In historic times the great national festivals were already
established. They had undoubtedly grown out of local athletic
festivals of very ancient origin. Of these Panhellenic festivals, that
celebrated once in every four years at Olympia in Elis was the oldest
and the greatest. The nationalization of this festival is assigned
traditionally to the year 776 B. C. This date depends on a list of
Olympic victors, compiled in the last part of the fifth century by the
sophist Hippias of Elis, and handed down by Eusebios. Modern historians
are not unanimous in accepting the early part of this register, and
the minority have supported their charge of spuriousness by adducing
unharmonious facts. In itself the date 776 B. C. is not unreasonable.
And when it is considered how comparatively easy and common travel was
in Hellas, it is not rash to suppose that the festival, when once it
had become celebrated as a local affair was resorted to by travellers,
if not as participants, at least as spectators. Certain it is that the
Olympic festival was already a Panhellenic institution, when the other
three festivals were established early in the sixth century, and that
to the close of Greek history it continued the most glorious.
The Pythian games were celebrated on the Krissean Plain in Phokis in
honor of Apollo. These games were held for several days in January in
the third year of each Olympiad. The prize was a wreath of laurel and a
palm.
The Nemean games were held in the groves of Nemea, near Kleonai in
Argolis, in the winter and summer alternately of the second and fourth
years of each Olympiad. The prize was a wreath of parsley.
The Isthmian games, instituted in honor of Poseidon, took place at
Corinth in the spring and summer alternately of the first and third
years of each Olympiad. This alternation was arranged to avoid
interference with the Olympian and Pythian festivals. The victor’s
prize at the Isthmia was a wreath of pine native to the spot.
Beside the four national festivals, minor games of more frequent
recurrence existed all over Hellas. How eagerly the victor in a local
exhibition must have turned his eyes towards Nemea, the Isthmus, Pytho,
and perhaps even to Olympia may be imagined. Each of the four great
festivals had peculiar features of its own. Thus, the Pythian games,
probably next to the Olympian in importance, were characterized by
competitions in music and poetry in addition to the athletic contests.
The Isthmian games were distinguished by the addition of boat-racing
and swimming contests.
But all were essentially alike. All were designed as glorifications of
the strong and agile body. All were marked with patriotism. All were
embellished with the greatest products of Hellenic art. All were held
in honor of gods. And a fitting tribute and worship they furnished,
not the mumbled prayers of a sallow-visaged, stunted race, but the
exultant feats of proud, self-reliant men. All were attended by the
most studied and artistic pomp. The greatest lyric poets of Hellas,
Simonides and Pindar, for instance, celebrated the victors. Of Pindar’s
ἐπινίκια or “Odes of Victory,” we possess fourteen Ὀλυμπιονῖκαι for
winners in the Olympian games. Twelve Πυθιονῖκαι for the Pythian
games, seven Νεμεονῖκαι for the Nemean games, and eleven Ἰσθμεονῖκαι
for the Isthmian games. Even the wise men and famous bards of Greece
could not resist the desire to be present. It is said that the Spartan
Chilon, one of the seven wise men of Greece, died while witnessing
these games, being overcome with joy at his son’s victory. Sages like
Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, Sokrates, Plato, Aristippos, Diogenes and
Thales came, lured not only by the desire of beholding athletic feats,
but also eager to engage in debate, or perhaps to explain some new
theory of the universe. Statesmen like Themistokles and Kimon resorted
to the games and there met the rulers of distant states. Orators and
sophists like Gorgias, Lysias and Demosthenes, were present at the
Olympian games. The first two made great panegyric speeches. The games
on the Isthmus were attended by the great dramatists Aischylos and
Ion. Historians like Herodotos carried their scrolls to read before
assembled Hellas. Artists came to exhibit their works of art, and
perhaps to obtain new customers. Sculptors showed models of their
skill, and potters exhibited vases. These games, like the Schwingfest
and the shooting-matches of Switzerland, served not only as pleasant
occasions of reunion, but tended to the diffusion of national ideas.
In the language of John Fiske, “young men of the noblest families and
from the farthest Greek colonies came to them, and wrestled and ran,
undraped, before countless multitudes of admiring spectators.”
The victor in the foot-race at Olympia was regarded as an honor to his
country, and gave his name to the current Olympiad, and on reaching
home entered his native city to the notes of a triumphal song written
by a Pindar or Simonides. Another significant fact is that the Greek
era began with the Olympic games; every period of four years was called
an Olympiad.
About twenty miles above the mouth of the Alpheios, in a long, narrow
valley surrounded by well-wooded hills, it is joined by the ancient
Kladeos, coming from the north. At the angle formed by the junction of
the two rivers is the area known as Olympia, the scene of the greatest
athletic festival that the world has ever witnessed.
To the north of this plain was a range of rocky hills, the nearest of
which was the famous Kronion, conical in shape and about 400 feet in
height. As its name signifies, this hill was sacred to Kronos, the
father of Zeus. Another low range bounded the valley on the south.
The western boundary was the Kladeos. Eastward was the hill of Pisa,
and further in the distance were visible the snow-crowned summits of
Erymanthos and Kyllene.
During the long centuries that succeeded the extinction of Greek
civilization, the precinct of the games, and the equipments, buildings
and statues that remained, were gradually covered by a stratum of
alluvium from the Alpheios, mixed with a deposit of clay from Kronion.
The rest of the world was not interested enough to record the process,
and when in modern times scholars saw no trace of the original scene,
it was supposed that the Alpheios by its overflowings had destroyed all
monuments. Recent excavations, however, have revealed a very precious
remnant at the bottom of the alluvium. It was indeed not really a
misfortune that during periods when the products of old civilizations
were treated with fanaticism on the one hand, and rapacity on the
other, the Olympian scene was covered with earth rather than left
exposed to the hand of Middle Age barbarians.
The systematic excavation of Olympia was undertaken in 1875 by the
German government. The work involved great expense, and the willingness
of the Germans to undertake and execute the task has brought them much
praise from the scholars of other countries. The excavations were
completed on the 20th of March, 1881.
During these six years a space in the form of a square, measuring 1,000
feet on each side, was stripped of the accumulated deposit of twelve
centuries; the average depth of this covering was estimated to be over
sixteen feet.
Archæologically, this excavation involved expert care and much labor.
Neither the care nor the labor was withheld. The result may best
be described in the language of an eminent professor of classical
archæology:--
“The result of these excavations, carried on there at great cost and
with supreme disinterestedness by the German people, has been to
enable the traveller at Olympia not only to study the scene of the
greatest of Greek athletic festivals, but to trace the celebration
from hour to hour and from point to point. He not only sees the hill
of Cronion, where the spectators crowded, wades through Olympic dust,
and feels the sun of Olympia beat on his head, but he can wander on
the threshold of the temple of Zeus, pass from building to building
in the sacred enclosure of the Altis, and stand at the starting-point
of the runners in the Stadium. Taking the guidebook of the old Greek
traveller Pausanias in our hand, we can follow in his steps, and out of
broken pillars, truncated pedestals and the foundations of demolished
buildings, we can conjure forth the beautiful Olympia of old, with its
glorious temples, its rows of altars, its statues of gods and godlike
men who conquered in the games, its treasuries full of the noblest
works of art and the richest spoils of war. And we can people the
solitude with the combatants and with the spectators, a crowd filled
with the enthusiasm of the place and with delight in manly contests;
a crowd over whom emotions swept as rapidly as chariots through the
hippodrome, and who were ever breaking out into wild cries of delight,
or loud shouts of scorn and derision. We can see the bestowal of the
crowns of wild olive, and can hear the heralds recite the names of
those who have been victorious.”
Here, then, in the summer time was held the great athletic festival in
honor of Olympian Zeus. At the beginning of authentic history it was
already a venerable institution. We have already learned that early in
the sixth century the other three Panhellenic festivals were modeled
upon it. Many myths very early sprang into existence to explain its
origin. Pindar, it is well known, in one of his Olympian odes makes
the Dorian Herakles the founder. Of course, the myths do not agree,
and if they did would establish nothing directly; indirectly, however,
they show that at the time of their first promulgation the festival
had attained so approved a system, so wide a celebrity, and so great a
prestige as to need accounting for and to be compatible with an exalted
origin. And as a matter of fact, system, celebrity and prestige do not
fall to the lot of an institution in the period of a single generation.
The festival was from the first under the charge of the Eleians. But
so liberal a policy did this nation adopt and pursue that people from
neighboring states were glad to send competitors. Rapidly the custom of
resorting to the games spread to more distant states. From an Eleian
event, the festival became Peloponnesian, and finally Panhellenic.
The Athenians and Thebans at a very early date achieved splendid
victories in these games. The Theban Pagondas was crowned victor in the
four-horse chariot race in the 25th Olympiad, when for the first time
this was a feature of the festival. Thus one state after another turned
its attention to the venerable celebration, and if it happened that a
citizen of one state was crowned victor in a contest, interest in the
games was sure to be increased in that locality.
Even in the absence of positive evidence it would be contrary to
reason to suppose that the games were originally established as they
existed at the time of Pindar. In fact, the different features were
added successively. According to a fairly reliable tradition, there
was originally and for twelve following Olympiads only one contest:
the δρόμος, a foot-race consisting of a single lap of a stadion of two
hundred yards. About 720 B. C., according to the tradition, was added
the δίαυλος, a race in which the stadion was traversed twice. Soon
afterward was added the δόλιχος, or long race, consisting of seven,
then of twelve and perhaps twenty-four laps. The next contest to be
introduced was the wrestling-match. In the same year that wrestling
was introduced, about the 18th Olympiad, the pentathlon made its
appearance. This feature, though consisting of five contests--leaping,
spear-throwing, diskos-pitching, running and wrestling--was
nevertheless a single event, inasmuch as victory in one contest alone
was not rewarded; an athlete to be crowned victor in the pentathlon
must win at least three of the contests. Boxing and the chariot race
are said to have been added in the 23d Olympiad. Thus the games grew
more elaborate, and the time over which they extended was increased
from a single day to five or six.
The festival was conducted by judges, called Hellanodikai, elected
by the people of Elis a year beforehand. The number of these judges
was about ten; they were expected to give close attention to their
duties. Thirty days before the festival, candidates for the various
contests presented themselves before the Hellanodikai for examination.
In order that the name of a candidate could be considered, he must
prove himself to be of pure Hellenic stock, and must give evidence of
having practised in a gymnasium for ten months previously; finally,
the candidate must practise for thirty days in the great gymnasium of
Elis, under the supervision of the Hellanodikai. The names of those
who were able to satisfy the judges were placed on a white board which
was exposed to view at Olympia. After an athlete had been entered for
a contest, it was considered the greatest ignominy for him to withdraw
for any reason; indeed, for so doing he was heavily fined. Theagenes,
an athlete of wide fame, was unable to enter the pankration because he
had been disabled in the boxing-match; but inasmuch as he had had his
name entered for both events, he was fined.
Eleven days before the festival, the Hellanodikai caused to be
proclaimed by heralds throughout all the cities of Hellas the truce,
sacred to Olympian Zeus, which was to last a month. It was this truce
that made the Olympia possible as a Panhellenic institution. During the
month that followed the proclamations of the heralds, all wars between
Hellenic states were held in abeyance, and travellers were allowed to
journey through them unmolested. The awful name of Zeus coupled with
the decrees of rulers made this truce effective.
During the eleven days pilgrims from all over Hellas were approaching
Olympia. Some of the scenes may be imagined. In the language of
Professor Percy Gardner: “From all the shores of the Mediterranean
and the Euxine seas the Greek colonies sent deputations to represent
them at the games, to bear offerings to the temple, and to perform
sacrifices on their behalf. And the Greeks readily took a tinge from
the land wherein they dwelt. There were dwellers on the northern
shore of the Black Sea, to whom continual intercourse and frequent
intermarriage with their Scythian neighbors gave almost the aspect
of nomads; and colonists from Massilia, who in dress and blood were
half Gauls. There were people from Cyrene, with the hot blood and dark
complexions of Africa, and oriental Ionians, with trailing robes and
effeminate airs. There were rude pirates from Acarnania, and delicate
sensualists from Cyprus.”
To give a detailed account of the competitions at each of the great
festivals would involve much unnecessary repetition. That held at
Olympia, therefore, may be taken as the type and the ideal of the
others. But even at Olympia, the celebrations of which have been most
widely written of both by ancient and modern scholars, it is not always
easy to determine the exact order of the various contests.
There is hardly a doubt that at the Olympic festival as well as at
the others the foot-races were the initial competitions. Plato says
that at his time when a contest took place the herald first called on
the σταδιοδρόμος to do his part. The reason for beginning with the
foot-race was probably an historical one; as has been said, it was
originally the sole competition at the Olympic celebration. According
to the old Eleian priest legends, the Idaian Herakles, one of the
Cretan Kouretes, came to Elis in the reign of Kronos, in the golden
age, and arranged a foot-race in which the victor was crowned with wild
olive. The legends further state that the place thus honored by the
priest of Olympian Zeus was afterward called Olympia, and that in time
the celebration was repeated at intervals of four years. Of course the
foregoing is a tale invented to explain the priority of the foot-race
as well as the founding of the festival. Another legend recounts that
at one of these subsequent celebrations Endymion, son of Æthlios,
offered the kingdom of Klymenos, whom he had conquered, as a prize to
that one of his sons who should be first in the foot-race. Such are
some of the myths that helped to sanction and endear an inviolable
Olympic custom. It is noteworthy in this connection that in the Odyssey
the Phæacians had opened their games with the foot-race.
The technique of foot-racing, the style of running most advantageous,
and the training and qualities necessary for it, differ considerably
with the distance covered. Accordingly very early in the history of the
Olympic festival races of varying length were one by one introduced,
and the variety doubtless tended to attract a larger number of
competitors and to make the occasion more interesting.
For thirteen Olympiads, however, the race called the δρόμος was the
only feature. In this race the stadion was traversed but once. As the
course of the stadion was about 200 yards, the δρόμος was what we
call a sprint, and required that a runner exert himself to the utmost
from start to finish. This simple race remained a favorite mode of
competition among the Greeks until a late time--being practised by
Alexander.
The δίαυλος, or double course of the stadion, was introduced in
the 14th Olympiad. This race required that the runner, after having
traversed the 200 yards and reached the goal, should return to the
point of starting. As he rounded the goal he described an arc, and on
his way back took the opposite side of the track in order that he might
not collide with other runners.
Very soon after the introduction of the δίαυλος the ἵππιος δρόμος and
then the δόλιχος were instituted. The ἵππιος δρόμος, which implies a
horse-race, was in reality a foot-race, the contestant running the
distance generally covered in a horse-race--namely, four times the
length of the stadion, or 800 yards.
The δόλιχος was added to the Olympic games in the 15th Olympiad, and
was, like our long runs, a test primarily of endurance and lung-power.
The distance covered varied from seven to twenty-four laps of the
stadion, or from less than a mile to about three miles. At Olympia,
however, the distance was twelve stadia. As the δόλιχος was run on the
same track on which the single and double races took place, it was
really only a series of double races.
In the 65th Olympiad, the ὁπλίτων δρόμος was introduced. In this race
the competitors wore helmets and greaves, and carried shields on their
left arms. Pausanias claims to have seen the statue of Demaratos
equipped with a round shield, helmet and antique greaves. At a later
period, however, the helmet and greaves were discarded at Olympia, and
the race was run with shields alone. The distance covered in this race
was two stadia--the length of the δίαυλος. Pindar, the poet laureate
of the Olympians, mentions the race with shields, and with poetic
privilege ascribes its origin to heroic times. Plato considered the
exercise very valuable as war training, and prescribed it as a part
of the athletics of his ideal commonwealth. Plato devised two other
races involving armor: in one the competitor should be equipped as
a heavy-armed hoplite, and should cover a distance of sixty stadia
on a level plain; in the other the competitor should wear the light
equipments of an archer, and should cover one hundred stadia over hills
and valleys.
The running contests at the great games were governed by certain
established rules. No fraud or guile was allowed to be used by the
contestant on the track for the purpose of impeding his companions.
They were very particular that all should start at the same time and
from the same line, so that no one might have the advantage over
the others. It was also contrary to rule for an athlete voluntarily
to slacken his speed and allow his fellow-contestants to win. The
competitors were appointed by lot and arranged in groups. These groups
raced in heats of four, ranged in the places assigned them by lot. The
first group was followed by the second, the second by the third, etc.
When all groups had finished, the victors of each again entered the
contest and strove for the prize; so that every σταδιοδρόμος had to win
twice before he was crowned victor.
The physicians of olden times mentioned two other foot-races which
in their opinion afforded excellent gymnastic exercise. The first of
these was practised in the sixth division of the stadion and consisted
of running first forward and then backward. In this race the body was
not turned once, but the distance that was run forward was continually
shortened by backward running until the contestant finally stood at the
starting-point. In the second race the contestant ran on tiptoe with
outstretched arms which he swung violently to and fro. It was practised
along a wall so that, should the balance be lost, the runner could hold
and support himself against it.
Among the less important foot-races were two that had their origin in
certain local celebrations, namely, the torch race and the race of the
vintage festival, held at Athens. Similar races took place at Sparta
during the great national festival of the Κάρνεια held in honor of
Apollo.
In the preparation for these different kinds of foot-races everything
was done in the way of training that would tend to make the body as
light as possible and increase its rapidity, although the different
cities of Greece varied to some extent as regards the question of diet,
rubbing and baths.
In practising for the foot-race the contestant, having divested himself
of every shred of clothing and anointed his body with oil, was made to
exert himself as much as possible. The exertion was often increased
by making the run in deep sand instead of on firm ground; the foot
having a less firm support, the runner was obliged to work harder and
more quickly. In this way these exercises gave to the body not only
great power of endurance, but also increased speed, and as a result the
δολιχοδρόμοι possessed strong and well-developed legs. The shoulders
and upper part of the body, on the other hand, owing to insufficient
exercise were small and narrow. On that account Sokrates did not favor
the races because they did not produce a harmonious development of the
body. The skilled runner naturally strove to preserve an erect carriage
while running, and to conform to all established rules regarding the
contest. In this connection it may be interesting to mention the
strange ideas entertained among the Greeks regarding the influence of
the spleen over the powers of the body. This little organ, situated
behind the stomach on the left side of the abdomen, and exercising
some function which still remains unknown, would in their opinion if
diseased prove a great hindrance to a contestant in the race. In order,
therefore, to prevent such a catastrophe they resorted to extraordinary
means, namely, the use of certain plants which they believed would
dissolve or eat away the spleen; or even to surgical operations, such
as cutting or burning it out. On the other hand, they believed that a
diseased spleen was greatly benefited by exercise in running. Laomedon
of Orchomenos is quoted as furnishing an example of this kind.
The attitude of the runners we learn from vases. Those who were
contending in the short race or dash swung their arms backward and
forward alternately. This is beautifully shown by a painting on a
Panathenæan vase in the possession of Koller. It represents four
athletes running, hardly touching the ground with one foot, while
the other is raised and moved forward in order to cover the greatest
possible distance with one step. The hands are wide open; the arms are
moved about freely and appear to act as the wings of the body, and
their motion is in harmony with that of the lower limbs. Another vase,
discovered in the ancient tombs of Volci, also shows a similar method
of running. The athletes are moving rapidly, and using their arms
as wings. On the other hand, those who were running a long distance
clenched their fists and held their arms close to their sides, as do
our modern runners. A peculiar custom prevailed during the games. It
is said the contestants kept up a loud shouting in order to retain
their courage, while at the same time the admiring spectators cheered
wildly as some favorite or friend neared the goal. As the Greeks did
not possess the modern mechanical means of communication, they had
to rely mostly upon messengers; hence the great necessity for expert
runners. To this fact is due to a considerable degree the development
of agonistic and running contests in Greece. It is said that after the
battle of Platæa all the sacred fires which had been profaned by the
Persians were extinguished, and that Ἐνχίδας, a Platæan, covered in one
day the distance of a thousand stadia from Platæa to Delphi and back
again, and brought his fellow-citizens the pure fire from the altar
of Apollo. As a result of this terrible strain he sank to the ground
and died. The Cretans were especially noted in the δόλιχος. Sotades
and Ergoteles were among the most famous. The Arcadian Dromeos was
another celebrated runner, having been like the former twelve times
victorious in the δόλιχος. Ladas, the famous Spartan runner, was also
victorious in the δόλιχος, but according to Pausanias died at the goal
on completing a race.
Comparison of the speed of Hellenic athletes with that of modern
runners is exceedingly difficult, because the Hellenes had no means of
measuring minutes of time; they did not say of an athlete that he ran
the δίαυλος in such a time, but that he won (_i. e._, surpassed his
competitors) in a certain Olympic celebration.
Probably the next event was the pentathlon. This competition was
introduced into the festival at about the 18th Olympiad. As the
etymology of the word signifies, the pentathlon consisted of five
distinct competitions, enumerated in a well-known pentameter ascribed
to Simonides: leaping (ἅλμα), running (ποδωκείην), diskos-throwing
(δίσκον), spear-throwing (ἄκοντα), wrestling (πάλην). That the poet
arranged the events in this order cannot be taken as positive proof
that this was the real order, as it is hard to see how these words
could be arranged otherwise in a pentameter. It is probable, however,
that wrestling was the final contest. There is some uncertainty as to
what constituted a victory in the pentathlon, but it is evident that
the purpose of this competition was to develop what we call “all-round
athletes,” and the assertion that the victor must have won three out of
the five contests cannot be far from the truth.
In such a combination of exercises it would certainly be good athletic
policy to make leaping the first contest. It may be questioned whether
an athlete could leap so well after having engaged in the more violent
exercises, whereas leaping itself, instead of disqualifying for the
other exercises, would on the contrary rouse the animal spirits without
bringing on exhaustion, and thereby put the athletes at once in good
condition. For the leap requires not only vigor and elasticity, but
also courage and determination.
The beneficent results of this exercise were recognized at a very early
period by the Hellenes, although in the heroic world the leap was not
considered so important as the other modes of contest. In the games
of Achilles the leap is not mentioned. In the Odyssey, however, the
Phæacians, a light-hearted people, more fond of amusement than of war,
are said to be skilled in leaping. It is in historic times, however,
that leaping, as an important event in the pentathlon of the public
games, acquires its technique, and receives the careful attention of
athletes.
What may be called the pure leap, that is the standing leap without
accessory aids, was not practised at Olympia. The leaper held in his
hands weights resembling our dumb-bells, and known as ἁλτῆρες. To
determine the dynamic advantage of these weights is not easy, but
it is certain that with them the exercise required more skill, and
accordingly more practice, that it called into play more muscles, and
that it was more attractive to athletes as a mode of competition.
While little information can be obtained from classic writers
concerning the ἁλτῆρες, much can be learned from archæological
specimens. Pausanias describes them as having the form of a semi-oval,
or inaccurately-rounded ring that could be grasped by the fingers as a
shield was grasped. This description corresponds with a drawing of the
ἁλτῆρες on a vase in Hamilton’s second collection. Ἁλτῆρες of another
shape, however, resembling very closely the modern dumb-bells, are
seen on many other vases and gems. These had both ends rounded, and
were narrow in the middle in order that they might be easily held. In
Hamilton’s first collection are vases giving representations of these
ἁλτῆρες. In the Museo Borbonico may be seen on a patera a drawing in
which the ἁλτῆρες have still another form: when the hand has grasped
the handle of these, beyond the hand, on one side only, a club-shaped
part protrudes. The ἁλτῆρες were usually made of lead.
In the pentathla, leaping never took place without ἁλτῆρες, which the
athlete usually held directly in front of him, and then, as he sprang,
brought behind him, thus helping to propel his body forward.
In addition to the ἁλτῆρες, professional athletes made use of another
aid--the βατήρ. The latter was a board on which they stood before
taking the leap, and which may indeed have been provided with a spring.
Pausanias especially mentions the fact that the leaping of the
pentathli in the Olympic festival was accompanied by airs on the flute.
This music was probably to open the pentathlon, the most splendid and
stirring of gymnastic contests, as well as to increase the courage of
the leapers.
The only leap that belonged to the pentathlon was the standing long
jump. There is no trace of anything like the hop, step and jump. The
figures of athletes on vases are represented not as running, but as
standing and swinging the ἁλτῆρες. Then, too, it would seem that in
the running jump the weights would be an impediment rather than an
aid. With the aid of the ἁλτῆρες and the βατήρ enormous distances
were covered. Phaÿllos of Rhegium is said to have covered more than
fifty-five feet at a leap. But the record is incredible. Some German
professors, however, are inclined to credit the record on the ground
that the ancients had studied the theory of leaping more scientifically
than have the moderns. For the sake of comparison the modern records
in jumping may be introduced. On May 28, 1890, J. Darby of England,
without the aid of weights, made a standing long jump of 12½ feet. At
Romeo, Mich., October 3, 1879, with 22-pound weights, G. W. Hamilton
made a standing jump of 14 feet, 5½ inches. A record of 23 feet, 6½
inches, in the running long jump has been made twice: by C. L. Reber at
Detroit, July 4, 1891, and by C. B. Frye of England, March 4, 1893. A
jump of 48 feet, 8 inches, without weights and preceded by a hop and a
step, was made October 18, 1884, by T. Burrows of Worcester.
In the palæstra and the gymnasium, leaping was practised in many
different ways, as through a hoop, or over a rope. That the high jump
also was practised is evident from the fact that the athletes leaped
not only over pointed poles fixed in the ground, but also over one
another’s heads, after the manner of modern circus performers. Leaping
from a higher place to a lower was also practised. Leaping took place
in dancing and in various other sports. A dance, consisting principally
of leaping was practised at Sparta, particularly by young women and
girls. In this the dancers aimed to hit their backs with their heels.
Aristophanes alludes to this custom in the following dialogue between
Lysistrata and Lampito:
LYSISTRATA.
Hail! Lampito, dearest of Lakonian women.
How shines thy beauty, O, my sweetest friend!
How fair thy colour, full of life thy frame!
Why, thou couldst choke a bull.
LAMPITO.
Yes, by the twain;
For I do practise the gymnastic art,
And, leaping, strike my backbone with my heels.
LYSISTRATA.
In sooth, thy bust is lovely to behold.
It is probable that in the Olympic pentathlon leaping was followed by
diskos-hurling,--a contest of great antiquity. An old myth represents
Apollo as a diskos-thrower.
The diskos was circular in form with perhaps an average diameter of a
little less than a foot, and was made of various materials at different
periods and places. The heroic diskos, as has been said, was made of
stone, while that of a later period was of metal, and even of wood.
The diskos in common use at the Olympic festival was metallic, and
resembled a small shield.
In the local gymnasia the size and weight of the diskos varied in
order that an athlete might select one in accord with his strength.
But in the men’s pentathlon at the public games a standard diskos was
required,--uniform in material, form, and weight, in order that the
strength and skill of the competitors might be impartially tested and
the victory correspondingly awarded. There is considerable doubt as to
the dimensions and weight of this standard diskos. It is likely that
the weight was between four and five pounds. A specimen found at Ægina
and now preserved among the bronzes at Munich is about eight inches
in diameter and slightly less than four pounds in weight. But another
specimen at present in the British Museum weighs twelve pounds.
There is also doubt as to the distance to which a skilful athlete
could hurl the diskos. An extravagant record of one hundred cubits is
preserved in the writings of Philostratos. It is probable, however,
that one hundred feet was an extraordinary throw and was exceeded only
by the best athletes. While it is unlikely that the throws of renowned
athletes were carelessly measured at the time, it is probable that
many subsequent accounts were more or less exaggerated. It is well to
bear in mind that the statue of Phaÿllos was greatly admired among the
Greeks because that athlete had thrown the diskos ninety-five feet.
It is interesting in this connection to note that at the International
Athletic Games, celebrated at Athens in 1896, the victor in the
diskos-throwing competition made a record of 95.64 feet. The diskos
used in this competition weighed 4¾ pounds. Although three skilful
Greek athletes participated in this competition and exhibited a
technique much superior to that of the foreign competitors, yet the
victory was won by Mr. Garret, an American, who though never having
handled the diskos before threw it to the above distance, thereby
surpassing the best throw of M. Paraskevopoulos, the Greek champion,
by .64 feet.
To return to the ancient contests, the Homeric heroes practised
diskos-throwing without completely disrobing,--the upper garment only
being laid aside. But at Olympia after the 15th Olympiad all clothing
was dispensed with, and the advantage of entire nudity in this sport
came to be clearly recognized. Nudity characterized, of course, the
diskoboloi of the other great athletic festivals. Again, while the
Homeric heroes did not anoint the body with oil, the athlete of
historic times did not consider his preparation complete without it.
After roughening his hands and the diskos with earth, in order to grasp
it more firmly and handle it more deftly, the diskobolos ascended an
eminence, called the βαλβίς. When about to throw, the body of the
diskobolos was bent quite a little to the right and forward. At the
same time the head was bent to the right so far that it was possible
for him to see the upper left side of his body. The right arm was now
moved from below, first backward to the height of the shoulders, and
then with a rapid movement forward it described a semi-circle, giving
the diskos at once velocity and direction. In throwing the diskos, the
diskobolos rested first on the right foot and then on the left. At the
moment of hurling the diskos the left knee was slightly bent, while the
other was kept backward. As the diskos left his hand he took one or
more steps forward, like a person throwing a ball in a bowling alley.
Again we are indebted to the archæologist who has brought to the light
of day not only statues but also vases and gems with their elaborate
scenes of the diskobolos in various attitudes, for they reveal to us
many facts about which the ancient historians are silent.
In classifying these works of art three different attitudes may be
recognized:
(1) The diskobolos preparing to throw.
(2) The diskobolos in the act of throwing.
(3) The diskobolos having hurled the diskos and still following it
with his eyes, or where he has already been declared victor.
In the Museo Pio Clementino is a statue representing an athlete about
to hurl the diskos. In his left hand he is testing the weight of
the diskos, but holding the right ready to receive it and hurl it
into space. This statue was supposed by Visconti to be a copy of a
diskobolos by Naukydes, the pupil of Polykleitos. Many other copies are
also seen on vases and gems. On one of Hamilton’s vases the diskobolos
holds the diskos in his right hand, supporting its weight in his left.
Of the statues representing the athlete in the act of throwing, we
will consider only Myron’s Diskobolos, the beau ideal of athletic
motion, famous even in antiquity. Eight copies in a more or less
mutilated condition have come down to us. That which was found in the
Villa Palombara in 1781 on the Esquiline is the best reproduction of
the original. This statue passed from the palace known as that of the
_Massimi alle Colonne_ to the _Lancelotti Palace_, Rome, where it still
remains. The attitude of the diskobolos is very nearly that described
by Lucian and Quintilian. In the _Philopseudes_--1, 8, Lucian gives
the following description of Myron’s Diskobolos: “Thou speakest of
the disk-thrower, who is bending forward for the throw, with his face
turned away towards the hand that holds the disk, and with one foot
slightly pointed, as if he would raise himself with the action of
throwing.”
The statue reveals probably the most approved attitude of a diskobolos
just before making a throw. The centre of gravity falls upon the right
foot, which, though the leg is bent in a slight curve, rests firmly on
the ground; both legs are bent at the knees, but the left more acutely;
the right fore-leg is perpendicular, while the left is thrust backward
obliquely; the left foot, forming a noticeable curve, is upright and
touches the ground only at the tips of the toes; the thighs, close
together, slant upward, making an angle of over 45° with the ground;
the upper part of the body is bent forward, and is steadied by the left
arm whose hand rests against the right knee; the upper half of the body
is twisted to the right; the right arm is extended backwards and is
straight; the fingers of the right hand, which is somewhat above the
level of the right shoulder, firmly grip the edge of the diskos; the
head is turned so far to the right that the right side of the body is
plainly visible; the eyes are fastened on the diskos.
It is evident that the diskobolos must have swung the disk in a
semi-circle, and have hurled it from below forward, and that the whole
body must have relaxed and readjusted itself as the right arm moved
forward and imparted the pent-up energy to the disk.
The pose of the large cast in the Boston Athenæum, as well as that
of the cast in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, is not in accordance
with Lucian’s description. Both represent the head as not turned aside
but directly forward, with the eyes looking straight ahead. There is,
however, in the Fourth Greek Room, a cast of a small bronze statuette,
which is preserved in the Antiquarium at Munich. This is in many
respects an excellent copy of Myron’s diskobolos. In the catalogue
of the casts in the Museum, this statuette is pronounced especially
satisfactory from an æsthetic point of view because the line of
equilibrium falls perpendicularly through the centre from whatever
point of view the statuette is seen.
Besides this copy of Myron’s statue, we find on many vases and gems the
diskobolos in the act of hurling the diskos. For instance, on one of
Hamilton’s vases we see a diskobolos with a diskos in his right hand,
while the right arm is bent and held forward, showing that he is on the
point of moving the arm backward, and then forcibly hurling the diskos
from below, forward. The left arm is bent over the head, the eyes are
fixed on the diskos, the right foot is placed forward, so that the
centre of gravity falls on the left, which is obliquely bent at the
knee.
We will now consider the third class of statues, gems and
vase-paintings representing the diskobolos as having thrown the diskos,
and still following it with his eye, or where he has already been
declared victor and adorned with the palm. In 1754 there was discovered
at Herculaneum the bronze statue of a diskobolos from whose hand the
diskos has just flown. He is still standing, however, with the upper
portion of his body bent forward, the eyes looking sharply into space,
the face full of expectation. The position of the right arm indicates
that the hand is only just freed from the heavy diskos. Both feet are
placed wide apart, as may be observed in several other instances, at
the moment of throwing. In the _Galerie de Florence_ is a gem which
represents a diskobolos who has been declared victor. He holds the
diskos in his left hand, the palm of victory in his right. At his
right stands a prize cup, while at his left is a tripod upon which is
a wreath and a palm. A painting from Herculaneum also represents a
diskobolos after having thrown the diskos.
If space permitted, many other statues, vase and gem pictures could
be cited to show the different positions of the skilled diskobolos.
But enough has been said to show that to hurl the diskos through the
air at once gracefully and effectively required the greatest skill
and dexterity, and was an art acquired only through long practice. In
diskos-throwing, distance, not height, determined the victor. He who
threw the farthest beyond the mark or σῆμα was awarded the prize.
Diskos-throwing was a good preparation for war, as it developed great
skill in stone-throwing--a very important feature in the war practices
of the ancients. This exercise must have developed to a remarkable
degree the muscles of the upper part of the body, shoulders, arms and
hands--especially those of the right side of the body. At the same time
the feet were trained in a firm and secure step, and, although the
diskos was thrown at no fixed point, the eye was nevertheless used and
trained. So beneficial was the exercise in certain cases that it was
often ordered by the ancient physicians. Among the Spartans the diskos
was especially loved, ostensibly on account of Apollo’s contest with
Hyakinthos on Spartan soil.