Sports and Society in Ancient Greece and Rome

Assignment #1
Sports and Society in Ancient Greece and Rome
1 Oct 2013

In the reading, Athletic Competitions in the Age of Heroes, a wealth of differences can be seen between the way sports are practiced in the Iliad and the way they were practiced during the time of the Panhellenic games. Prizes were distributed among all men that competed in events, there were many competitions that we have not covered as being present in the Panhellenic games, and matches sometimes had no conclusion. The main difference between the Panhellenic games and the games depicted in the Iliad was the distribution of prizes. Everyone who competed, and sometimes even those who did not compete (Nestor), received some form of a prize. The prizes included women, mares, goblets, tripods, oxen, and gold talents. Sometimes additional prizes or increased rewards were given by Achilles. In the Panhellenic games, prizes and arete were only awarded to he who took first place. If you were not a winner, then you were a loser, making second place unimportant. The second difference between the two games was the variety of events. Pale, pyx, synoris, the halma, the akon, and the footrace (although what distance was not specified) were present in both games. The two events that stood out as different were archery and the weight toss. These were discussed as competitions in the Iliad, but they were not mentioned as Panhellenic competitions. In my opinion, Achilles wanted to allow every person to compete for arete in order to boost morale of everyone that was present. Tailoring prizes and games towards those who could not normally take part allowed for everyone to participate in the fun and the action. Any man could toss a lump of iron and archers were not widely recognized for their skill due to them being far away from the enemy in battle. Although I am not sure why these games were not incorporated into the Panhellenic games (unless the weight toss is considered diskos), I enjoy the idea that everyone can compete. The third difference that the two games had was the lack of conclusion in some events. The Panhellenic games had a distinct winner and a distinct set of losers. It was the winner of the event that received a prize and arete. In the Iliad’s events, some of the matches went undecided. In pale, the match between Ajax and Odysseus was stopped after two rounds. Achilles called for the two men to stop and he commanded that they were both winners. Ajax and Odysseus split the prize between first and second evenly. The hand-to-hand combat event took place between Ajax and Diomedes. The objective was to draw blood through armor and although Ajax pierced armor, he drew no blood. Diomedes’ counter attack was targeted at Ajax’s neck and the game was stopped again by Achilles. Both men were declared the winner of the event. These three differences between the games are driven by the intention of the host. Achilles wanted to build moral and have a joyous time. The Panhellenic games were exciting, but being in first place was of the utmost importance. Everyone was a winner while Achilles hosted the games, and harm to the men in competition was nullified.