The athlete could then artificially extend the length of the arm by placing one or two fingers in the loop. The difference between the contemporary javelin throw and the ancient technique is that a leather loop was attached to the spot at which the javelin was held. The wooden javelin was about the height of a man. The competition took place on a running track where the athletes ran a few meters to the starting point and then threw the javelin as far as possible. The javelin throw was among five events in the ancient Greek Olympic pentathlon. It was the referee’s call whether or not twisting the fingers with the intention of forcing the opponent to concede defeat was permittedĪfter scoring a point, the opponent was to be given time to rise to his feet before the wrestling continued Gouging the eyes or biting was not permitted Here are some rules that were followed by wrestlers in ancient Greece: Wrestling was a showcase of strength and was represented in Greek mythology by Heracles. Wrestling was added as a sport to the Olympic Games in 708 BC and the event came under the pentathlon category. The wrestling area was a square plethron or stremma. The competitions followed an elimination-tournament format under which the bout continued until one wrestler was crowned the victor. A point was awarded when one of the opponents touched the ground with his hip, back or shoulder, accepted defeat due to a submission hold, or was forced out of the wrestling area. To win a match, a wrestler had to score three points. The races were held on a wide, flat, open space called a hippodrome.Īlso known as palé, ancient Greek wrestling was one of the most popular sports in the Greek games. Chariot racing was the most important event out of all other equestrian events such as racing on horseback, and traditionally took place on festival days. Initially, the event took place on one day and was later extended to a two-day event. The sport was first added to the Olympics in 680 BC. Apart from the number of horses used, the rules were the same for both. In the ancient Olympic Games, as well as the Panhellenic Games, there were both four-horse and two-horse chariot races. Homer’s Iliad is the first literary evidence of chariot racing held at the funeral games of Patroclus. Pelops won the race and the Olympic Games were born in honor of his victory. According to the ancient Greek poet Pindar, King Oenomaus challenged his daughter’s eligible suitors to race against one another. We know that chariot racing began during the Mycenaean period from artistic evidence on pottery, and the chariot race is believed to be the event that started the Olympic Games.
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