Historical Evolution of sports Historical Evolucion of sports researchpdf | Page 10

Afternoon: The pentathlon.
Evening: Funeral rites in honour of the hero Pelops. Parade of vistors around the
sanctuary of Zeus. Singing of victory hymns. Feasting and revelry.
Day Three
Morning: Procession of the judges, ambassadors, competitors, and
sacrificial animals to the Great Altar.
Afternoon: Running races.
Evening: Public banquet in the Prytaneion.
Day Four
Morning: Wrestling event.
Midday: Boxing and the pankration (all-in-wrestling).
Day Five
Procession of victors to the Temple of Zeus, to be crowned by
the judges with garlands of wild olive.
The Olympic Victors
Valuable prizes could be won in athletic contests all over the Greek world, but
victory at Olympia brought the greatest prestige. Winning contestants were
allowed to put up statues of themselves inside the sanctuary of Zeus to
commemorate their victory; many bases for these statues survive. Statues of
athletes and statesmen were a prominent feature of Greek cities and sanctuaries.
Athletes tied a woollen band around their forehead, and sometimes around their
arms and legs, assign of victory. Winners at Olympia received crowns of wild
olive, just as Herakles was said to have done when he had run the first races at
Olympia with his brothers. In this scene he receives a garland from Nike, the
goddess of Victory. With them is Herakles’ father, Zeus, holding a thunderbolt,
his symbol of power.
HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF SPORTS
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