The Panathenaic Games ( grc, Παναθήναια) were held every four years in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cu ...

from 566 BC to the 3rd century AD. These Games incorporated religious festival, ceremony (including prize-giving), athletic competitions, and cultural events hosted within a

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

History

The Panathenaic festival was formed in order to honor the goddess Athena who had become the patron of Athens after having a competition with the god Poseidon where they were to win the favor of the Athenian people by offering the people gifts. The festival would also bring unity among the people of Athens. Harmodio Aristogeiton Nápoles 04

The attempted assassination of the tyrants Hippias and Hipparchus during the Panathenaea in 514 BC by Harmodius and Aristogeiton was often regarded as the birth of Athenian democracy.

Events

The competitions for which the festival came to be known were part of the Great Panathenaia, a much larger religious occasion. These ritual observances consisted of numerous sacrifices to Athena (the namesake of the event and patron deity to the hosts of the event) as well as Poseidon and others. The Lesser Panathenaia, a sister-event to the Great Panathenaia, was held every year with 3 to 4 days shorter in celebration. The competitions were the most prestigious games for the citizens of Athens, but not as important as the Olympic Games or the other Panhellenic Games. The Panathenaea also included poetic and musical competitions. Prizes were awarded for rhapsodic recitation of

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

ic poetry, for instrumental music on the

aulus Aulus (abbreviated A.) is one of the small group of common forenames found in the culture of ancient Rome. The name was traditionally connected with Latin ''aula'', ''olla'', "palace", but this is most likely a false etymology. ''Aulus'' in fact ...

and

cithara The kithara (or Latinized cithara) ( el, κιθάρα, translit=kithāra, lat, cithara) was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the yoke lutes family. In modern Greek the word ''kithara'' has come to mean "guitar", a word which etymolog ...

, and for singing to the accompaniment of the aulus and cithara ( citharody). In addition, the Games included a reading of epic poetry by early poets such as

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...

and

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

The Panathenaic Stadium

The athletic events were staged at the Panathenaic Stadium, which is still in use today. In 1865,

Evangelis Zappas Evangelos or Evangelis Zappas ( el, Ευάγγελος or ; ro, Evanghelie Zappa; 23 August 1800 – 19 June 1865) was a Greek patriot, philanthropist and businessman who spent most of his life in Romania. He is recognized today as one of the ...

left a vast fortune in his will with instructions to excavate and refurbish the ancient Panathenaic stadium so that modern Olympic Games could be held every four years "in the manner of our ancestors". The Panathenaic Stadium has hosted Zappas Olympics in

1870 Events January–March * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the Br ...

, and

1875 Events January–March * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of th ...

, as well as the modern

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

in 1896 and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

. The stadium also hosted the

1906 Intercalated Games The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Gam ...

Contests

The Panathenaic Games held contests in a number of musical, athletic, and equestrian events. Due to the fact that there were so many contests held, the games usually lasted a little over a week. On a fourth century marble block, experts explain that on the block is written a program for the games, as well as individual events and their prizes. The inscription also says that there are two age categories for the music events but three age categories for the athletic events. According to scholars, the age groups are boys: 12–16; beardless youths: 16–20; men: over 20. One thing that was different about these games than normal funeral games is that prizes were given to runners-up, not just the lone victor. Using the inscription, experts put together a general program like so: Day 1: Musical and Rhapsodic Contest; Day 2: Athletic Contest for Boys and Youths; Day 3: Athletic Contest for Men; Day 4: Equestrian Contest; Day 5: Tribal Contest; Day 6: Torch Race and Sacrifice; Day 7: Boat Race; Day 8: Awarding of Prizes, Feasting and Celebrations. Experts reasonably came up with how the games went based on the order of prizes which were written on the marble block. Wrestling and discus were also included in the contest. The musical events which took place were Kithara players, Flute players, and singers. The athletic events were the stadion, pentathlon, wrestling, boxing, and pankration. The equestrian events were two-horse chariot race, horse race, and javelin throw on horseback. Based on the inscription, we learn that the prizes given to the men and the youth were different. Men were rewarded a certain amount of drachmas and/or a valuable crown worth a certain amount of drachmas. Boys and youths were given a certain number of amphoras of olive oil. Anforagrega-atenas

Ceremony

The Panathenaic games were a chrematitic ('monetary') event were the winner would take home prizes with a monetary value, as opposed to stephanitic ('crowned') games like the Olympics which awarded the winner with only a crown. Award ceremonies included the giving of

Panathenaic amphora Panathenaic amphorae were the amphorae, large ceramic vessels, that contained the olive oil given as prizes in the Panathenaic Games. Some were and high. This oil came from the sacred grove of Athena at Akademia. The amphorae which held it h ...

e, which were large ceramic vessels containing olive oil given as prizes. The winner of the chariot race received as a prize one-hundred and forty Panathenaic amphorae full of olive oil.

In mythology

In the myth of the

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "p ...

Minos In Greek mythology, Minos (; grc-gre, Μίνως, ) was a King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus's creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten ...

' son

Androgeus Androgeos or Androgeus ( Ancient Greek: Ἀνδρόγεως, la, Androgeum or Androgeōs derived from ''andros'' "of a man" and ''geos'', genitive ''gē'' "earth, land") was the name of two individuals in Classical mythology. * Androgeus, son of ...

is killed during the Panathenaic Games. Some accounts, like Pseudo-Apollodorus's '' Bibliotheca'', state he won and his jealous competitors ambushed and murdered him. Others, such as ''Graeciae Descriptio'' by Pausanias, say he was trampled to death by a mad bull.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Ancient Greek athletic festivals Archaic Athens Festivals in ancient Athens Festivals of Athena Quadrennial sporting events Recurring sporting events established before 1750 Sports festivals