Chariots had been used to carry warriors into battle, and chariot races, along with other sports events, were originally held at the funeral games of heroes, as described in Homer’s Iliad. In ancient Greece only the wealthy could afford to maintain a chariot and horses.
Up to 40 chariots could compete in a race and crashes were common.
Equestrian EventsĬhariot racing was the most popular spectator sport in ancient times. The games at Olympia continued with minor interruptions into early Christian times and were the inspiration for the modern Olympic Games, first staged in Athens in 1896. The games were announced by heralds traveling to all the major Greek cities around the Mediterranean, and hostilities were banned during the period around the Games to safeguard those traveling to and from Olympia. Sacrifices and gifts were offered, and athletes took oaths to obey the rules before a statue of Zeus. Olympia was the most important sanctuary of the god Zeus, and the Games were held in his honor. Greek myth credited the hero Herakles with devising the running races at Olympia to celebrate the completion of one of his twelve labors. The games were held on an official basis every four years from 776 B.C.E., but they probably originated much earlier. The sporting events at Olympia were the oldest and most important of the four national Greek athletic festivals. Crowds watched sports such as running, discus-throwing and the long-jump. and 395 C.E., the Olympic Games, held in honor of the god Zeus, the supreme god of Greek mythology, attracted people from across Greece. By the British Museum (Greece and Rome) / Įvery fourth year between 776 B.C.E.