Ancient Olympians were famous for their strength and agility, but were there any women among these athletes, and were there other sporting opportunities in which ancient Greek women could compete?
The Ancient Olympic Games involved people from all over Greece, and sometimes from all over Greece, and lasted from about 776 BC to 393 AD. During most of this period, restrictions on women appear to have been strict, writes Pausanias, a writer who lived in the second century CE. He said there was a law to throw “women caught taking part in the Olympic Games” off a cliff (translated by William Jones and Henry Ormerod).
Although the ancient Olympics were largely off-limits to women, there were other athletic events in which women could participate, especially those involving running. The games were held at Olympia in the Peloponnese, where a series of foot races were also held called Heraia (also spelled Helaia) in honor of the goddess Hera.
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Pausanias wrote that “the contest was a running event for unmarried girls”, had three different age categories (translated by Waldo Sweet), and was held at Olympia every four years.
“This is how they run, with their hair down and their tunics hanging just above their knees, exposing their right shoulder to their chest,” Pausanias wrote. Depictions of women engaged in athletic activities wearing such clothing have been found in ancient Greek artifacts.
“To the victor I will give a crown of olive leaves and a share of the cattle dedicated to Hera,” Pausanias wrote, adding that the victor could also “erect a statue with his name engraved on it.” Foot races between women were also held at other ancient Greek sites.
Women also participated in chariot teams (consisting of one driver and four horses) in ancient competitions, including the Olympics, but they did not necessarily drive chariots. With rare exceptions, they were also not allowed to watch the Olympics.
However, as owners of the tank team, they were able to claim victory. Kiniska, sister of the King of Sparta, became the first female winner of an Olympic competition when her chariot team won in 396 BC. Kiniska owned and bred the winning horse. An inscription on the statue’s pedestal states that she was “the only Panhellenic woman” to win an Olympic title (translated by Donald Kyle).
Ancient documents and archaeological remains show that women also participated in other sports such as wrestling. Evidence of formal women’s competitions is limited, but that does not mean they did not occur.
Heather Reed, a professor emeritus at Morningside College in Iowa, told Live Science in an email that “there is documentary evidence that women engaged in activities such as wrestling for educational purposes, especially in Sparta.”
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In fact, in Sparta, young women were required to practice wrestling, among other sports, to build and maintain their muscles. The ancient poet Propertius, who lived in the 1st century BC, wrote, “I was impressed that a naked girl could participate in a match without criticism in the midst of male wrestlers” (translated by Waldo Sweet). He also wrote that Spartan women practiced pankration, an ancient mixed martial art.
After marriage
It appears that the number of sports competitions in which women could participate after marriage was limited. “Women’s athletics, like men’s athletics, appears to have arisen out of a rite of passage. For women, that rite involved the transition from child to parthenos, or marriageable woman,” Reid said. Reed noted that even married women who own chariot racing teams may be able to claim victory as owners.
Georgia Zoubara, a history professor at Illinois State University, said married Spartan women may have been able to compete in some competitions.
“I think it might have been possible if the competition had been held locally,” Tuvala told Live Science via email. “For example, we know that Spartan women continued to use the gymnasium and palaestra. [wrestling school] Even after getting married and pregnant. ”
greece under roman rule
During Roman rule in Greece, which began in the 2nd century BC, the number of women’s athletics competitions appears to have increased, and records mentioning women’s foot races also increased.
Onno van Naijf, professor of ancient history at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, said it was not clear why the number of female competitors increased during Roman times. “The Romans had an ambivalent attitude towards Greek athletics, but a real explanation for this phenomenon has not yet been established,” he told Live Science in an email.
There are many Roman artifacts that mention Greek female athletes. One of the inscriptions describes a woman named Hedea, who lived in the 1st century AD and won several foot races and chariot races, and was granted Athenian citizenship for her victories.
Another inscription from the late 1st century AD from Kos mentions members of the island’s wrestling school. All of the names are male, except for a female named Heterea Procyra. She and the other wrestlers are listed as “presbyteroi,” a name that “can refer to a mature individual, but it can also refer to an important member of the city,” Tsvala said.
It is unknown whether she competed with the men on the island, and we know little about her. “From the inscription we can infer that she was a member of the elite and a Roman citizen,” Tuvala said.
One of the most well-known extant artifacts thought to depict female athletes in ancient Greece is the “Runner of the Vatican” (also known as the “Running Girl” or “Atalanta Barberini”). This work, which dates back about 2,000 years, depicts a young woman wearing a chiton, a type of dress similar to the one described by Pausanias, who appears to be running a race. It is currently housed in the Vatican Museums.
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