The Panathenaia Flashcards
(42 cards)
Why were festivals important to the Greeks?
They didn’t have a weekend so they found their days of rest at various festivals.
What happened during festivals?
Work ceased and the government met only in an emergency.
What did the Panathenaia celebrate?
Athene’s birthday.
When did the weaving of the peplos begin?
Nine months before the festival.
Describe the peplos.
Always gold and purple in colour and into its fabric were woven scenes from they mythological victory of the Olympian gods over the Giants, which symbolised the triumph of order over chaos.
What were the rhapsodic contests?
Competitors had to recount passages from the Iliad and the Odyssey.
What were the main categories in the musical contests?
Singers to the kithara, soloists on the kithara, singers to the aulos, and soloists on the aulos.
Where did people come from to compete in the sporting events?
All over Greece.
What classes were competitors divided into?
Boys, beardless youths and men.
What were the four running races?
Stadion, diaulos, dilochos and hoplitodromos.
What was the stadion?
Sprint from one end of the stadium to the other.
What was the diaulos?
Double the length of the stadion, racing from one end of the stadium to other and then back again.
What was the dilochos?
Long distance race, likely to have been 20 or 24 lengths. Less spectacular to watch so was often the first track race.
What was the hoplitodromos?
Race in armour. 25 runner raced the length of the diaulos with a helmet, greaves and round shield.
What were the three horse/chariot events?
Tethrippon, keles and apobates.
What was the tethrippon?
Four-horse chariot race over twelve circuits. Charioteers had to be resilient as there was no suspension.
What was the keles?
Horses had to cover six stadia. Ancient jockeys neither had a saddle nor stirrups, although they were allowed to whip their horses.
What was the apobates?
Chariot race which involved charioteers dismounting from their chariots during the race.
Why the equestrian events particularly popular?
They had a high blood and guts factor. Races were held at great speeds and many accidents occurred as competitors rounded the turning posts. At this point they could be thrown over from their seats, crushed, or trampled underfoot by oncoming horses.
What were the three combat events?
Wrestling, boxing, pankration.
What was wrestling?
An athlete had to cause his opponent to fall three times. A fall was if an athlete’s back or shoulders touched the ground. Contestants were allowed to trip, but not bite, gouge or punch.
What was boxing?
Victory was won when either an opponent was knocked out unconscious or when they conceded defeat by holding up a hand with an uplifted finger. Boxers were allowed to use the punch, he slap and the back of the hand.
What did boxers wear on their knuckles?
Leather thongs called himantes.
What was pankration?
Competitors fought with bare hands and the event was won when one competitor admitted he could no longer continue or was knocked out unconscious. The only two actions banned were biting and the gouging of the eyes.
