The festival was from the first under the charge of the Eleians. But so liberal a policy did this nation adopt and pursue that people from neighboring states were glad to send competitors. Rapidly the custom of resorting to the games spread to more distant states. From an Eleian event, the festival became Peloponnesian, and finally Panhellenic. The Athenians and Thebans at a very early date achieved splendid victories in these games. The Theban Pagondas was crowned victor in the four-horse chariot race in the 25th Olympiad, when for the first time this was a feature of the festival. Thus one state after another turned its attention to the venerable celebration, and if it happened that a citizen of one state was crowned victor in a contest, interest in the games was sure to be increased in that locality. Even in the absence of positive evidence it would be contrary to reason to suppose that the games were originally established as they existed at the time of Pindar. In fact, the different features were added successively. According to a fairly reliable tradition, there was originally and for twelve following Olympiads only one contest: the δρόμος, a foot-race consisting of a single lap of a stadion of two hundred yards. About 720 B. C., according to the tradition, was added the δίαυλος, a race in which the stadion was traversed twice. Soon afterward was added the δόλιχος, or long race, consisting of seven, then of twelve and perhaps twenty-four laps. The next contest to be introduced was the wrestling-match. In the same year that wrestling was introduced, about the 18th Olympiad, the pentathlon made its appearance. This feature, though consisting of five contests--leaping, spear-throwing, diskos-pitching, running and wrestling--was nevertheless a single event, inasmuch as victory in one contest alone was not rewarded; an athlete to be crowned victor in the pentathlon must win at least three of the contests. Boxing and the chariot race are said to have been added in the 23d Olympiad. Thus the games grew more elaborate, and the time over which they extended was increased from a single day to five or six.