_I.G._ Inscriptions Graecae. _Jahrb._ Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts. _J.H.S._ Journal of Hellenic Studies. Krause, _Gym._ J. H. Krause, Die Gymnastik und Agonistik der Hellenen. _Mon. d. I._ Monumenti dell’ Instituto. _Ol._ Olympia. Die Ergebnisse der Ausgrabung. _Ol. Ins._ Die Inschriften von Olympia = Textb. v. of “Die Ergebnisse.” _Ox. Pap._ Grenfell and Hunt, Oxyrhynchus Papyri. _Rev. Arch._ Revue Archéologique. _Röm. Mitth._ Mittheilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abtheilung. PART I A HISTORY OF GREEK ATHLETICS AND ATHLETIC FESTIVALS FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 393 A.D. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY The recent revival of the Olympic games is a striking testimony to the influence which ancient Greece still exercises over the modern world, and to the important place which athletics occupied in the life of the Greeks. Other nations may have given equal attention to the physical education of the young; other nations may have been equally fond of sport; other nations may have produced individual athletes, individual performances equal or superior to those of the Greeks, but nowhere can we find any parallel to the athletic ideal expressed in the art and literature of Greece, or to the extraordinary vitality of her athletic festivals. The growth of this ideal, and the history of the athletic festivals, are the subject of the following chapters. The athletic ideal of Greece is largely due to the practical character of Greek athletics. Every Greek had to be ready to take the field at a moment’s notice in defence of hearth and home, and under the conditions of ancient warfare his life and liberty depended on his physical fitness. This is especially true of the earlier portion of Greek history, but is more or less true of the whole period with which we are concerned. Greece was never free from war—wars of faction, wars of state against state, wars against foreign invaders—and ancient warfare made no distinction between combatants and non-combatants. Every citizen was a soldier, physical fitness was a necessity to him, and his athletic exercises were admirably calculated to produce this fitness. Running and jumping made him active and sound of wind; throwing the diskos and the spear trained hand and eye for the use of weapons; wrestling and boxing taught him to defend himself in hand-to-hand warfare.