INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY 7th JOINT - IOA

34 Diog. Laert. V 27. Among the many works that Aristotle wrote there are also the
titles: Olympic Winners a’, Pythian Winners a’, Pythian Winners’ controls a’.
35 Some athletes, who were distinguished in 5 th century B.C., were honoured like
heroes: Ephthymos from Epizephyrioi Locroi, Theagenes from Thasos, Cleomedes
from Astypalaia, Diognetos from Crete.
36 H. M. Lee, p. 136: “These victory odes contain surprisingly little about the
sporting events. The poet’s concern is on the significance of victory for a mortal
man.[…] In the victory odes, athletes become symbols of tragic humanity, like
Homer’s Achilles or the characters of the Greek tragedy”.
37 Of course, the criticism on the over-estimation of the athletes’ victory was not
missing. See Xenophanes the Colophonian, poem 2 (=Diehl 2).
38 In the Olympic Games there were no team games, D. Kyle, 1996, p. 29.
39 Nevertheless, not all athletes lived up to this code of excellence. Those who were
discovered cheating were fined and the money was used to make bronze statues of
Zeus, called Zanes, which were erected on the road to the stadium. Thus, it was a
warning to the others not to cheat, reminding athletes that victory was won by skill
and not by money and emphasizing the Olympic spirit of piety towards the gods and
fair competition. Cf. Paus. VI 18. 6.
40 The contests “athla” for dead Patroclus that Achilles organised in Troy are
described in Hom. Il. 23. In Olympia ritual offerings to the dead hero Pelops were
held before the big sacrifice to Zeus. Maybe the chariot – race was established in
commemoration of the funeral games in honour of Pelops (H.M. Lee, CB 74.2, p.
132-133). It was a tradition in ancient times to identify the origin of the big
Panhellenic games to the honours given to the tomb of the hero (Pelops in Olympia,
Melikertes in Isthmia, and Opheltas in Nemea). On the athletic games in the
framework of funeral ceremonies, see Lysias, Funeral Oration, 2. 80-81: “Of their
nature it comes that they are mourned as mortal, of their valor that they are lauded
as immortal. Thus, you see them given a public funeral, and contests of strength and
knowledge and wealth held at their tomb. Because in antiquity we think that those
who have fallen in war are worthy of receiving the same honours as the immortals”.
41 Pind.Nem.6.4-5: “There is one race of men, one race of gods; and from a single
mother we both draw our breath. But all allotted power divides us: man is nothing,
but for the gods the bronze sky endures as a secure home forever. Nevertheless, we
bear some resemblance to the immortals, either in greatness of mind or in nature,
although we do not know, by day or by night, towards what goal fortune has written
that we should run”. (Translation by T.K. Hubbard, 1990).
42 H.M. Lee, p.137: Most winners came now from Asia, Egypt, N. Africa rather than
from Peloponnese and Central Greece. See also W. Leschhorn, NomKhron, v. 16,
1997, p. 90 and p. 93, pl. II, n o 15.
43 At the end of 2 nd and during the 3 rd century AD many new coin types allude to
games. The most important type was the so-called “prize crown”, sometimes called
an “agonistic urn”, found for the first time during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
They must have been valuable prizes and, in W. Leschhorn’ s opinion, took the
place of the regular crown usually given to the winner. See, W. Leschhorn,
NomKhron, v. 16, 1997, p. 89.
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