The dolichos or dolichus (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: ,
English translation: "long race") in the
ancient Olympic Games was a long race ( 4800 m) introduced in 720 BC. Separate accounts of the race present conflicting evidence as to the actual length of the dolichos. However, the average stated length of the race was approximately 12.5 laps, or about three miles. The event was run similarly to modern
marathons (the runners would begin and end their event in the stadium proper), but the race course would wind its way through the Olympic grounds. The course would often flank important shrines and statues in the sanctuary, passing by the
Nike statue by the temple of Zeus before returning to the stadium.
[Miller, p. 32. "At the next Olympiad, in 720, a long-distance footrace called the ''dolichos'' was added to the program. The sources are not unanimous about the length of this race: some claim that it was twenty laps of the stadium track, others that it was twenty-four. It may have differed from site to site, but it was in the range of 7.5 to 9 kilometers. We can identify a dolichos in paintings where the runners' knees are low and barely bent, with the arms drawn close to the sides."]
Dolichos on coinage
Dolichos events have been selected as a main motif in numerous collectors' coins. One of the recent samples is the €10 Greek
relays commemorative coin, minted in 2003 to commemorate the
2004 Summer Olympics. In the obverse of the coin three modern athletes run, holding their batons while in the background three ancient athletes are shown running a dolichos.
Winners
*
Acanthus of Sparta 720 BC
*
Ergoteles of Himera 472 BC
* Ladas of Argos 460 BC
* Aristeus of Argos 420 BC
*
Sotades of Crete
Sotades of Crete was an ancient Olympic runner.
Career
Winner in the long distance race, the dolichos of 384 BC.
Afterwards Sotades was bribed by the Ephesians to be proclaimed as a citizen of Ephesos (Ephesus) and was subsequently exiled by ...
384 BC
* Malacus of Macedonia 329 BC
* Aegeus of Argos 328 BC
* Polites of Ceramus 69 AD
See also
*
Ancient Greek units of measurement Ancient Greek units of measurement varied according to location and epoch. Systems of ancient weights and measures evolved as needs changed; Solon and other lawgivers also reformed them ''en bloc''. Some units of measurement were found to be conven ...
References
Sources
* Golden, Mark. ''Sport in the Ancient World from A to Z''. Routledge, 2003.
*
Miller, Stephen G. ''Ancient Greek Athletics: the events at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea, and Isthmia''. Yale University Press, 2004.
{{Ancient Olympic sports
Ancient Olympic sports
Long-distance running competitions
Ancient Greek units of measurement
Extinct sports