The festival was conducted by judges, called Hellanodikai, elected by the people of Elis a year beforehand. The number of these judges was about ten; they were expected to give close attention to their duties. Thirty days before the festival, candidates for the various contests presented themselves before the Hellanodikai for examination. In order that the name of a candidate could be considered, he must prove himself to be of pure Hellenic stock, and must give evidence of having practised in a gymnasium for ten months previously; finally, the candidate must practise for thirty days in the great gymnasium of Elis, under the supervision of the Hellanodikai. The names of those who were able to satisfy the judges were placed on a white board which was exposed to view at Olympia. After an athlete had been entered for a contest, it was considered the greatest ignominy for him to withdraw for any reason; indeed, for so doing he was heavily fined. Theagenes, an athlete of wide fame, was unable to enter the pankration because he had been disabled in the boxing-match; but inasmuch as he had had his name entered for both events, he was fined. Eleven days before the festival, the Hellanodikai caused to be proclaimed by heralds throughout all the cities of Hellas the truce, sacred to Olympian Zeus, which was to last a month. It was this truce that made the Olympia possible as a Panhellenic institution. During the month that followed the proclamations of the heralds, all wars between Hellenic states were held in abeyance, and travellers were allowed to journey through them unmolested. The awful name of Zeus coupled with the decrees of rulers made this truce effective. During the eleven days pilgrims from all over Hellas were approaching Olympia. Some of the scenes may be imagined. In the language of Professor Percy Gardner: “From all the shores of the Mediterranean and the Euxine seas the Greek colonies sent deputations to represent them at the games, to bear offerings to the temple, and to perform sacrifices on their behalf. And the Greeks readily took a tinge from the land wherein they dwelt. There were dwellers on the northern shore of the Black Sea, to whom continual intercourse and frequent intermarriage with their Scythian neighbors gave almost the aspect of nomads; and colonists from Massilia, who in dress and blood were half Gauls. There were people from Cyrene, with the hot blood and dark complexions of Africa, and oriental Ionians, with trailing robes and effeminate airs. There were rude pirates from Acarnania, and delicate sensualists from Cyprus.” To give a detailed account of the competitions at each of the great festivals would involve much unnecessary repetition. That held at Olympia, therefore, may be taken as the type and the ideal of the others. But even at Olympia, the celebrations of which have been most widely written of both by ancient and modern scholars, it is not always easy to determine the exact order of the various contests.