Geographical
Literary
Activities
Chronology
History
Wild Card
100
What is the name of the river that flows through Olympia?
Alpheus
100
Who were the two competitors in the wrestling at the funeral games for Patroklos in Iliad book 23? BONUS - Who was the winner?
Ajax and Odysseus
(Oinochoe, ca 520 BC, Odysseus and Ajax wrestling at the funeral games of Achilles - SPOILER!)
BONUS: It was a tie!
100
What is the Greek name for the leather glove-like straps ancient boxers wore wrapped around their hands?
Himantes
100
What is the traditional date for the first athletic festival at Olympia?
776 BCE
100
Who authored the late 5th century BCE ‘Victor List’?
Hippias
100
What is ‘flyting’?
Boasting, trash-talking.
(Formal, often ritualistic, exchange of insults between two individuals, usually poets or warriors; Term from Medieval Scotland)
200
At which Stephanitic games was a laurel wreath awarded?
Pythian (Delphi)
200
Name any 5 of the events that happened in Iliad Book 23 during the funeral games.
2-horse chariot race
Boxing
Wrestling
Sprint
Armed Combat
Shot Put/Iron Throw
Archery
Spear Throw
200
What was the Greek name for the out-and-back sprint in the stadium?
Diaulos
200
Which ancient, pre-Greek civilization, based on Crete, made a spectacle of bull jumping?
Minoan
200
What did Xenophanes think of athletics?
He criticised athletic victories and traditional values of wealth & excess. (c. 525 BCE).
200
What athletic feature was found preserved at Djoser's Step Pyramid complex?
Running track (for the ritual run of the Pharaoh during the Heb-Sed)
(Djoser's Heb-Sed courtyard; part of his step-pyramid complex at Saqqara)
300
What wreath was awarded at Olympia and why?
Olive; because there was a sacred olive tree at Olympia.
300
Who won the spear-throwing event during the funeral games?
BONUS points – how/why did he win?
King Agamemnon, because he was the king, and no one can beat the king (“we all know that you surpass all others…”)
(Fifth century BC depiction of Agamemnon seated while holding his sceptre)
300
What is the Hysplex, and what was it used for?
"Starting Gate" - A device/mechanism set up at the starting line of the diaulos (sprint), involving a post and a taut rope. Used to initiate the start of a race (possibly with a loud whip-cracking noise)
300
Who always boycotted the Isthmian games?
Eleans (Elis)
300
Who is Euripides and what is the approximate date of his writings (we have looked at in class)
Athenian Playwright, c. 420 BCE.
300
What additional buildings did the Eleians build at Olympia, and why was this an unusual but symbolic choice?
Political administration buildings (Prytaneion and Bouleuterion), which are usually located in the primary urban centre of the state.
Emphasised Eleian identity of Olympia (esp. Prytaneion = physical expression of city state)
400
Name the four Stephanitic games and which city controlled each one.
Pythian = Own control (Delphi)
Isthmian = Corinthian control
Nemean = Argos control
Olympic = Elis control
400
Who was the trash-talker in the Odyssey Book 8 (The Phaeacian Games)?
Euryalos (who also won the wrestling)
400
How many Olympic category long-distance races are there? BONUS if you name them.
Only one – Dolichos.
400
Name the three main places discussed in the lecture where/when athletic competitions occur.
Funeral Games
Wedding Feast/Suitors' Competition
Entertaining Guests
400
What are the two fundamental sides to sports? BONUS points for which ancient society (Greece & Rome) privileged which fundamental side.
Participatory (Greek privileged this) and Spectacle (Rome privileged this).
400
What was Hector's aim/purpose in participating in the duel with Ajax (Iliad Book 7)?
Fame and glory.
500
Briefly describe the connection between running and communication in Ancient Greece.
Way to transport messages over distances that may have been challenging terrain for horses; incredibly important to be able to receive information, like if an invading army is marching towards your city.
500
What was the Pyrrichē?
BONUS - Who wrote about it in the early-mid 4th Century BCE?
“War Dance”; a form of moving the body in a fighting/violent way that was warlike but fluid like dance.
BONUS: Plato (Plato Laws 815a)
(Pyrrhic dancers)
500
How did one win/finish a wrestling match (based on the Iliad, Book 23)?
Three "throws" are needed to stop/win the combat.
500
What was the Pharaoh's "jubilee", and what activities were part of the festival?
Heb-Sed (Sed Festival) was a symbolic reaffirmation of the reigning pharaoh's power (after holding the throne 30 years, and every 3-4 years afterwards).
It involved physical activities as demonstrations of physical prowess and athleticism (and thus capability to rule the kingdom), including: Shooting a ceremonial bow and arrow, and a sprint/footrace along a specially constructed running track while wearing a short kilt with a tail on the back (bull?).
(Queen Hatshepsut as Pharaoh, Running with the Apis Bull between the Markers. Red Capel, Karnak Egypt)
500
How did Alexander gain permission to enter the Games at Olympia after his Greek competitors wanted him excluded? BONUS points for the AUTHOR and DATE from which this information comes.
He proved “my family is from Argos”, which certified him as a Greek so he could compete.
BONUS - Author: Herodotus, ca. 430 BCE.
500
What do the athletes participating in the hoplitodromos wear?
Hoplite armour - helmet, shield, greaves, NOT spears.
