I know next to nothing about the ancient olympics

I know next to nothing about the ancient olympics.

Anyone well-versed in Ancient Greece want to explain the olympics in the context of their politics, society, and philosophy?

Any cool anecdotes from the original olympics?

they did it nakked

they wrestled to the death

Greeks would rather die than surrender

...

I can't talk in detail OP, but I have some interesting anecdotes.

>Arrichion, also called Arrachion, of Phigalia, was a pankratiast who lived in the sixth century BC. He won Olympic victories in 572 and 568 BC. In 564 BC he reached the finals for the third time. At the end of a close-fought match, he was held by his opponent in an iron stranglehold. He could not make any move. On that moment his trainer shouted, according to the story, "What a fine funeral if you do not submit at Olympia". The prospect of an honourable death prompted Arrichion to use a temporary weakening of his opponent's hold to dislocate his foot with a kick of his right leg. To make this manoeuvre more effective, he casted his body to the left. Because of the unbearable pain, the opponent made the sign of submission to the umpires.

During this manoeuvre of Arrichion, however, the opponent still held Arrichion's neck in a stranglehold. Because of Arrichion's sudden move, his neck broke, more or less like the neck of someone who is hung. Death was immediate, caused by the broken neck and not by suffocation, as Pausanias says. Before a man dies of suffocation he is unconscious for a while.

Although he was dead, Arrichion and not his opponent was proclaimed victor, because his opponent had submitted. Thus Arrichion represents the athletic ideal of 'victory or death'.

>Kleomedes of Astypalaia had a successful boxing career in the early fifth century BC. In 496 or 492 BC, however, he killed his opponent at Olympia by wounding him badly with a foul blow. Because of this offence - and not because of the death of his opponent, which was not a punishable act - the hellanodikai took away his victory.

Kleomedes became depressed. On his return to Astypalaia he destroyed a school in a flash of insanity. He pulled down the pillar which kept up the roof and this killed all sixty children present. The inhabitants of the city tried to stone him to death, but he hid in the temple of Athena, from where he disappeared miraculously. His confused pursuers consulted the oracle of Delphi and were told that Kleomedes had become a hero. From that moment onwards he was honoured with sacrifices as befitted his new status.

Right found it
>>Two pugilists, named Creugas of Durres and Damoxenos of Syracuse, who met during the Nemean Games. According to legend, the two were so evenly matched that the competition lasted for hours without a decision. When there was no foreseeable end, both men agreed to take a single, undefended blow from the other. Creugas delivered the first punch, striking Damoxenos on the head. Damoxenos, struck Creugas on the side and tore out his intestines. The Argives disqualified Damoxenos, for killing his opponent and Creugas was posthumously declared the winner.

Neat. Thanks user.

If you killed the opponent you lost

>Kleomedes of Astypalaia
>killcount: 60
>hailed as a hero

>Chris Benoit
>killcount: 3
>damnatio memoriae

Have things really changed for the better?

WTF that dick grab.

Pretty effective shock move though to be honestt.

H-how can you punch out someone intestines??????!

Diagoras of Rhodes was victor in boxing twice in the Olympic games. His three sons also were Olympic champions. The oldest son, Damagetos, won the pankration in 452 and 448 BC. Akousílaos, the second son, won the boxing in 448 BC. The two celebrated their victory by carrying their father around the stadion on their shoulders. Diagoras died right there and has since been considered the happiest mortal that ever lived.

Greeks were obsessed with competition, or the 'agon'. It explains the shit out of their culture and history just knowing that for Greek men victory in the Olympics was pretty much the closest to god-hood one could get.

>tore out a fucking pillar
>punched out someone's intestines
Greeks confirmed metal af

>became a(n) hero
>praised after his death
M E M E M A G I C
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M
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M
A
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>The Athenian pankratiast Kallias, son of Didymias, won a victory at the Olympic games in 472 BC. He also won twice at the Pythian games, five times at the Isthmian games, four times at the Nemean games and once at the great Panathenaia. Since he won each of the four great games, he was the first Athenian periodos-victor. On the occasion of his Olympic victory, a statue of Kallias was erected at Olympia. Of this statue, made by the Athenian sculptor Mikon, the base with an inscription has been preserved.

>After his career as a sportsman, Kallias made a career as politician. He probably was a political opponent of Perikles. By putting up on the akropolis an inscription remembering his victories , he made an appeal to the public opinion. This had not the effect he had hoped for. Kallias was banished by ostracism. In this type of election, every Athenian citizen could write on a potsherd the name of a politician, who in his opinion had to leave the city for ten years. When a person received 6000 or more votes, he was banished. On the market in Athens some of these sherds with the name of Kallias were found by archaeologists.

>Kleitomachos from Thebes was an all-round fighter. He won victories in the three heavy events: wrestling, boxing and pankration. He was the first Greek to win all three events on a single day at the Isthmian games. At the Pythian games he won three victories in the pankration. At the Olympic games he won in 216 both the pankration and the boxing and in 212 BC only the boxing, although the hellanodikai haP108d granted his request to place the pankration before the boxing, against the normal order of the program, so that Kleitomachos would not have to start the pankration with boxing wounds.

>Kleitomachos was very popular with the spectators and was normally loudly applauded by them. When the crowd once sympathised with an unknown opponent from Alexandria, Kleitomachos interrupted the match for a brief moment, according to Polybius, and asked the spectators to sympathise with him, a real Greek against an Egyptian. The public picked his side and so he won the match.

>Kleitomachos was famous - and remained so even in the Roman period - for his ascetic way of life, especially for his sexual abstinence.
The father of Kleitomachos dedicated a statue of his son at Olympia. This statue has been wrongly identified with the famous statue of the 'sitting boxer' on the picture to the right.

>Melankomas, "the one with the black hair", was a boxing champion from the first century AD. His father, another Melankomas, won the Olympic boxing in AD 49. Melankomas owes his fame mainly to Dio Chrysostomus, who wrote two eulogies on the Carian athlete, who passed away in the prime of his life, around AD 70.

>Although Melankomas was no doubt a historical athlete, in Dio's eulogy he becomes the ideal image of the perfect athlete. Melankomas was an extremely beautiful athlete. He was even the favourite of the future emperor Titus. Using his special tactics, Melankomas managed to maintain his beauty throughout his boxing career: because of his exceptional condition and endurance he succeeded in keeping his arms up high in defence - in this way he didn't receive any blows on his face, nor gave any, according to the idealized picture of Dio - until his opponent was exhausted and submitted. Melankomas represents both an athletic and philosophical ideal: central in the life of athletes and philosophers stood the virtue of self-control. No earthly pleasure, e.g. food or sex, could stand in the way of their life's purpose, in the case of Melankomas, his achievements in sport. This ascetic ideal was obtained through continuous training and extreme self-discipline.

>Melankomas was also extremely competive. He died during the games at Naples and on his deathbed he asked his friend Athenodoros how many days the games would still continue.

>The pankratiast Poulydamas of Scotussa, a small town in Thessaly, is often mentioned as the prototype of a strong athlete. He won only one Olympic victory, in 408 BC, but became famous for his legendary tours de force. He is told to have killed a lion once with his bare hands, after the example of his great hero Herakles. He could hold a bull by his hind legs, so that it could not tear himself loose. When the bull finally managed to get free, he left his hooves in Poulydamas' hands. According to another story, Poulydamas could stop a chariot with galloping horses by holding the wagon from behind with one hand. P116His exploits were known as far as Persia. The Persian king summoned him at his court and challenged him to fight three of his bodyguards, the so-called 'immortals'. And of course Poulydamas beat them.

>Poulydamas received a statue at Olympia. On the base, his heroic deads were depicted and described in a relief and in an inscription. Three of the four reliefs are preserved.

>The last story about Poulydamas concerns the end of his life. One day the athlete was in a cave with his friends. The roof started to tear open and the friends ran out of the cave. Poulydamas stayed inside, thinking he was strong enough to support the roof. He was, however, crushed by the mountain. After his death, he was honoured at Olympia as a hero with healing powers.

What a guy

> cheat in sports
> kill random children in a fit of butthurt
> hide in the temple and "disappear" (slink away)
> become venerated as a hero
Wtf I hate oracles now

this is why I love the Greeks

>an hero yourself
>receive a hero cult

>Damoxenos tore out Creugas' guts
>Damn xenos
>ripping and tearing your huge guts

Damoxenos of Syracuse was Doomguy.

>DamoXENOS

Holy shit, he really was Doomguy.

...

Canada get out.

Ancient school shooter

It saddens me to know this isnt the case anymore.

>Anyone well-versed in Ancient Greece want to explain the olympics in the context of their politics, society, and philosophy?

The Olympics were basically a religious festival in honour of Zeus, the King of the Gods. As you know, Hellas wasnt a unified political body back in Ancient Times, but a collection of city-states. It was such a Holy festival that wars would be put on hold for the duration of the festival. It was also used to demonstrate the superiority of individual city-states over others; a victory brought prestige and glory to both the winner and the city from which they hailed. It also gave the Olympian incredible social clout, as to be a winner was to be blessed by the Gods themselves.

In terms of their culture, it was also the ultimate demonstration of aestheticism, physical process and masculinity, which were all glorified. Great warriors, athletes; great achievements were always something to be desired and strived for. To emulate the great deeds of the heroes.

Guys, great thread.
I'm still looking for more Info about the guts tearing