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Images on pottery show that chariot racing existed in thirteenth century BC Mycenaean Greece. [a] The first literary reference to a chariot race is in Homer's poetic account of the funeral games for Patroclus, in the Iliad, combining practices from the author's own time (c. 8th century) with accounts based on a legendary past.
The Jockey of Artemision is a large Hellenistic bronze statue of a young boy riding a horse, dated to around 150–140 BC. [1] [2] It is a rare surviving original bronze statue from Ancient Greece and a rare example in Greek sculpture of a racehorse. Most ancient bronzes were melted down for their raw materials some time after creation, but ...
Horse racing has been practised in civilisations across the world since ancient times and archaeological records indicate that it was popular in ancient Greece, Assyria, Babylonia and Egypt. [19] It also figures in myth and legend, such as the contest between the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. [19]
[8]: 89 The saddle and the stirrup were unknown in ancient Greece, but the spur and a simple bridle were used. [8]: 89 The horse was associated with the wealth, prestige and nobility of its owner, as in texts such as the Iliad, where King Nestor equates captured horses with precious booty. [2]: 52 [8]: 89
The Iliad (/ ˈ ɪ l i ə d / ⓘ; [1] Ancient Greek: Ἰλιάς, romanized: Iliás, ; lit. ' [a poem] about Ilion (Troy) ') is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences.
The hippodrome of ancient Olympia had a complex starting mechanism in order to avoid false starts. [1] The starting mechanism was designed by the statue maker Kleoitas and was later improved by Aristidis. According to Pausanias, the required energy for the movement of the mechanism came from the drop of a bronze dolphin and the rise of a bronze ...
The Hippodrome of Mt. Lykaion was found, when Pausanias (8.35.5) mentions that there is a hippodrome while talking about the sanctuary of Pan: [4]. There is on Mt. Lykaion a sanctuary of Pan, and around it a grove of trees, and a hippodrome and in front of it is a stadium.
The festival included games of horse-racing and chariot-racing, gymnastic contests for men and boys, as well as music contests, [4] [5] and a sacrifice. [6] The prize offered for the victors was a wreath of white poplar , [ 4 ] [ 2 ] a tree which was sacred to the god, due to the brilliance of its shining leaves. [ 7 ]