Ancient Olympics

The ancient Greek Olympics were just as enmeshed in international politics, national rivalriesand commercial pressures as their modern counterpart, says David Gribble.

BronzeI

n the first Olympic games ofthe modern era,held in Athens in 1896, the marathon was won bya Greek, Spiridon Louys. As he entered theOlympic stadium the audience erupted in cheers

and Prince Constantine and Prince George of Greecehurried to the track to accompany him to the finish.Among the crowd was the French writer CharlesMaurras, who remarked to Pierre de Coubertin, the

founder ofthe modern Olympic nio\enient: 'Isee that your internation-

alism does not kill

national spirit, it strengthens it.' The ability of anOh'mpic victory to contribute to national prestige wasevident for ihe first time in the modern era.

The Olympics are an international showca.se ofnational achievement. International sports festivalsncc(.l slates tu host them and participate in them. I'heyalso need tnone)' to pay the athletes, .stage the compe-tition and fmanee the national displa)'. The inauguralyames of 189(i would not have been possible withoutthe political intervention of Prince Constantine or thefinancial sponsorship ofthe Greek businessman and

philanthropist George Averoft. Whether we likeit or not, international sport is

Opening ofthe games:the entrance to theancient Olympicstadium. Elis.

Ancient Olympics

tied up in nationalism, politics and finance. By the1970s the Olympics would be subject to Cold Warboycotts, commercialisation, even, inMunich in 1972, terrorism.

At no time was the political and financialelement of the games more apparent than inthe ancient Olympics when the power andcultural achievement of Athens was at itspeak, the city locked in competition with itsgreat rival, Sparta. In the games of 416 BCAthens went head to head with Sparta in acompetitive display organised and financedby its most prominent, flamboyant anddangerous citizen, Alcibiades (c.450-404 BC).It was a performance intended to demon-strate Athens' power and wealth to the Greekworld. Alcibiades succeeded in eclipsing hisrivals, but the performance would help bringabout not just his own downfall but also thatof Athens.

Greek cold warBy the time of the Olympic games of 420 BC Athens wasin its prime. Having defeated the Persians at Salamis in480 BC, it controlled an Aegean empire reaching to theGreek cities of Asia Minor. Empire brought wealthfrom tribute and commerce, in tlie form of silverreserves, which enriched its leading citizens and thestate itself, allowing it to maintain a fleet that dwarfedthose of its rivals and to fund huge building projects.

Athens had not, however, succeeded in dealingwith Sparta, its ally in the war against the Persians.Where democratic Athens dominated at sea,oligarchic Sparta was the major force on land, at thehead of an alliance of cities which bitterly resentedAthens' rise to power. This led to a series of conflicts,the latest of which had just ended inconclusively in thePeace of Nicias (421 BC) . But it was an uneasy peace.Wliile observing the treaty in name the rival citiesjockeyed for position diplomatically. The Atheniansattempted to exploit rivalries among Sparta's allies,creating an Athenian-led grouping in the Pélopon-nèse. In effect it was a cold war between the two Greek'superpowers', with the majority of Greek cities linedup behind one or the other.

One of Athens' new allies in the Péloponnèse wasElis, a small city which would have had little militaryor strategic importance but for one thing: the Eleanscontrolled Olympia and it was they who hosted andorganised the greatest religious and national event ofthe Greek world, the Olympics.

The Eleans had a long-running boundary disputewith Sparta, so they jumped at the chance to join thenew Athenian alliance. Shortly before the games of420 BC they took a further step: they banned the Spar-tans from competing in the games and forbade themfrom carrying out sacrifices in the temple of Zeus atOlympia, citing a technical breach by Sparta of theOlympic truce. With Sparta excluded from the festival,the new anti-Spartan Athenian-led alliance wasformalised at the games. The alliance was recorded ona bronze pillar erected on the site.

This was a humiliation for Sparta. Modern

Wrestiing with the past: aGreek stamp commemoratesthe first modern OlympicGames, 1896.

Harnessing power: aQuadriga (four-horsechariot) race on a Greekamphora c. 525 BC.

'political' boycotts of the Olympics, like the US-ledCold War boycott of the 1980 Moscow games, or of

the 1984 Los Angeles games by Sovietbloc countries, aim at the political exclu-sion of the sanctioned nation from theinternational community. In the Greekworld the Olympic festival was above all areligious event, dominated by the greatsacrifice to Zeus, attended by religiousdelegations (theoroi) from the Greek citiestaking part. A city's participation at thefestival and its sacrifice demonstrated thatit belonged to the religious and culturalcommunity of Greeks.

The Spartans took their exclusion soseriously that they contemplated usingforce in order to participate in the sacri-fice. The anti-Spartan alliance respondedby sending its own soldiers to the festival,including a troop of Athenian cavalry.

This intrusion of interstate politicalrivalry to the festival was by no means

untypical. (In 364 Bc; the festival was interrupted byan armed battle for control of the Olympic sitebetween the Eleans and their rivals from nearby Pisain the western Péloponnèse.) The ancient Olympicswere not only an expression and definition ofcommon cultural values, but also an arena forintense competition between Greeks. The festival'sshared rituals emphasised the commonality of theparticipating cities, but the competition of sport andspending also displayed their rival power and wealth.The Olympic site was itself a showcase for thecommon religious identity of the participants as wellas the conflicts between them, decorated not justwith temples and statues of gods and athletes butalso commemorations of previous inter-city wars.The festival took place against a backdrop of memo-rials celebrating the victory of city over city, wherecivic wealth and status, in bronze, marble andtreasure, was conspicuously displayed. Olympia wasalso a site for rival orators to show off their skills;some of their speeches survive. The orators called for

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Ancient Olympics

the Greeks to forget their differences and uniteagainst the common enemy of barbarians or tyrants.Their speeches show that, like us, the Greeks wereconcerned by the disparity between the display ofcultural solidarity at the festival and the reality ofconflict outside it, not because of a notion that sportshould have nothing to do with politics but ratherbecause wars between the Greeks flew in the face ofthe panhellenic unity ofthe festival.

There was a consolation of sorts for the Spartansin the 420 Olympic festival in the chariot race. Thiswas the most prestigious and exciting of all Olympicevents. Over 40 four-horse chariots took part,financed by the richest men of Greece. The event hadbeen dominated by the Spartans since the Persianwars: an investment by Sparta's leading citizens thathelped to demonstrate their state's power. In 420 aleading Spartan, Lichas, financed and entered a teamin the name of Sparta's allies, the Boeotians. It won.Lichas came forward himself to receive the prizedespite the Elean ban (which apparently forbadeSpartans from competing in but not attending thegames). It was an attempt to demonstrate the domi-nance of Sparta by flouting the ban in the face ofthe

Olympic village: Leonidaionat Olympia, built in 350 BCto accommodate officialvisitors to the games.

anti-Spartan alliance. But the attempt misfired: theangry Elean judges had Lichas whipped.

This was the moment where everyone fearedSpartan troops would move in to take control ofthefestival, the moment where cold war could haveturned hot at the Olympic festival itself. But the super-stitious Spartans refrained from breaking the Olympictruce, swallowed their humiliation and took no action.

Athens' revengeBy the time the Greeks were getting ready for the nextOlympic festival of 416 the situation in Greece lookedvery different. The Spartans had restored their prideand reasserted their dominance in the Péloponnèse bydefeating their rivals at the battle of Mantinea in 418.The peace between Athens and Sparta was still in force,though more uneasily than ever. The thoughts of someAthenians were already turning to another adventure:the conquest of Sicily. If Spartan domination oftheGreek mainland could not be ended through hiving ofl̂Spartan allies, perhaps Athens could create a morepowerful empire abroad and use it to defeat the Spartanthreat at home.

The Greeks awaited the 416 festival with great

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excitement. How would the conflict be playedout? What would the Athenians do, after thedefeat at Mantinea?

Enter Alcibiades: adopted son of Pericles and asso-ciate of Socrates, he was the foremost leader of thosein Athens who favoured war and imperial expansion.Young, aristocratic, warlike and intensely ambitious,he had won conspicuous awards for personal valourin battle. It was he who had been behind the policy offorming the anti-Spartan alliance. He was also one ofthe richest men in Athens, with a reputation for adissolute lifestyle and for spending more than hecould afford. His spending was not just aboutpersonal luxury (though allegedly there was plenty ofthat) but, as for all Greek political leaders, was ameans to secure political prominence and influence.In his spending he aimed at securing his influencewith the Athenian people and the wider Greek worldin competition with his rival, Nicias, who was fore-most among those who favoured peace and was thearchitect ofthe peace treaty with Sparta.

What Alcibiades spent most on was chariotracing: he certainly had the credentials for it. Thiswas a sport with intensely aristocratic associations,a game for the super-rich (comparable to today'sAmerica's Cup yacht race, for example). Thecompetitor did not take part personally, so didnot need to sully himself in the dusty stadiumwith his inferiors. It was not a physicalcompetition but an economic one. Thehorses had to be bred and then sent,along with their retinue, halfway acrossGreece to compete. The owner was alsoexpected to organise feasts and hospitality, to erectmagnificent pavilions and entertain prominentfigures. Themistocles, who had led the Athenians tovictory at Salamis, was said to have incurredridicule by taking part in horse racing at thepanheilenic festivals because he was not sufficientlywell-born. Chariot racing was a competition ofquality for men not just of enormous wealth butalso ofthe right stock.

We know quite a lot about Alcibiades' participationin the 416 festival: the fame and controversies itcaused were to reverberate in court cases and speechesfor years and from them we can reconstruct much ofwhat happened.

Alcibiades had already notched up chariot victoriesat other major Greek festivals. Now, for the 416Olympics, he began to plan a display the like of whichhad never been seen in the Greek world. He wouldenter seven chariots in the prestigious race and wouldmatch this sporting expenditure with a lavish enter-tainment that would eclipse that of his rivals.

The motivation for the ruinous expenditureAlcibiades planned was threefold. In the first placethere was the chance of honour for himself, hisfamily and his ancestors. Second, it would demon-strate the brilliance and sheer spending power ofAthens, snatching the olive crown for the chariotrace from the Spartans after the upset of 420 andending their dominance ofthe event. Alcibiades,encouraging the Athenians to send a force to Sicily

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Ancient Olympics

Naked ambition: a bronzestatuette c. 450 BC after thefifth-century discusthrower by Myron.

with him in command, tells them: 'TheGreeks regarded our city as greater,

perhaps even in excess of its power, as aresult of the magnificence of what Iachieved at the Olympics, where theyhad previously thought that it had been

worn down by the war.'Finally, the victory would help estab-

lish his own political dominance inAthens. There is nothing to compare in

'• the modern world, in the realm of sportor elsewhere, with the almost godlikestatus an ancient Olympic victor couldachieve: not just fame, but kudos, atalismanic status, which led cities toappoint victors to military commandsor found colonies, even, after their

death, to establish cults in their honourBut it was a status that might just as easily

lead to fear, suspicion and jealousy. We hearof many Olympic victors coming to a stickyend, not that this worried Alcibiades. An unfor-gettable Olympic victory would massivelyenhance his status in Athens, lead to preferment

over his rival Nicias and make him a householdname throughout the Greek world.

Raising the cashTo do all this Alcibiades needed money. AnOlympic-quality chariot team seems to have costmore than five talents (a talent represents the wagesof a skilled worker for nine years). Alcibiades putseven chariots into the running, enormously expen-sive in capital cost alone, leaving aside the logisticaland personnel costs. Only a handful of individualsin the Greek world had such means.

To get this kind of money Alcibiades needed theassistance of others. His connections with the ultra-rich horse-racing family of Hipponicus, whosedaughter Alcibiades had just married, doubtlesshelped him. Other wealthy Athenian friends andallies contributed. We know this because two of themlater sued him, after his subsequent disgrace andexile. They alleged that Alcibiades entered teamsbelonging to other people as his own.

Fierce competition: a redfigured kylix showingwrestlers and boxerstraining c. 490-480 BC.

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Ancient Olympics

In addition he seems to have pioneered akind of sponsorship, getting cities fromAthens' empire (or prominent citizens fromwithin them) to help with costs. TheAegean city of Chios, for example,provided provisions for the horses.

Other cities provided the wherewithalfor the lavish entertainment. Alcibiadesneeded in the first place a great pavilion —which the city of Ephesus in Asia Minorprovided for him. There was no accommoda-tion for the public at the Olympic festival in thefifth century BC and visitors had to camp as bestthey could - up to 80,000 of them in a tent citywithout sanitation or bathing facilities. So theordinary citizens as well as rich individuals erectedtents, which served as accommodation for them-selves and their retinue and the site of theirhospitality.

Next he sought offerings for the victorysacrifice, which would then provide themeat for the feast; these were provided bythe inhabitants of Chios. Finally the wineand the other costs of the feast came fromthe island of Lesbos.

The motivation for this 'sponsorship' wasprobably the same as it is today - the association ofone's name with 'Team Athens' or'Team Alcibiades'.Today corporations sponsoring America's cup teamspay five million dollars just to put their company markon a spinnaker. For Alcibiades' sponsors, however, thepayback would not be in commercial benefit, but inpolitical capital.

Singing his praisesThe games were a triumph for Alcibiades. His expen-diture, planning, innovation and, perhaps, sharp prac-tice paid off. No other Greek before or after entered somany teams or ones of such quality. Not only did hewin the chariot race but his teams also came secondand fourth (or third, in one tradition).

Alcibiades' celebrations and hospitality were on asimilarly massive scale. From his pavilion he held agreat feast, open to the whole festival. This seems tohave taken place on the morning of the third day,the day after his chariot race victory. This was alsothe day of the procession and sacrifice to Zeus, thehighpoint of the religious festival, attended by reli-gious delegates from all the Greek cities, includingAthens, culminating in the sacrifice of one hundredoxen at Zeus's great ash altar. The slaughter was'watched' by the great gold and ivory covered Zeusstatue, one of the seven wonders of the ancientworld. Alcibiades' own victory sacrifice must havebeen on a scale to match the public sacrifice. As wehave seen, the people of Chios provided the beasts,but Alcibiades also had help from the officialAthenian delegation itself, who lent him the city'sown sacrificial vessels, the same ones used by thecity in the panhellenic procession.

Finally, in celebration of his victory (and perhapsfor performance at the Olympic feast itself), Alcibi-ades commissioned a Pindaric epinician ode, like the

Sponsor of the games: aRoman bust of Alcibiades.

Bodies beautiful: Greekathletes exercising in agymnasium, c. 510 BC.

victors of old, allegedly composed byEuripides, a fragment of which survives:

/ wonder at you, son ofKleinias. Fine is thevictory, but the finest is, which no other of theGreeks has achieved, to run first and second

and third with the chariot, and to go effortlessly,crowned with Zeus's olive, to give the shout tothe herald.

Money and sportThe Olympics took place in August 416. By earlythe following year the Athenians were already plan-ning their expedition against Sicily and Alcibiades,

exalted by the status of an Olympic victor, hadhimself elected one of its commanders. 'My victory

gives me a greater right than others to hold office',he told the Athenians.

But the victory caused as much suspicionand fear as it did admiration. His enemiesstarted to ask questions about how the victoryand its celebration had been achieved.

In the first place there were concerns abouthow the money was raised. Modern spending

concerns about the Olympics centre on a dislike ofcommercialisation, that sport should not be contam-

inated with money and a fear that the games will bedominated by corporations. The Greeks had no issueswith festivals being funded by rich individuals (norwere they concerned about the funding of athletesthrough commercial means: they had no concept ofamateurism). But they were concerned about the powerand influence the elite funders would gain as a result. InAthens there was an established system to encourageand control civic spending by individuals ('liturgies').Indeed it was such a liturgy that ftinded the officialAthenian religious delegation to the Olympics. Alcibi-ades' spending at Olympia bypassed the liturgy system.Moreover his personal spending clearly exceeded that ofAthens itself (the official civic delegation was a relativelysmall scale affair). His pavilion was 'twice as big' as thatof the Athenian pavilion, according to his enemies. Far

22 History Today | August 2012 www.historytoday.com

Ancient Olympics

From the Archive.Olympic Self-

H i [SacrificePaul Cartledge

explores the differencesbetween today's interpretationofthe Olympic Games andtheir significance in theancient world.www.iiistorytoday.com/archive

To the winner the spoils:Winged Victory crowns anathlete, from a kylix ofthefifth century BC.

firom demonstrating the power ofthe city, Alcibiadeswas eclipsing it. They also made the city look foolishbefore its allies and the Greek world. The cities whosponsored Alcibiades were supposed to be the subject-allies of Athens. At Olympia it looked like they werepersonally subject to Alcibiades.

People also asked uncomfortable questions aboutAlcibiades' use ofthe Athenian sacred vessels for hisown sacrifice. His enemies claimed that once again itshowed Alcibiades usurping the city.

Those who did not know that tiw vessels were ours,thought that we were using his vessels, whiie those whohad been told they were his, held us in ridicule, seeingone man more powerful than the whole city.

There was also the sheer scale ofthe personal expendi-ture and the evident effect ofthe victory on Alcibiades'already unbearable ambition and ego. His rival Niciasurged the Athenians not to trust a man who spent onsuch an uncontrollable scale. For the historianThucydides, Alcibiades' expenditure was one ofthemain causes ofthe downfall of Athens. As a result of itand the attitude it suggested people began to fear hewas aiming to make himself tyrant. Just before theSicilian expedition set sail Alcibiades was implicated inthe scandal ofthe mutilation of statues of Hermes andprofanation ofthe sacred Eleusinian mysteries, whichhad been carried out in sacrilegious sport by Atheniandrinking clubs. He was called to stand trial. Fearing hewould not receive justice, he defected to the Spartansand was condemned and disgraced in absentia.Robbed of its guiding light and undermined by the

information Alcibiades gave the Spartans, the Athenianexpedition to Sicily was annihilated in 413.

Incredibly the Athenians survived the loss andheld out against the Spartans and their allies foranother 10 years. They were even persuaded to recallAlcibiades for a time as commander-in-chief Butfinally in 404 iîC the Spartans and their allies defeatedAthens and dismantled the Athenian empire.

In 416 Alcibiades had put on a spectacular displayof his own power and that of Athens, but the Athe-nians feared and resented his power and arrogance.Within three years he had been disgraced and exiled,the city's power shattered. The Olympic festival hadbeen shaped by and had helped to shape internationalpolitics. It is a story familiar to us today.

David Gribble is the author oi Alcibiades and Athens: A Studyin Literary Presentation (Oxford Classical Monographs, 1999).

Further Reading

David Gribble, 'Alcibiades at the Olympics: Performance,Politics and Civic Ideology^ in Classical Quarterly 62.^(Cambridge Journals, 2012).

David Stuttard, Power Games: Ritual and Rivalry at ttteAncient Greek Olympics (British Museum Press, 2012).

Nigel Spivey, The Ancient Oiympics: War Minus the Stiooting(Oxford University Press, 2004).

J.D.G. Kyle, Sport and Spectacie in the Ancient World {OxfordUniversity Press, 2007).

T. Perrotet, The Naked Olympics (Random House, 2004).

J. Hatzfeld, Alcibiade (Presses Universitaires de France, 1940).

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