![]() Milo of Croton, a famed wrestler from antiquity, styled himself after Herakles, even wearing the hero’s trademark lion skin to complement his six Olympic wreaths. Greek athletes looked to their heroic predecessors for inspiration. Statues of Herakles (Hercules in Latin) and the god Hermes, depicted on the left and right respectively as herms (pillars surmounted by busts) covered with lion skins, were traditionally set up in the gymnasium where athletes trained.Įvidently according to myth, many Greek gods and heroes competed in the first games at Olympia: Zeus wrestled his father, Kronos, for the throne Apollo outran Hermes and beat Ares at boxing and Herakles, often credited with founding the Olympic games, won victories in wrestling and the pankration, a no-holds-barred combat sport. The decoration on this bronze balsamarium-an oil flask used by athletes to clean their skin-evokes the Olympic games’ mythical origins. Medveckis in honor of Emily Rafferty and in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary, 2021 (2021.19.2) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of John J. Today’s Olympics continue this spirit in the form of a resolution adopted by the United Nations entitled “ Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal.” Mythical history of the gamesīronze balsamarium decorated with lion-skins and herms, late 1st–early 2nd century A.D. Many local festivals, including the Panathenaia in Athens, were modeled on these four games.Įach Panhellenic festival was marked by a truce, or ekecheiria, which literally means “holding of hands.” Inscribed on a bronze diskos displayed at Olympia, the truce not only allowed athletes and fans to travel safely, but also provided a common basis for peace among the Greeks. ![]() ![]() ![]() By the sixth century B.C., Panhellenic games-from pan (all) and hellenikos (Greek)-were also held at Delphi, Nemea, and Isthmia and attracted athletes from all over the Greek world. Surviving inscriptions and literary sources list the names of about eight hundred ancient Olympic champions the first recorded victor was Koroibos of Elis, who won the stadion (footrace) in 776 B.C. The ancient Olympic Games, held every four years at Olympia in honor of the god Zeus, were celebrated for over a millennium and serve as the inspiration for the modern competition. ![]()
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