A-dictionary-of-greek-and-roman-antiquities-william-smith

832 OLYMPIA.
OLYMPIA.
celebrated frequently in the loftiest strains of There were also many ancient works on the
poetry. (Compare Athlktae, p. 167.)
Gre. k festivals in general, in which the Olympic
Sometimes the victory was obtained without a Games were of course treated of Thus the work
contest, in which case it was said to be AjcomtI. of Dicaearchus n«pl 'AywvKv (Diog. Laert. v. 47),
This happened either when the antagonist, who contained a division entitled o '0\vutt.k6s. (Athen.
was assigned, neglected to come or came too late, xiv. p. 620, d.)
or when an Athletes had obtained such celebrity One of the most important works on the Olym
by former conquests or possessed such strength and pic Games was by Phlegon of Trallea, who lived
skill that no one dared to oppose him. (Paus. vi.
7. § 2.) When one state conferred a crown upon
another state, a proclamation to this effect was fre
quently made at the great national festivals of the
Greeks. (Demosth. de Cor. p. 265.)
As persons from all parts of the Hellenic world
were assembled together at the Olympic Games, it
was the best opportunity which the artist and the
w riter possessed of making their works known. In
tict, it answered to some extent the same purpose
as the press does in modem times. Before the in
vention of printing, the reading of an author's
works to as large an assembly as could be obtained,
was one of the easiest and surest modes of publish
ing them ; and this was a favourite practice of the
tfrceks and Romans. Accordingly, we find many
instances of literary works thus published at the
Olympic festival. Herodotus is said to have read
his history at this festival ; but though there arc
some reasons for doubting the correctness of this
statement, there are numerous other writers who
thus published their works, as the sophist Hippias,
Prodicns of Ceos, Annximenes, the orator Lysias,
Dion Chrysostom, &c (Compare Lucian, Herod.
c. 3, 4. vol. i. p. 834, Reitz.) It must be borne in
mind that these recitations were not contests, and
that they formed properly no port of the festival.
In the same way painters and other artists ex
hibited their works at Olympia, (Lucian, I. e.)
The Olympic Games continued to be celebrated
with much splendour under the Roman emperors,
by many of whom great privileges were awarded
to the conquerors. [Athletak, p. 167.] In the
sixteenth year of the reign of Theodosius, A. D. 394
(01.293), the Olympic festival was for ever abo
lished ; but we have no account of the names of
the victors from 01. 249.
Our limits do not allow us to enter into the
question of the influence of the Olympic Games
upon the national character ; but the reader will
find some useful remarks on this subject in Thirlwall's
Ilitt. of Greece, vol. i. p. 390, &c.
There were many ancient works on the subject
of the Olympic Games and the conquerors therein.
One of the chief sources from which the writers
obtained their materials, must have been the re
gisters of conquerors in the games, which were dili
gently preserved by the Eleans. (*H\*iatv Is robs
OKvfiwtoytKas ypannara, Paus. iii. 21. § 1, v. 21.
§ 5, vi. 2. § 1 ; Td *H\c iccv ypd/ifiara apxoua^ v.
4. § 4.) One of the most ancient works on this sub
ject was by the Elean Hippias, a contemporary of
Plato, and was entitled avaypajp)) 'OKvfiirtoviKwv.
(PlutAruma, 1.) Aristotle also appears to have
written a work on the same subject. (Diog. Laert.
v. 26.) There was a work by Timaeus of Sicily,
entitled *0\v/AiriovtKai fi xP0VlK& irpa(15ia, and
another by Eratosthenes (born B.C. 275) also called
'OAuuiriovHcai. (Diog. Lae'rt. viii. 51.) The Athe
nian Stcsicleides is mentioned as the author of an
avwypatp^i tuv h-pxArrw Kal 'OKvfiltioviKSav (Diog.
Laert. ii. 56), ond Pliny (II. N. viii 34) speaks
of Agtiopas as n writer of Olympimicae.
in the reign of Hadrian ; it was entitled n