Athletic games were held in different parts of Greece from a remote period. The most famous games were those in honor of Zeus at Olympia in Elis. They took place every fourth year, in midsummer. [18] A sacred truce was proclaimed for an entire month, in order that the thousands of spectators from every part of Greece might arrive and depart in safety. No one not of Greek blood and no one convicted of crime or of the sin of impiety might participate in the contests. The candidates had also to prove that they were qualified for the severe tests by a long and hard training. Once accepted as competitors, they could not withdraw. The man who shrank back when the hour of trial arrived was considered a coward and was punished with a heavy fine. THE CONTESTS The games occupied five days, beginning with the contests in running. There was a short-distance dash through the length of the stadium, a quarter-mile race, and also a longer race, probably for two or three miles. Then followed a contest consisting of five events: the long jump, hurling the discus, throwing the javelin, running, and wrestling. It is not known how victory in these five events taken together was decided. In the long jump, weights like dumb-bells were held in the hands, the swing of the weights being used to assist the spring. The discus, which weighed about twelve pounds, was sometimes hurled more than one hundred feet. The javelin was thrown either by the hand alone or with the help of a thong wound about the shaft and held in the fingers. In wrestling, three falls were necessary for a victory. The contestants were free to get their grip as best they could. Other contests included boxing, horse races, and chariot races. Women were apparently excluded from the games, yet they were allowed to enter horses for the races and to set up statues in honor of the victors. [Illustration: THE DISCUS THROWER (DISCOBOLUS) (Lancelotti Palace, Rome) Marble copy of the bronze original by Myron, a sculptor of the fifth century B.C. Found in 1781 A.D. on the Esquiline Hill, Rome. The statue represents a young man, perhaps an athlete at the Olympian games, who is bending forward to hurl the discus. His body is thrown violently to the left with a twisting action that brings every muscle into play.] THE VICTOR'S REWARD The Olympian festival was profoundly religious, because the display of manly strength was thought to be a spectacle most pleasing to the gods. The winning athlete received only a wreath of wild olive at Olympia, but at home he enjoyed the gifts and veneration of his fellow-citizens. Poets celebrated his victories in noble odes. Sculptors reproduced his triumphs in stone and bronze. To the end of his days he remained a distinguished man.