Panhellenic Games
The Panhellenic Games ( Greek πανελλήνιοι ἀγῶνες masculine plural ) were all-Greek competitions in honor of the Greek gods that were held at religious places of worship. Originally it was about competitions among warriors in full war gear. Later, with the exception of the gun barrel, the armor was taken off and the fighters competed naked. As part of the religious-sporting event, cultural competitions in poetry and music-making were held.
The Panhellenic Games include the supraregional competitions at four places of worship: Olympia , Delphi , Corinth and Nemea . The winners from these competitions each received site-specific wreaths, branches or stems. These games were usually played every four years, and more rarely every two years. This rhythm was called periodos (circulation, return). A competitor who won an Olympiad (four-year cycle) in a sport in all four main arenas received the title Periodonike .
Main games
- Olympic games
- The most important Panhellenic Games, the Olympic Games , took place every four years in honor of Zeus in Olympia . The winner received an olive wreath that grew near the Zeus statue (Kotinos). There were also ancient Olympic Games in other places .
- Pythian games
- The second most important Panhellenic Games, the Pythian Games , took place every four years in honor of Apollo in Delphi . The winner received a laurel wreath .
- Nemean games
- The Nemean Games took place every two years in honor of Zeus in Nemea . The winner received a celery wreath .
- Isthmic games
- The Isthmian Games were held every two years in honor of Poseidon in Corinth. The winner initially received an elder , later a spruce branch .
| Games | Deity | Place of worship | price | rhythm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic games | Zeus | Olympia | Olive wreath | every 4 years, in the 1st year of the Olympics |
| Pythian games | Apollo | Delphi | Laurel wreath | in the 3rd year of an Olympiad |
| Nemean games | Zeus | Nemea | Celery stalks | in the 2nd and 4th year of an Olympiad |
| Isthmic games | Poseidon | Corinth | Spruce branch | in the 2nd and 4th year of an Olympiad |
More games
On the back of the Antikythera mechanism there is also a calendar that mechanically displays the dates of the respective Panhellenic Games. In addition to the four main venues already mentioned, two other venues are named there, but only the Naaic games could be identified by name.
- Naaic games
- The Naaic Games took place in Dodona every four years .
- Panathenic games
- The Panathenaic Games in Athens , the Small Panathenaic Games every four years, the Great Panathenaic Games every four years.
- Asclepic games
- The Asclepian Games in Epidaurus .
- Ptolemaic Games
- The Ptolemaic Games in Alexandria .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tony Freeth, Alexander Jones, John M. Steele, Yanis Bitsakis: Calendars with Olympiad display and eclipse prediction on the Antikythera Mechanism . In: Nature . tape 454 , no. 7204 , July 31, 2008, p. 614–617 ( physics.ohio-state.edu [PDF; accessed October 26, 2012]).