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Patience, brothers. Soon we will reveal the secrets of this painting.
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Take a day-by-day look at the prestigious Olympic Games!
Barnabas:Hail, friend, and welcome to Olympia, home of the Olympic Games!
("Who are you?")
Barnabas:My name is Barnabas, and I'm a shipcaptain. Don't be fooled by my eye! Though I've seen my share of combat, I mostly stick to trading these days. Well, trading and introducing visitors like you to wonderful sites like this.
("What do you think of this place?")
Barnabas:I've often dreamed of competing in the Games—if my sight was better, my legs and arms were stronger, and my coin purse was fatter. But that is not what the Gods want, so I continue making the best of the path they've laid out for me.
("Let's begin the tour.")
Barnabas:We're standing in the main section of Olympia, where the Olympic Games themselves took place. Over the course of the festival, athletes competed against each other for prestige and glory—to honor themselves and their cities. Enjoy your visit, friend. I'll check in when you're done to make sure you've been paying attention.
Red-figure kylix (drinking up) with scene of warrior blowing in trumpet / 500 BCE (Archaic Greece)
The first day of the Olympic festival began with a swearing-in ceremony for the participating athletes, trainers, and judges.
The ceremony took place in front of the altar of Zeus Horkios, or "Zeus of the Oath".
Athletes would swear that they would follow the Olympic rules, while judges promised to be fair and unbiased.
Then the competitions began, starting with a contest between heralds and trumpeters over who would have the privilege of announcing the Games.
The first day's athletic competitions consisted of wrestling, running, and boxing events for the youngest athletes, aged twelve to eighteen.
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The competition of heralds and trumpeters was introduced to the Olympic Games in 396 BCE. The winners of the contest were chosen based on their loudness and clarity.
During the games, the trumpeter's main purpose was to demand the audience's attention, while the herald announced the start of competitions.
The herald also proclaimed the names, fathers, and hometowns of the victorious athletes during the final crowning ceremony.
Quadriga racer crowned by Nike on reverse of a decadrachm of Syracuse / 405-400 BCE (Classical Greece)
The second day began with a grand procession into the hippodrome to celebrate the start of the popular equestrian events.
The most anticipated and spectacular of these was the quadriga, a four-horse]] chariot race.
Horse-racing events unique in that the winner was not the most skilled jockey, but the owner of the fastest horse or chariot.
The Spartan princess Kyniska once took advantage of this loophole to skirt the rule that women weren't allowed to compete, and earned two Olympic victories in the process.
The rule also allowed for occasionally strange results, like in 416 BCE, when the statesman Alkibiades entered seven chariots into a race and won first, second, and fourth place.
After the equestrian, the 40,000 spectators migrated to the stadium to watch the pentathlon events.
When the day's events were over, funeral rites were performed for the hero Pelops, the mythical founder of the Olympic Games.
The night ended with a celebratory feast and a great parade in honor of the day's victors.
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The Athenian statesman once bought and enrolled seven chariots in a race. This turned out to be a good investment, as his purchases ended up winning first, second, and fourth place.
Alkibiades's victory earned him an enormous feast and an equally enormous boost in popularity. He leveraged his popularity to wield considerable power over Athens' other politicians, and would often reference his Olympic feat to get people to take his side on a variety of issues.
This backfired spectacularly when Alkibiades convinced Athens to send a military expedition to Sicily. The expedition ended in disaster, and signaled the beginning of the end of Athens' power.
