The sport lost its popularity after the fall of Rome and the Nika riots. Olive oil, bronze, silver, and even corn were given out as prizes. The chariot would topple over as other teams raced past, crashing the rider in the event.Īncient Greek chariot races were also held during festivals mostly for public entertainment. Extremely sharp and dangerous, these turns would turn lethal for many riders. The most dangerous part of these races was the turns. The ride was not a smooth one, what with only an axle supporting the entire cart. Historically, 776 BC has been established as the beginning of the games, based on. However, the alternative myth claims Heracles founded the games. The first states the games were based around king Pelop’s victory against Oenomaus in a chariot race. War chariot was modified and made use of in these races. There are two Greek myths regarding the foundation of the ancient Olympics. The Chariots in ancient Greece:Ĭhariots were basically wood carts with open back and two wheels. However, Spartan Cynisca who was the daughter Archidamus II is known to have been a winner twice. Women were neither allowed to watch nor participate in the ancient Greece chariot races. This prevented them from getting hurt and kept away dust.
Xyztis, a sleeved garment up to the knees tied with a belt at the waist was worn by them. The charioteers did not race naked, unlike in other events. Mostly young and light weighted teenage boys were chosen. Some say they could also be their slaves or even hired professionals. If there were any visible defects, or the child looked weak, it was taken to mount Taygetos, and left to die, owing to this harsh custom, women far outnumbered men in ancient Sparta.Ĭynisca, whose name means “ little puppy”, being a wealthy Spartan princess, would have perfected her equestrian expertise, through her daily habit of overseeing all the land she owned, on horseback, a sight unprecedented anywhere in the ancient world.Ĭynisca, sporting legend, successful trainer and owner of a champion chariot team, at the age of around forty, proved herself to be as worthy as any man, when, at the Olympic Games of 396 BC, she employed male charioteers to drive the horses she trained (a man employed by a woman must have been unthinkable to the rest of Greece back then) and won the four-horse chariot race ( tethrippon Greek : τέθριππον).Īnd, as if that was not enough proof, she did it all over again at the 392 BC Olympics, even men were astounded at her achievements.The charioteers are believed to be the family members of the owners. Soon after birth, male babies of Sparta, were bathed in wine and if they survived this, were taken to the elders, who decided if the child was strong enough to become a Spartan.
Outside of Sparta, they had a reputation for promiscuity and controlling their husbands and unlike Athenian women Spartan women could legally own and inherit property.īy the fifth century, Sparta, a militarist state, was the most powerful nation in all of Greece.
Spartan women, some of the most unique women of ancient Greece, had more freedom and were usually better educated than women elsewhere in the ancient Greek world, the thought being, that an educated women would produce strong, intelligent children. If you were born a woman in ancient Greece, Sparta was the place to be, unlike their counterparts of Athens, Sparta, when it came to women, was positively radical. Sparta: “ the country of lovely women” Homer Spartan women wrestling., fresco, 1835-36.