.

24. Pausanias 5.4.5, 5.26.2 Thucydides 417, 4.58. See also M. Lämmer, “The nature and function of Olympic Truce in Ancient Greece”, History of Physical Education and Sport 3 (1975/76), 37–52.

25. Lysias, Olympiakos 3.1–2.

26. Pausanias 5.4.5–6.

27. M.I. Finley, H. W. Pleket, The Olympic Games. The First Thousand Years, London 1976.

28. I. Mouratidis, History of Physical Education (with philosophical elements), Thessaloniki 1998, 169 note.5.

29. Plutarch, Lycourgos 1, A. Anastasiou, I. Xidopoulos, I. Mouratidis, “Olympic Games-Truce. The role of Sparta”, Proceedings 8th International Congress of the European Committee of Sport History, Komotini 2004, 69–73.

30. Pausanias 5.20.1, Lycourgos 1, Aristotle, extract 533, Flegon Trallianos, extract 1.4.

31. E.N. Gardiner, Greek Athletic Sports and Festivals, London 1910, 201.

32. Strabo VIII.3.58. During the holy truce, spectators and athletes could move freely, in order to reach Olympia without any problem.

33. Regarding the participation of Philip II and the Macedonian kings in the Olympic Games, see M. Mari, Al di la dell’Olimpo. Macedoni e grandi santuari della Grecia dall’eta arccaica al primo ellenismo (Studies 34), Athens 2002, I. Xydopoulos, A. Athanasiou, “Macedonian Kings and the Olympic Games” M. Mari, Al di la dell’Olimpo. Macedoni e grandi santuari della Grecia dall’eta arccaica al primo ellenismo 57–61. I.K. Xydopoulos, Social and Political Relations of the Macedonian and other Greeks [Macedonian Library, no 96], Thessaloniki, Society of Macedonian Studies, 2006, 100. E. Albanidis, Ath. Anastasiou, K. Georgiadis, J. Mouratidis, “Athletic games in Ancient Macedonia: An overview”, Stadion XXXII (2006), 2, 4. E. Albanidis, Ath. Anastasiou. K. Schoinas, I. Mouratidis, “Athletic games in Ancient Macedonia”, Makedonika 37 (2008), 2.3.

34. Thucydides 5.49, I. Mouratidis, “The Olympic Games in Antiquity: Myth, tradition, institution, reality”, IOA, 1992, 511.

35. Thucydides 5.49. Xenophon, Hellenika III 2.2.3. Pausanias 6.2.1–4.

36. Herodotus 8.144.2.

37. J.M. Hall, Ancient..., 2012, 357, 370–376.

38. One of the roles of Zeus was to settle differences. The father of the gods decided who would be the winner both in athletic games and in war. This was one of the reasons for which in holy Olympia there were so many dedications of weapons. The Greeks offered what they treasured most.

39. For the lyric poets see: I. L. Pfeijffer, “Athletic Age Categories in Victory Odes”, Nikephoros 11 (1998), 21–38.

40. Pausanias 5.23.4. I. Mouratidis, History of Physical Education..., 2008, 263, note 75.

41. Thucydides 5.12.8, 5.47.10.

42. Philostratos, Lives of Sophists, I. Mouratidis History of Physical Education..., 2008, 77. F.G. Romero, “Sports tourism in Ancient Greece”, Journal of Tourism History, 2013, 7.

43. Pausanias 6.17.7.

44. Pindar, Olympic Victor I 5–7.

45. Lysias, Olympic 520. Plutarch, Themistocles-Kamallos 17.4. Pausanias 8.50. 3–4, 5.12.8.

46. Diogenes Laertios VII. 8.5.

47. Lucian, Herodotus 1–4. I. Mouratidis, History of Physical Education..., 2008, 77. F.G. Romero, “Sports tourism...”, 8.

48. Cl. Paleologou, “Ancient Olympia and its ethical teaching”, IOA 1970–77, 46. L. Nicolaou, “The spirit of Olympism in Ancient Greece and contemporary international society”, IOA, 1985, 49.

49. I. Mouratidis History of Physical Education..., 2008.

50. Pausanias 5.9.5.

51. E.N. Gardiner, Greek Athletic Sports and Festivals, London 1910, 117, I. Mouratidis, History of Physical Education..., 2008, 189.

52. E.N. Gardner, ibid.

53. Ibid.

54. Pausanias 6.24.3. Philostratos, Gymnasticos. N. Growther, “The Olympic training period”, Nikephoros 4 (1991), 161–166.

55. We are referring to Ages II, who was the son of Archidamos II, Lycourgos 20.

56. Philostratos, Apollonios Tyaneus 2038 ff.

57. Plutarch, Lycourgos 20. I. Mouratidis, History of Physical Education..., 2008, 198, note 18. As part of their duties they dealt with issues regarding the athletes’ participation in the Games, they had a role in solving differences and they proclaimed the victors. Their role was also decisive when dealing with cases of bribery, violation of rules or handling of cases which involved trickery. In any event, they intervened immediately and the penalties were harsh, monetary fine, exclusion and in certain cases whipping. They also controlled the program of the games and the progress of events, taking into account the official list.

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ANASTASIOU Athanasios, "The cultural dimensions of the Olympic Games in Antiquity",in:K. Georgiadis (ed.), Olympic Movement: The process of renewal andaption, 55th International Session for Young Participants (Ancient Olympia,23/5-6/6/2015),International Olympic Academy, Athens, 2016, pp.60-75.

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