Welcome to the International Sports Museum and thank you for your support and interest in this exhibit titled: Sports in Antiquity: The Inclusion of Animals in Ancient Greek Athletics. As you look through this fascinating cultural exhibit, you will learn all about the different ways that animals served their purposes through sports that took place in Ancient Greek society. In this exhibit, there are artifacts ranging from horses and bulls, who each individually played such pivotal roles in ancient Greek sport, to dogs who were such loyal companions to the athletes. However, before you go on to view the exhibit and take a brief tour into the world of Ancient Greek athletics, there are a few things that you should know, with the first being simply what the objects are.
The first two objects in the exhibit share a relationship in that they are Kylix , which is the Ancient Greek word for a drinking cup. However, these two objects have two vastly differing styles of art. The third object is unique as in it is a scaraboid of a competitor in the two horse chariot race. And finally, the fourth object in the exhibit is the statuette of a bull.
Now that you know what the objects are, there is something else that you should look out for while viewing this exhibit. You will be able to see artwork done in both black figure and red figure; the two dominating styles of art in Ancient Greece. Initially, black figure painting was the dominant style of art, but when red figure paintings were invented in Athens circa 530 B.C, they soon began to become the more popular style of art (Montgomery, 2012). This is important to know as it helps you better understand how old the painting may be.
Object: Drinking cup (kylix) depicting Herakles wrestling the Nemean lion
Medium: Ceramic, Black Figure
Featured here is a kylix from the 6th century B.C with Herakles wrestling the Nemean lion. Kylix is the ancient Greek word for a drinking cup. Not only is this a beautiful piece of art, but it also depicts one of the great origin stories in history, which is that of the Nemean Games. First, a little background on the Nemean games. These games were founded in honor of Zeus and held every 2 years in Nemea. These games were very prestigious and competitive, and the winners at these games received a wreath of Celery leaves.
This artifact is older than some of the other artifacts in the exhibit. The exact date this artifact was created is unknown, but it is estimated that it was created around 520 B.C. It can be known that this artifact is a little bit older because it features a black figure style of painting.
You may be asking yourselves why Herakles is wrestling a lion and what does it have to do with the Nemean games? Legend has it that Herakles’, the son of Zeus, first labor was to fight and kill the Nemean lion. Herakles was told that if he returned alive in 30 days, the lion will be sacrificed to his father; however, if he did not return in 30 days, a young boy would voluntarily sacrifice himself to Zeus. Thus, Herakles set out to the cave at Mount Tritos, with his bow and arrows to slay the lion. Once Herakles ran upon the Nemean Lion, he struck it with a bow, only to find that the lion’s fur was so protective that it did no damage. Herakles then left the cave and re-entered through the second entrance. Herakles then struck the lion with a club and strangled it to death. Herakles then skinned the lion with its own claw and returned to the city of Nemea to establish the games in honor of his late father, Zeus (Cartwright 2012).
Object: Drinking cup (kylix) depicting an athlete cleaning up and his dog
Medium: Ceramic, Red Figure
The next object in the exhibit is another Kylix, except this time it features an ancient Greek person holding a strigil, accompanied by a dog, some javelins, and a stool. Aside from the fact that he is standing with javelins, it can be understood that this person is a Greek athlete based off of his nude appearance. Almost all ancient Greek sports, with the exception of horse events, were competed in the nude. You could also tell that this figure was an ancient Greek athlete, based off of the strigil that he is holding. A strigil is a tool that is used to scrape sweat and dirt off of a person’s skin. A lot of times athletes would use a strigil after competing in their events. The inside of the artifact is also engraved with “HOPAIS KALOS” which directly translates to “THE BOY IS HANDSOME.” This is interesting as it shows that in antiquity, athletes were viewed as beautiful and some of the best looking members of society.
This piece is one of the more modern in the exhibit as it was estimated to have been created in 480 B.C. Another way to tell that this piece is more modern than the other kylix is by the use of the red figure style of art.
Dogs were used for a multitude of things during ancient Greek society aside from being used as domesticated pets. The majority of dogs were used for hunting and would assist their owners in their kills. Similar to today, the Ancient Greeks viewed dogs as loyal companions who will protect their owners.
Object: Scaraboid with a two-horse chariot
Medium: Chalcedony
Continuing on with the exhibit and you have stumbled upon a gem with an engraving of two horses pulling a chariot. To the Greeks, a Scaraboid is an engraved gem with holes in the sides and used as beads for necklaces. Scaraboids were often given as gifts and usually had a theme to them. The type of gem that you are seeing is a chalcedony. This gem was of abundance in ancient Greece and was often used for decoration and artistic purposes. The theme of this scaraboid is the two horse chariot race, known to the ancient Greeks as synoris. The synoris is a shorter race lasting only 8 laps.
The reason I included this in the exhibit is because horses played such a significant role in ancient Greek athletics. The name for horse events during the ancient Olympic games was hippikos agon. All of these events took place in the hippodrome, which is equivalent to 3 stadia in length. These horse competitions consisted of horseback races, called keles and kalpe , during the ancient Olympic games, but the most popular hippikos agon were the two and four-horse chariot races. The four-horse chariot race was known to the ancient Greeks as Tethrippon and was considered to be a snob sport due to the costs associated with owning a horse. One thing that is important to know it comes to hippikos events is that the winner of the event is considered to be the horse’s owner, rather than the horse or charioteer.
Object: Statuette of a Bull
Medium: Silver
The final artifact included in Sports in Antiquity: The Inclusion of Animals in Ancient Greek Athletics is a statuette of a bull. This is considered a statuette because it is smaller than a statue as the bull is only 5 cm by 5.5 cm. In ancient Greece, statuettes were often made to be displayed in people’s houses and for their own personal enjoyment rather than to be placed on public display. The bull is made out of pure silver and is estimated to be created in the 2nd century A.D. In antiquity, silver was considered valuable and was often traded for since it was not a common element in found in ancient Greece (Cartwright, 2017).
Of all of the animals in ancient Mesopotamia , the bull may have played the most important role. The main use for bulls in ancient Greek athletics is in the event bull leaping. In bull leaping, the athlete would run towards the head of the bull and do an acrobatic flip over the bull’s head with the intent to land stylishly on the bull’s back. Bull leapers were mostly men but it is plausible that some women may have competed in this event as well. It is also believed that bull leaping was a sport for the elites but to many historians, that is still up for debate. Bulls also played a pivotal part in feeding the athletes. Since most athletes were wealthy and meat was considered an expensive food, it was very common for athletes to prefer eating a bull during times of training and competition.