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'''''Panhellenic Games''''' is the collective term for four separate sports festivals held in
ancient Greece.
The four Games were:
*
Olympic Games - the most important and prestigious of the Games, held every four years near
Elis, in honour of
Zeus;
*
Pythian Games - held every four years, near
Delphi, in honour of
Apollo;
*
Nemean Games - held every two years, near
Nemea, also in honour of Zeus;
*
Isthmian Games - held every two years, near
Corinth, in honour of
Poseidon.
The Games took place in a four-year cycle known as the Olympiad, which was one of the ways the Greeks measured time. The Olympic Games were used as a starting point, year one of the cycle; the Nemean and Isthmian Games were both held (in different months) in year two, followed by the Pythian Games in year three, and then the Nemean and Isthmian Games again in year four. The cycle then repeated itself with the Olympic Games. They were structured this way so that individual athletes could participate in all of the games.
Participants could come from all over the Greek world, including the various
Greek colonies from
Asia Minor to
Spain. However, participants probably had to be fairly wealthy in order to pay for training, transportation, lodging, and other expenses. Neither women nor non-Greeks were allowed to participate, except for very occasional exceptions such as
Philip II of Macedon or
Nero.
The main events at each of the games were
chariot racing,
wrestling,
boxing,
pankration, ''
stadion'' and various other foot races, and the
pentathlon (made up of wrestling, ''stadion'',
long jump,
javelin throw, and
discus throw). Except for the chariot race, all the events were performed in the
nude.
The written history of the Olympic Games dates to
776 BC, but their actual founding was centuries earlier. The other three games were founded in the
6th century BC.
See also:
Panathenaic Gamesfr:Jeux panhellniques
de:Panhellenische Spiele
nl:Panhelleense Spelen
