Chapter XI: Public Festivals (1)

The Olympic Festival--The Gymnastic and Equestrian Contests--The
Hippodrome--The Judges--The Preliminary Ceremonies--The Course of
the Festival--Honours to the Victors--The Delphic Festival and
Pythian Games--The Isthmian and Nemean Games--The Athenian
Festivals--The Festivals of Dionysus.

In ancient and in modern times alike it has been usual to connect public festivals with some religious observance, even though the actual occasion might be the celebration of the change of the seasons or some regular event connected with agriculture. Greek worship was naturally of a cheerful nature. The sacrifices were usually followed by banquets, which communicated a festive character to an act of worship, and this was often accompanied by singing and dancing, sometimes of a serious and solemn nature, at other times lively and cheerful. As a rule, sacrifices to the heavenly deities were offered early in the day, but the banquet did not take place till the afternoon, and thus opportunity was afforded for devoting the interval to entertainments, among which, along with song and dance, dramatic and gymnastic performances soon began to occupy a place, and gradually to assume the character of regular competitions. Sacrifices to the infernal deities took place in the afternoon or evening, and were, in consequence, followed by a festival at night, which often degenerated into a wild orgy. These festivities, which were partly connected with the worship and partly celebrated for their own sake or connected with ancient national games, were at first a natural consequence of the religious ceremonies and the manner in which a nation of the cheerful disposition of the Greeks would celebrate them. But as these performances and festivities came to be more closely connected with the religious festivals, they gradually became an integral part of them, and were no longer left to the arbitrary disposition of the persons concerned, but were taken in hand by the state or community, and subject to regular arrangement.

The entertainments most commonly added to the religious ceremonies at the festivals were, in the first place, those of a musical character, partly vocal, partly instrumental, or a combination of both; in the second, dances, both choric and pantomimic, lastly scenic representations, gymnastic contests, processions, national games, etc. Among these the musical, choregraphic, scenic, and gymnastic representations were first raised to the dignity of regular competitions. Of course, different festivals were celebrated in different ways; apart from local differences, the very character of the divinity in whose honour the festival was held, and the different phases of the legend, necessitated differences in the mode of celebration and in the regulation of those who were to take part in them; thus some festivals were celebrated by both sexes together, and others by only one, to the exclusion of the other. In one point, especially, the Hellenic differed from our modern Christian festivals. It is a natural consequence of the Christian religion that the great festivals are celebrated at the same time by all believers in all parts of the civilised world, while the Greek religion knew of no such religious festivals common to all Hellenic tribes. There were a number of national festivals which were of equal importance to all Greeks; but these were not celebrated simultaneously throughout the country, but only at one specially appointed place, to which spectators came from all parts, and which thus provided an opportunity for great national meetings recurring at regular intervals. In consequence of the decentralisation of the country, these provided the only means of awakening and maintaining national feeling among the Greeks. Other festivals were peculiar to particular countries, or even to towns or communities; the differences existing in Greek belief, which are often closely connected with national traditions and racial peculiarities, were also marked in the act of worship. Even those regular festivals which were celebrated alike in most of the Greek states were not all held on the same day, but at different times, which was probably due to the fact that Greek antiquity was acquainted with no common calendar. The proceedings at these festivals also differed greatly according to the place. We know very little about the majority; most details have come down to us concerning the Attic calendar and the customs in use there, though even here our knowledge is very incomplete. The great Hellenic national festivals, which were celebrated at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea, and on the isthmus of Corinth, will first claim our attention.

Of these the Olympic festival is the oldest, at any rate as regards its national importance. The festival and the games celebrated there existed long before the year 776 B.C., after which its regular recurrence was used for expressing the date of the year; still, it is only from this time onward that we can regard it as a really national festival. The Pythians did not begin to calculate by their games till the year 586, the Isthmians in 582, and the Nemeans in 573. The Olympic and Pythian festivals recurred every four years, the other two every two years; the Olympic festivals always took place at the first full moon of the summer solstice, the Pythian in the autumn of the third year of an Olympiad; we cannot determine the exact period of the others, and only know that the Isthmian games were held at midsummer, and the Nemean alternately in winter and in summer. The main features of all, next to the usual acts of worship, such as prayer, sacrifices, etc., was the gymnastic contests connected with them. All four had attained so great a reputation even beyond the frontiers of their narrow home that most of the Greek states took part in them by means of official embassies (θεωρίαι) and numbers of spectators came from a distance, and a great market was held there in consequence. This universal interest taken in the festivals gave them a character of inviolability, so that they were able to continue even in time of war, since there was always a truce as long as the games lasted, and all who took part in them were allowed to travel undisturbed, as soon as the heralds of peace had announced the beginning of the sacred month, first in their own state, and afterwards in that of all the Greeks who took part in the contests. We possess far more details concerning the Olympic festival than any other, and, in fact, it exceeded them all in importance. The games constituted the most important part, and it was for their sake that spectators came from most distant parts of the ancient world to the plain of the Alpheus; and, indeed, the myth concerning the origin of the festival is intimately connected with these games. Every free-born Greek was allowed to take part in them. Barbarians were strictly rejected, at any rate in the best period of the Olympic festival, and it was not till the time of the Roman Empire, when its glory had long departed, that this practice was abandoned. They also excluded all who had committed murder or any other great crime, or forfeited the rights of citizenship, and before the beginning of the contest a strict examination was held into the claims of all who desired to take part. At first only youths and men were admitted; from 632 onwards boys were allowed to contend, at any rate in some of the sports. We hear of women taking part or being victors in the Olympic games, but this does not mean that they appeared in person; in the chariot races and riding it was not the custom for the owner of a horse to drive or ride, and thus rich women who were interested in the training of horses could let them run at the Olympic games; and since it was not the charioteer or rider, but the trainer and owner of the horses who was crowned, they might thus obtain the prize.

The contests at Olympia were of a gymnastic or equestrian nature; musical contests were excluded. But the perfect development of gymnastics as shown at the Olympic competitions only took place very gradually. At first the contests consisted only in running, and this was the case for the first thirty Olympiads after the time when the counting began. Then the double-course was introduced, and soon afterwards the long course (724 B.C.). In the year 708 the pentathlon was added, and thus the most important sports--jumping, throwing the spear and quoit, and wrestling--were introduced, along with running, and henceforward were regarded as one of the most attractive parts of the whole contest. In 688 a boxing-match was added; in 680, chariot races with four full-grown horses; in 648, riding races and the pancration. No more contests were added; further changes were only slight modifications, such as the admission of boys, who at first took part only in the running and wrestling, then for a short time in the pentathlon, and afterwards in the boxing-match, and only in very late times (200 B.C.) in the pancration. In the year 520 the race in full panoply was introduced, and in 408 the chariot race with two horses. Attempts were made to introduce mules and mares, but these were soon abandoned; colts were, however, introduced for the contest with four and two horses, and also for riding. It was natural that when there was so large a number of events they could not all, as at first, take place on one day; and, indeed, it would hardly have been worth the journey from such great distances. From time to time, as new sports were added, another day was given to the festival, so that when the number was complete it generally lasted for five days, divided in such a way that the three intermediate days were devoted to the contests, the first and last to the public and private sacrifices, processions and banquets.

The gymnastic contests have been already discussed in a previous section; we must give some details here about the equestrian competitions, among which racing with four-horse chariots was always regarded as one of the most splendid. They employed for the purpose the light two-wheeled chariots used in battle in the heroic age; these had, as a rule, wheels with four spokes, and the car was open at the back and closed in a semi-circular shape in front, with two bent hoops turned back behind, which were used to catch hold of in jumping up. (Compare the vase painting, Fig. 149.) Here we see the preparations for driving; the charioteer, clad in a long garment according to ancient custom, stands behind the two

horses, which are yoked to the chariot, and seems about to complete the arrangement of the harness, while an attendant in a short garment is helping him; another attendant leads a third horse, which is probably also to be yoked to the chariot; while the owner holds in his hand the reins and the goad with which to urge on the horses. The usual plan was to fasten the middle horse to a yoke at the end of the pole which is raised in front, while the outer horses were connected with ropes at either side, fastened to a ring in front of the chariot. The reins were all drawn through a ring or loop at the top of the pole, and the pin on to which this ring was fastened was connected with a vertical rod in front of the chariot by a line drawn very tight, the object of which is not clear; perhaps it was to establish equilibrium between the car, which was drawn backwards by the weight of the driver, and the forward pressure given to the pole by the pull of the horses. This picture also shows other details of harnessing, the bridle, etc.

The races took place in the Hippodrome; but the one at Olympia is completely destroyed, and all the knowledge we possess of its situation is due to Pausanias, who gives us no information concerning the length of the course to be run twice by full-grown horses. However, he supplies a detailed description of the starting places, which were very complicated, since no competitor must have an advantage over another by starting earlier or having a shorter piece of ground to cover. For this purpose the two long sides of the Hippodrome were of unequal length, and the one at the end of which were the goal and the seats of the judges was rather shorter than the other; the stands for the chariots were not in a straight line, but in the form of the segment of a circle. The ropes, which prevented the chariots from starting before the appointed time, did not all drop at the same moment, but one after another in such a way that the chariots started first from the more distant stands, and reached a given point at the same time as those from the nearer stands, which started a few seconds later, so that the racing began at this place under equal conditions. The signal was given by the sound of trumpets, and also by some ingenious mechanism which caused a bronze dolphin on an elevated place at the beginning of the course to fall, while an eagle, which till then had rested on an altar, rose into the air with extended wings. At this sign the barriers fell, and the chariots started in the appointed order over the longer side of the course, and then, turning back, returned by the shorter side. This was the exciting contest which has been so magnificently described by Homer in his account of the funeral games in honour of Patroclus, and by Sophocles in the “Electra.” The victor who first reached the goal, near which sat the umpires, received the much-coveted reward of a wreath; but even the next seems to have had some distinction or, at any rate, an honourable mention.

Racing with four full-grown horses was always most popular, but there were also races with two-horse chariots and with colts. Afterwards, when riding races came into fashion, they became extremely popular, although they never attained the great importance claimed by the chariot races in the Olympic games. In both contests it was the trainer of the horse who was regarded as victor, and though it sometimes happened that the owner or his son drove or rode himself, yet it was more commonly done by strangers, very often by professional charioteers and riders hired for the purpose, like our jockeys of the present day. Instead of the wreath, which was not allotted to them, they received a fillet as a token of victory.

The judges (Ἑλλανοδίκαι) were appointed by the Elians, on whose territory the games took place. Their number varied in the course of years. At first, in 576 B.C., two citizens were chosen by lot to arrange and superintend the contests; but a hundred years later there were nine judges appointed, three for the equestrian contests, three for the pentathlon, and three for the rest of the sports; to these nine a tenth was soon added, then for a short time the number was reduced to eight, and afterwards once more increased to ten, which remained the appointed number. They were chosen by lot even in later times. As their decisions were of extreme importance, it was regarded as no small matter to undertake this responsible office; in fact, the judges had to be trained in a special building in the market-place of Elis, in the arcades of which they spent the greater part of the day for ten months, to be instructed in their duties by the guardians of the laws (νομοθύλακες), and in particular to acquire an accurate knowledge of gymnastic rules. When the time of the games arrived, they took a solemn oath in the court-house at Olympia, before the altar of _Zeus Herkeios_; their period of office extended only over a single festival.

Their duties were to make the arrangements for the contests, and all the festivals connected therewith; to examine the competitors as to their right to enter; to superintend the training of the athletes and their teachers in the gymnasium; to see that the athletes really entered for the contests which they had chosen, and that everything was done according to established custom, and the laws of the games were in no way broken; for this purpose they also had disciplinary power, and a right to impose considerable fines, and even sometimes inflict corporal punishment. Finally, in case of uncertainty, they had to give judgment about the victory, if necessary, by a majority of votes. A combatant who was not satisfied could appeal against their decision to the council (βουλή) of Olympia, but he could not afterwards be pronounced victor; the most he could obtain, should it appear that the judges were in the wrong, was their condemnation to pay a fine. Under the judges were officials who helped to maintain order and carry out their ordinances; and all the attendants present--and this must have been a considerable number, owing to the great concourse of spectators and combatants--were under their orders.

We can form some general idea of the succession of events and the arrangement of festivities during the five days of the festival, although we are not fully acquainted with all the details. A preliminary ceremony was the entrance of the embassies from the various Hellenic states. All the states considered it a matter of importance to send their representatives equipped with as much splendour as possible, and therefore the richest people were always chosen for the purpose. Since a great deal of splendour was shown by these delegates at the festive processions with their chariots and horses, their magnificent utensils, etc., they probably held a grand entry on their arrival, and thus the spectators, at the very beginning of the festival, were able to gratify their love of fine sights. No doubt the whole proceeding began with a sacrifice to Zeus, in whose honour the games were held, and who was regarded as their director. Next, the umpires, the athletes who entered for the contests, and the trainers who had come with them, took a solemn oath in the court-house at Olympia. After a swine had been sacrificed, the competitors had to swear that they possessed the full rights of citizens, that they had fulfilled all the conditions which were necessary for admission, and were ready to submit to the regulations. In spite of this oath, an examination into their claims took place; it was not only necessary to prove the right of citizenship, but also the appointed training for the contests by the athletic diet already described, and on this account the presence of the trainers was desirable, if not indispensable, at the examination and oath. The horses for the races were also examined. It is uncertain whether the lots to determine the groups of competitors were drawn on this first day. The drawing was preceded by a prayer to _Zeus Moiragetes_, the Director of Destiny; then the charioteers drew lots for their places at starting, and the others for their order of entry. The runners were divided into groups, probably of four; the lot decided the order in which they were to follow one another; and the victors in these races had then to run once more for the prize. This however was probably only the case with the single and double course, since it is not likely that there were so many competitors for the more difficult long course and the race in full panoply. Wrestlers, boxers, and pancratiasts drew lots from an urn, in which small lots, of which a pair was marked with the same letters, were thrown; each competitor drew out one. Those who drew the same letters had to fight together; the victors then fought afresh. If there were more than two victors, they probably drew lots again in the same way. At last there was only one pair left, of which one was victor in the whole contest. It sometimes happened that when these lots were drawn the number of combatants was unequal, and thus one was left without an opponent. He was called the third combatant (ἔφεδρος), and it was a very lucky thing to draw this lot. Of course, it would be a very unusual piece of luck for one person to be third combatant at all the drawings, and thus be able at last to meet, with his strength unbroken, an opponent who would have sustained many contests already; still, to draw this lot even once was to have a distinct advantage. There was, of course, a certain amount of unfairness connected with it, but they seem to have found no other way out of the dilemma; still, in most cases, when the victors and the third combatant drew afresh, it might be left to chance to see that one person was not too highly favoured. Sometimes a competitor was lucky enough to obtain a wreath without any contest at all; for instance, if only two had entered for a particular contest, and one of them did not appear in time or abandoned the fight. Many celebrated athletes could obtain a prize thus by the mere terror of their names.

The gymnastic and equestrian competitions continued from the second to the fourth day; probably the boys contended on the second, the men on the third and fourth days. We know little about the order of events; still, it is probable that on the third day the racing took place first, and in this order--long, single, and double course, then wrestling, boxing, and pancration; on the fourth day the equestrian contests, the pentathlon, and, last of all, the race in full panoply. There would then be several changes of locality, since the equestrian contests took place in the Hippodrome; the races, pentathlon, and other gymnastic sports in the Stadion. There was, of course, a gymnasium at Olympia, but this could not contain the multitude of spectators as well as the Stadion, and, therefore, the wrestling school and gymnasium at Olympia were used exclusively for the previous training of the competitors who came there for the contests. On the last day the prizes were distributed. The prize, as is well known, was the simplest possible--a mere wreath of olive, which a boy, both whose parents must be alive, according to the old tradition, cut with a golden knife from a wild olive tree in the Grove of Altis. Another outward token of victory was the palm branch granted to the victor, and, in consequence, the palm as a token of victory often appears in the statues of the Olympic conquerors. In olden times the wreaths to be distributed were placed on a brazen tripod; but Kolotes, a pupil of Pheidias, constructed a magnificent table of gold and ivory for the purpose, which was usually kept in the temple of Hera. It was the duty of one of the judges to crown the head of the victor with the wreath after it had been previously surrounded by a woollen fillet. During this solemn act the herald announced the name of the victor, as well as of his father and his native city. The importance attributed by the ancients to the victory in the Olympic games was such that this proud moment, when the victor received his reward amid the applause of the whole people, and, as it were, before the eyes of all Greece, was a sufficient compensation for all the troubles and difficulties involved in the preparation for the contest. Still, there were many other honours which fell to his lot, both in Olympia and at home in his own country.

After the name of the victor had been announced, sacrifices and banquets took place. It is not certain whether the great sacrifice of the Elians, a hecatomb offered to Zeus as the supreme director of the contests, took place at the conclusion of the festival, or at the beginning; in any case, numerous sacrifices of thanksgiving were offered by the victors and also by the delegates sent from other states. Very often the victor’s sacrifice was combined with that of his countrymen; for the state to which the conqueror belonged considered itself honoured by his victory, and it was the duty of the delegates to exhibit as much splendour as possible at the sacrifice as well as at the procession connected with it. These solemn processions, which made the last day of the feast a specially magnificent one, were accompanied by flutes and citharas, and, perhaps, also by the singing of choruses. They probably marched at first round the altars, while the flames of the sacrifices were burning on them, and afterwards touched at all the sacred places near the holy Altis.

In the afternoon a great banquet, given by the Elians to the victors, united them all in the town hall (πρυτανεῖον); but even this was not the end of the festivities, for feasting continued in the evening and far into the night at entertainments given by the victors to their relations and friends, who had hurried to the spot. These were more or less magnificent according to the means of the givers, though sometimes the state to which they belonged bore a part of the expenses. These festive gatherings were also honoured by music and song, and it was on these occasions that the songs of victory (ἐπινίκια), specially composed in praise of the victor and his family, were often sung, along with old songs, supposing it to have been possible in this short interval to write, compose, and study one of these hymns of victory. Most of the odes, especially those of Pindar, which have come down to us, were not performed on these occasions, but at the festivities held in honour of the victor in his own country, which were often celebrated there from year to year.

Herewith the official programme of the festivities came to an end, but there was no lack of further entertainment; for the opportunity of appearing before so great a number of their countrymen, and thus attaining sudden fame, was a very attractive one for poets and writers, who in those days were little assisted by the bookselling trade. The custom of holding lectures or reciting poems before the assembled people originated in the 5th century, when it is said to have been introduced by Herodotus, who read aloud a portion of his history at Olympia, though this story is not entirely removed from doubt. It is, however, a fact that from that time onwards recitations of this kind became commoner; thus Gorgias the Sophist, and Hippias the Elian, held long discourses here; and similarly, Prodicus and Anaximenes, Lysias, Isocrates, etc., lectured at Olympia; and in later times this was a frequent occurrence. Occasionally, though less often, works of art were here exposed to view; thus, a painter, Aetion, exhibited his picture of the marriage of Alexander the Great and Roxana, and the astronomer, Oinopides, of Chios, exhibited a brass tablet which was to explain a new method of calculating the time, discovered by him. This last, however, turned out a failure. The publicity of the Olympic festival was also used in other ways. Important decrees relating to solemn pledges, treaties among states, mutual acknowledgment of meritorious actions, decisions to confer crowns, or other matters of importance, which it was desirable to bring into universal notice as soon as possible, were proclaimed by the solemn voice of the herald and then graven in bronze or stone, and set up in the Altis.

Every free man might be present at the contests and other festivities, provided his means permitted him to defray the expenses of the journey and of a stay in the festive city. Naturally the greater number of the spectators came from the neighbouring states of the Peloponnesus; but, still, many came very long distances. So great was the interest roused by these contests that people from all classes came to view them; and even men of the highest intellectual eminence took pleasure in them. Statesmen and generals, such as Themistocles, Cimon, Philopoemen; philosophers, such as Thales, Chiron, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato; orators, such as Gorgias, Lysias, Demosthenes; poets, such as Pindar, Simonides, were among the spectators; and though some of the poets, especially Euripides, and philosophers were inclined to criticise rather severely the value of the performances at Olympia, yet these were but isolated opinions, and in no way tended to diminish the popularity of the games or the glory of the victors in the eyes of the general public. This interest was revealed by the endurance with which the spectators continued to watch the games, in spite of the fact that they took place in the very hottest season, and lasted for the greater part of the day; from early morning, when they went to the Stadion in order to secure a good place, till late in the afternoon, when the decision was given, they watched and endured the heat, dust, crowding, and thirst, either standing or squatting, according as space permitted, with that patience and endurance of which only the people of the south are capable. No doubt there were noisy expressions of sympathy during the contests, encouraging or mocking cries, applause and sounds of sorrow, since all feelings are expressed in a violent manner by southern nations. Women were not allowed to be present at the games. The statement that the maidens of Elis were an exception to this rule is scarcely credible. Those women or girls who had come to the festival to accompany competing husbands, sons, or brothers, had to remain on the other side of the Alpheus. In consequence of the great number of spectators, inns and lodging-houses were built to accommodate those who had not, like the sacred envoys, brought their own tents with them. Moreover, as already indicated, a kind of fair was connected with the Olympian festivities; traders, with all manner of wares, some of them objects directly connected with the festival, such as fillets, flowers, food, etc., and other useful articles, set up their booths and tents; and, thus, along with the festival, there was a busy commercial activity, such as was common in every place where great crowds of people met together at fixed times.

The games performed at Delphi in honour of Pythian Apollo bore the name of the Great Pythia, to distinguish them from the Lesser Pythia, held every year at Delphi, and also from the festival of the same name celebrated in other places. This festival, which at first was held every eight years, had been changed to a quadrennial one after the beginning of the 6th century B.C.; it lasted several days, and gradually many additions were made to the original contests. At first the musical competition, which comprised cithara and flute playing, was the only one; in later times, too, it was the principal part of the festival, but after the example of the Olympian games, gymnastic and equestrian contests were also added. A general truce was connected with the Pythian games as well as with the Olympian, and this lasted long enough to enable spectators from the distant colonies on the shores of the Mediterranean to journey in safety to Delphi and back. The chief events of the festival and the order of proceedings were something of this sort.

A great sacrifice to the three gods, Apollo, Artemis, and Leto, called _Trittyes_ probably formed the introduction. Then followed an important part of the festival, calculated to arouse lively interest in the public, the _Pythian Nomos_, the subject of which was the celebrated fight with the dragon Pytho by Apollo. Many suggestions have been made about the nature of this performance. One is that the fight was presented in dumb show; another that it was a song, accompanied by instruments; and, again, another very popular theory is that this Pythian Nomos was a concerto of flute solos, by means of which various stages of the fight with the dragon were represented in tone painting. Probably the most important situations--the fight, thanksgiving, and hymn of victory--could be thus represented, and, indeed, they must have attained considerable proficiency in tone painting, since even the gnashing of the dragon’s teeth was musically represented. With a view to strengthening these effects, the flute, which always remained the chief instrument, was afterwards reinforced at certain places by trumpets and shepherds’ pipes. This Pythian Nomos constituted part of the musical contest, which was of greater importance in the Pythian games than the gymnastic competition, since Apollo was essentially the representative of the musical arts. Besides the solo flute playing, the musical competition included songs with cithara accompaniment, and at first also with the flute, but this last was discontinued, being regarded as too sad and gloomy; and, instead, cithara playing without song was introduced in the musical contest. It was only in much later times, when troops of artists were called in to make the festival more splendid, with the consent of the officials of the land, that dramas were also presented at the Pythian games.

We know but little of the gymnastic contests which gradually found a place in the Pythian games. In essentials they were the same as those at Olympia, but the double course and the long course for boys were also added, while at Olympia these two contests were only open to men. The order of events, too, was different; the competitors were classed according to age, and each class, after completing its own contests, was able to rest while the others went through the same exercise, so that these intervals for rest enabled the boys to perform greater feats of running than they could at Olympia, where they had to enter for all their contests before the men’s turn came at all. To the usual gymnastic sports were afterwards added the race in full panoply and the pancration for boys. Equestrian competitions were early introduced; racing with full-grown horses, with four-horse chariots, and afterwards with two-horse chariots; when colts were introduced at Olympia the example was also followed at Delphi: probably the events followed in such a way that the musical contest was connected with the acts of worship, and was followed by the gymnastic, and this by the equestrian contests. The gymnastic sports were held, at the time of Pindar, in the neighbourhood of the ruined city Cirrha, south of the mouth of the Pleistos; afterwards the Delphic Stadion was to the north-west of the city, while the driving and riding races took place in the old Stadion near the ruined city of Cirrha. In later times there was also a theatre for the performance of the musical contests.

Here, as at Olympia, punctual attendance was required of the competitors; those who entered unlawfully were expelled by the servants of the Amphictyons, who were entrusted with disciplinary power. It was they who had the superintendence of the games, as well as the right of judging. Originally both these privileges had belonged to the inhabitants of Delphi; but after the reorganisation of the games in the year 586, the duties of superintendents and judges passed to the Amphictyons, or to officials appointed by them. It seems that we must distinguish between the Amphictyonic superintendents (ἐπιμεληταί), in whose hands were the arrangement of the programme, and all matters of expense, the appointment or ratification of the festive officials, etc. (ἀγωνοθεσία), and the real umpires (βραβῆς), who had themselves to make the most important arrangements for the contests, such as assigning the places for the chariots in the races and giving decisions about the victory; but we cannot attain any certainty in this matter. Sometimes, towards the end of the age of Greek freedom, the right of superintendence was conferred on princes--as, for instance on Philip of Macedon--and in the time of the Empire it was not unusual for a rich man to bear the expenses of the ceremony wholly or in great part; though even here the old custom was, at any rate externally, observed. The prizes of victory were originally valuable gifts, tripods, etc.; at the rearrangement of the games the custom originated of giving, instead, a wreath, as was done at Olympia, made of laurel sacred to Apollo. They also followed the example of Olympia in introducing lectures and recitations by historians and poets; thus Gorgias the Sophist, delivered an oration on one of these occasions. A very important part of the festival was the great procession (πομπή), in which strangers who came to the games, embassies with their dedicatory offerings, the officials and priests, took part; and besides the offerings, which were often very splendid, valuable treasures, usually kept in the treasuries, were exhibited; costly weapons and armour, splendid garments and jewels, vases, etc., were exposed to view, so that this procession, which probably marched from the suburb Pylaea, upwards to the temple of Apollo, must have presented a very varied and richly-coloured picture. As well as the triple sacrifice already mentioned, there were other solemn sacrifices, among them a hecatomb to Apollo; this was, of course, connected with the great banquet, at which there was no lack of musical entertainment.

The Isthmian games, the third of the great Hellenic national festivals, were celebrated on the isthmus of Corinth, in the sacred pine grove of Poseidon, where a hippodrome and a stadion for equestrian and gymnastic contests had been erected. The festival, which from the year 582 onwards, became national and Hellenic, took place every two years, in the first and third years of an Olympiad; it consisted of musical, gymnastic, and equestrian contests. We do not hear of any differences between these games and those at Olympia, and we may assume that there were the usual competitions for men and boys; in addition to them there was an intermediate class of the beardless ones--that is, youths (ἔφηβοι). Of course, there was a universal truce during the Isthmian games, and numerous and splendid embassies attended it, since the site between two seas facilitated attendance. The arrangement of the programme fell to the Corinthians, who also appointed the umpires, probably from among the rich and respected citizens. The prize of victory was a wreath of ivy, for which they afterwards substituted one of pine, and this seems to have been still the custom at the time of Ibycus, who, as Schiller tells us, met his death on the way to this “contest of chariots and song.” In the later period, especially in the Hellenistic and Roman times, there were also rhetorical and poetical recitations at the Isthmian games, but they did not form a part of the musical contest.

The Nemean games were held at Argolis, in a valley between Cleonae and Phlius, in a grove belonging to the sanctuary of _Zeus-Nemeios_, and they did not attain national importance till the year 573. These, like the Isthmian games, were held every two years, in the second and fourth years of an Olympiad. The contests here also comprised musical, gymnastic, and equestrian competitions; we are incidentally informed that cithara and flute players appeared in the musical contest. We have no information about the length of its duration, but it must certainly have lasted for several days. The Cleonaeans were for a long time superintendents and umpires, but when the Argives gained possession of the Nemean sanctuary they also claimed this privilege. The prize of victory here, as at the Isthmian games, was a wreath of ivy; there were the same arrangements for a universal truce, and visits of sacred envoys, as at other great festivals.

From this consideration of the Hellenic national celebrations we must now turn specially to Athens, with whose festive calendar we are much better acquainted; but we must content ourselves with a selection from among the most important. The first place is due to the greatest festival of the Athenians, the _Panathenaea_ celebrated in the first month of the Athenian calendar, Hekatombaeon (probably our July). We must distinguish between the lesser and the greater Panathenaea; the former was celebrated every year; the latter, introduced by Peisistratus, every four years; the real difference was that, at the greater Panathenaea the contests were more splendid and probably lasted a longer time. The festival was held in honour of the patron goddess in the ancient temple of _Athene Polias_; it consisted of sacrifices and competitions, equestrian, gymnastic, and also musical. The oldest musical contest was a competition between rhapsodists, perhaps introduced by Peisistratus. The performances of the rhapsodists were probably chiefly concerned with the Homeric poems, which had been collected and edited at the command of Peisistratus, but we do not know in what way they contended for the prize; the place of recitation was the Odeon. Afterwards the Homeric rhapsodies fell into the background, when Pericles extended the musical contests by introducing cithara and flute playing and song. We learn from the inscriptions that songs with cithara accompaniment, as well as with flute accompaniment, were usual, and they also speak of cyclic choruses, that is, dithyrambs, sung by choruses while circling round the altar on which the sacrifice was burning. The prize for the musical contest was a gold wreath and some money. The gymnastic contests were arranged according to age (boys, youths, men); the youngest entered first, and each class ended its competitions before the next one began. Similarly the competitions advanced from easy to difficult; they were of the usual kinds already described, but it was only the men from whom all were required. Boys and youths in the earliest period entered for racing, wrestling, and boxing, pancration, and pentathlon. Afterwards the pentathlon was abandoned, and the double and long course introduced instead, though probably the requirements for these were reduced, since the usual attainments of these contests would have been too great for boys. We do not know exactly where the gymnastic competitions took place, since the Panathenaeic Stadion was not built till the latter half of the fourth century. Before that there seems to have been a place to the west of the Peiraeus, where both equestrian and gymnastic contests were carried on; here, too, the victors were proclaimed, and the prizes conferred on them. These consisted in a quantity of oil from the celebrated olive-trees of Athene in the Academy, and this was drawn into earthen amphoras, on one side of which was represented the image of the patron goddess, and on the other generally a scene from the gymnastic competition. Many imitations of these amphoras exist, and no small number of them have come down to us, and are known as Panathenaeic prize amphoras.

There were several events peculiar to the equestrian contests at Athens. Thus, in Attica and Boeotia chariot-jumping was a popular sport. Besides the charioteer on the two-wheeled car there was a second person (ἀποβάτης), who, while the chariot was moving at full speed, jumped down from the car and up again, assisted by the charioteer; this performance is traced back by legend to the time of Erichthonius. There were also martial contests, in which warriors in full panoply stood in their chariots; and also races of javelin-throwers, who aimed at a fixed goal from their running horses; but these sports connected with the Panathenaea are known to us only by casual allusions, and not by accurate description. Here, as elsewhere, we learn from the inscriptions that the usual kinds of racing took place, namely, with four horses, and afterwards, too, with colts, as well as riding races. Here, as in the gymnastic contests, the prize consisted in jars of oil; in both cases the first prize was generally five times the value of the second.

To the festivities of the Panathenaea belonged also a performance of the Pyrrhic war dance (πυῤῥίχη) which originated at Sparta, and was probably introduced at Athens at the time of Solon and Peisistratus. In later times they distinguished three kinds, according to age. The various classes, clad in magnificent armour, combined together in bands and performed a dance to the music of the flute, which partook of the double nature of choregraphic and military movements. A still extant relief from the Acropolis, set up by a choragus who had won the prize (rich citizens undertook the equipment of the Pyrrhic choruses as a public service or liturgy), presents a number of youthful dancers performing a measured dance in light helmets, and holding their shield in their left hand, but without any clothing; they are in two divisions; the choragus stands superintending them in a long chiton (as festive garment) and himation. We do not know how the victory of a Pyrrhic chorus was decided. The prize of victory was an ox.

Another contest peculiar to the Panathenaea was a muster of men (εὐανδρία). Like the dramatic representations, the torch-race, and the Pyrrhic dance, this was a liturgy, that is, a voluntary service performed by a rich citizen. It was his duty to select the handsomest and strongest men of his tribe, to clothe and equip them, and present them at the festival; that tribe which, in the opinion of the judges, made the best impression, received the prize. This curious custom originated after the expulsion of the Peisistratidae, since they would not have been permitted, during the tyranny, to bring forward the armed citizens in this manner. Another liturgy was the torch-race (λαμπαδοφορία), which was superintended by the gymnasiarchs; the victor in this contest received a water-jar. The contests of the Panathenaea were concluded by a regatta, which took place at the Peiraeus. Here, again, it was not individuals, but tribes, that competed for the prize, which was not inconsiderable, since the victorious tribe received 300 drachmae, and money for a festive banquet.

The expenses of these various contests, if they did not happen to be voluntary services, were defrayed from the treasury of Athene Polias; the sacrifices, in particular the hecatomb offered to the goddess at the greater Panathenaea, were provided by the superintendents of sacrifice (ἱεροποιοί), appointed as the ten representatives of the ten tribes, but there were sometimes special subscriptions for the purpose, and, at the great festivals at any rate, the Attic client cities sent their contributions to the sacrifices, apparently each one cow and two sheep. The hecatomb was offered on the chief day of the feast; another sacrifice was performed to _Athene-Hygeia_, and a third on the Areopagus, but we do not know when these took place, nor whether they were also offered at the lesser Panathenaea.

We have only a general notion of the order of the festivities. They began with the contests, which lasted several days, taking the musical contest first, which was followed by the gymnastic, and this again by the equestrian. With these were probably connected the Pyrrhic dance and the muster of men. Then came the chief day of all, the glory of the festival, introduced the evening before by a festivity combined with a torch-race, and lasting far into the night (παννυχίς). At sunrise began the great procession which was peculiar to the greater Panathenaea. Here the goddess received her splendid robe, which was renewed every four years, and artistically worked by the Attic women and maidens, so as to represent the battle of the gods and giants. This procession, of which a wonderfully idealised representation has come down to us in the friezes of the Cella of the Parthenon, combined all the chief splendour and glory of Athens, all the proud youth and fair beauty of women. In it marched priests and prophets, archons, and the treasurers of Athene, the superintendents of sacrifice, generals, envoys from the Attic colonies, with their dedicatory offerings, and other delegates sent to the feast. Behind these dignified men followed beautiful maidens, carrying sacrificial vessels, censers, etc.; then came the resident foreigners (μέτοικοι), with flat dishes filled with honey-cakes, fruits, and other sacrificial offerings, and jars containing the wine required for the sacrifices; their daughters carried sunshades and seats for the daughters of Attic citizens. Next came the numerous herds of cows and sheep for the sacrifices, accompanied by drovers. These were followed by the Attic citizens, venerable old men and men in the prime of life, carrying their knotty sticks and olive branches in their hands; then came the four-horse chariots, which had entered for the contests of the previous days. The greater part of the procession was taken up by the cavalry, in which appeared the citizens who served on horseback in the army, as well as other owners of fine horses; the fondness for horse-rearing peculiar to Attica made this part of the procession especially large and splendid. There were also the heavy-armed infantry under the command of their officers, and the musicians, who played during the march on their instruments--flutes and citharas; of course, the victors in the various competitions took part in the procession, though probably each walked with the members of his own tribe. The most conspicuous place was occupied by the robe of the goddess, which, at any rate after the beginning of the fourth century, was suspended like a sail on the mast of a ship, running on rollers, and spread out in such a way that all might admire the splendid workmanship.

This endless procession moved from the Kerameikos to the market-place, then eastwards to the Eleusinion, north of the Acropolis, and round this to the western ascent of the citadel, where the ship halted, and the robe was taken off in order to be carried in procession to the temple of Athene Polias, the Erechthaeum. Here the hecatomb was offered on the great altar in front of the temple, as well as the sacrifices of the Attic clients. A plentiful banquet concluded this chief day of the festival, for the meat sacrificed was divided among the people, being distributed among all the demes separately, who specially told off a number of members to receive their share. The meals took place also according to demes. The after celebration at the Peiraeus consisted in the regatta already mentioned. We cannot tell how long the whole festival of the greater Panathenaea lasted; opinions vary between six and nine days, according as a longer or shorter period is assumed for the various competitions. The general direction of the procession and the sacrifices, as well as of the night festivity, was under the control and superintendence of the annual superintendents of sacrifice; while ten judges (ἀθλοθέται), appointed for a period of four years, undertook the direction of the contests.