The long-awaited Olympics 2021 is finally happening. To celebrate, authors John Martino and Michael O’Kane are harking back to the origin of the games.
From chariot racing to ancient Pankration wrestling, find out where your favourite event originated from below!
Chariot Racing
Chariot racing appeared in various forms in the ancient Olympic Games in 680BC. Of all it’s incarnations, the four horse chariot race is considered to have been the most prestigious. Harnessed to four horses, the drivers competed in single axle vehicles standing upright in a chariot ‘basket’, which was open at the back.
In the ancient Olympics, the chariots raced 12 times around the track – a distance of 14,000 metres. As in modern horse racing, charioteers sought to gain control of the inside track, making it difficult for those behind them to pass. Thinking about the thunder of the hooves and the roar of the crowd as they competed for the inside lane, it is not hard to imagine why chariot racing was so wildly popular in ancient times
When the race was won, the winning horses and charioteers were celebrated (being presented with a woollen band), yet the real glory went to the owners of the winning team, who were presented with the laurel wreath.
Horse Racing
As with all equestrian events, horse racing in the ancient Olympics took place in the Hippodrome, a racing track consisting of a long circuit in which two straight lengths of track were connected at each end by a sharp curve around a stone pillar.
The ancient Olympics included the Keles, a race for mature horses (from 648 BC), the Kalpe, a trotting race for mares (from 496 BC) and a race for foals (from 256 BC). The riders in these events did not the benefit of a saddle or stirrups, so much skill was need to stay on the horses as they rounded the pillars at each end of the track.
Interestingly, there was also an event called the Anabates, in which the rider ran alongside his horse throughout the race. Like many other events, this suggests that the Anabates evolved from a military exercise. Certainly, most of the competitors in the early ancient Olympic games were, indeed, soldiers.
Mounted Javelin
The Javelin, as used in the ancient Olympics, was slightly different to the modern equipment. They were made of wood and weights at the fore-end to provide a smooth flight and predictable trajectory when thrown. The ancient Greeks also used a leather thong for launching the javelin. The thong was wrapped around the shaft either at its centre of gravity or where ever its wielder thought it would provide the most advantage to his particular throwing style. The thong was released by the fingers upon launching and the javelin sailed without it, rotating as it went.
While the ancient Olympics included a javelin throwing event much like that of the modern Olympics, it featured a mounted javelin event in which competitors would gallop towards a target and, at a point marked on the track, release their javelins towards the target at full speed. This must have been an extraordinary spectacle to watch as it involved both accuracy with the javelin and superb equestrian skills.
Pankration
Pankration, meaning ‘all force’ or ‘all powers’, was a combat sport combining wrestling and boxing. In this form of fighting, everything except biting, gouging and attacking the genitals was permitted. In this event, the combatants fought bare-handed, unlike the boxers, who bound their hands. The pankration was a demanding and dangerous event which had both an upright and a ground wrestling form. In the upright form, a pankratiast was declared the victor winner when their opponent was forced to touch the ground three times. In the ground wrestling form, a pankratiast was declared the victor when their opponent was either forced to submit or lost consciousness. As with boxing and wrestling, the pankration was attended by referees armed with switches to chastise those fighters who broke the rules or attempted to fight beyond the pit.
Not surprisingly, pankration was wildly popular with spectators as it was regarded as the most comprehensive test of combat skills in the Greek sporting world. Indeed, one can speculate that the pankration combined all of the necessary hand to hand combat skills needed for the soldiery of the ancient Greek world.
Olympia: The Birth of the Games
By John Martino and Michael O’Kane
This is the untold story of the founding of the Olympic Games. In ancient Greece and across the Mediterranean, kingdoms strive for dominance. At Olympia, the peace of the temple precinct is an island of calm in a sea of turmoil. There is one amongst the Greeks who sees light where others only perceive darkness. One who sees that there is another way to settle conflict – with honour and courage. One who will set aflame a torch that will burn for thousands of years, down through the ages. In an epoch of chaos and strife, a new force for peace is born.
Authors
Dr. John A. Martino is a disabled veteran, honourably discharged from the Australian Defence Force. He wrote his PhD in Classical History through Monash University and The University of Melbourne (with assistance from UNAM in Mexico City and ANU in Canberra) on martial violence in the Old World and the New. He has since sought ‘solutions’ to humanity’s endemic warlike ways; this novel is the culmination of that yearning.
Dr Michael O’Kane is an experienced field anthropologist who has worked extensively with Australian Aboriginal communities across Australia. He has also conducted field research with environmentalists in the Republic of Ireland and with farmers throughout Victoria. Michael is a published academic author who has held various lecturing, tutoring, and research positions. He is also a keen student of the art of boxing and the texts of stoic philosophy and is fascinated by the ancient world and its impact on today’s reality.
Addison & Highsmith | 9781592110964 | Hardback | £24.99
Available through Casemate UK
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