All Topics  
Isthmian Games

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Isthmian Games
 
 
  Topics Isthmian Games Topic Home

The Isthmian Games or Isthmia (ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 ?s?µ?a) were one of the Panhellenic Games
Panhellenic Games

Panhellenic Games is the collective term for four separate sports festivals held in ancient Greece.The four Games were:* Ancient Olympic Games - the most important and prestigious of the Games, held every four years near Elis, in honour of Zeus...
 of Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece

The term Ancient Greece refers to the period of History of Greece lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman Republic conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth ....
, and were named after the isthmus
Isthmus of Corinth

The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth....
 of Corinth
Corinth

Corinth, or Korinth Corinth is now the capital of the Prefectures of Greece of Corinthia. The city is surrounded by the coastal townlets of Lechaio, Isthmia, Kechries, and the inland townlets of Examilia and the archaeological site....
, where they were held. As with the Nemean Games
Nemean Games

The Nemean Games were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, and were held at Nemea every two years.With the Isthmian Games, the Nemean Games were held both the year before and the year after the Olympic Games and the Pythian Games in the third year of the Olympiad cycle....
, the Isthmian Games were held both the year before and the year after the Olympic Games
Ancient Olympic Games

The Ancient Olympic Games, originally referred to as simply the Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions held for representatives of various city-states of Ancient Greece....
 (the second and fourth years of an Olympiad
Olympiad

An Olympiad is a period of four years, associated with the Ancient Olympic Games of Classical Greece. In the Hellenistic period, beginning with Ephorus, Olympiads were used as Epoch ....
), while the Pythian Games
Pythian Games

The Pythian Games were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games, held every four years at the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi....
 were held in the third year of the Olympiad cycle.

Games were reputed to have originated as funeral games
Funeral Games

Funeral Games is a 1981 historical novel by Mary Renault, dealing with the death of Alexander the Great and its aftermath, the gradual disintegration of his empire....
 for Melicertes
Melicertes

In Greek mythology, Melicertes is the son of the Boeotian prince Athamas and Ino, daughter of Cadmus.Ino, pursued by her husband, who had been driven mad by Hera because Ino had brought up the infant Dionysus, threw herself and Melicertes into the sea from a high rock between Megara and Corinth, Greece, Both were changed into marine deitie...
 (also known as Palaemon
Palaemon

Palaemon may refer to*Palaemon , a genus of shrimp*An alternative name for the Greek hero Herakles*An alternative name for the Greek hero Melicertes...
), instituted by Sisyphus
Sisyphus

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus , was a king punished in Tartarus by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll down again, and to repeat this throughout eternity....
, legendary founder and king of Corinth
Corinth

Corinth, or Korinth Corinth is now the capital of the Prefectures of Greece of Corinthia. The city is surrounded by the coastal townlets of Lechaio, Isthmia, Kechries, and the inland townlets of Examilia and the archaeological site....
, who discovered the dead body and buried it subsequently on the Isthmus
Isthmus of Corinth

The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Isthmian Games'
Start a new discussion about 'Isthmian Games'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Isthmian Games or Isthmia (ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 ?s?µ?a) were one of the Panhellenic Games
Panhellenic Games

Panhellenic Games is the collective term for four separate sports festivals held in ancient Greece.The four Games were:* Ancient Olympic Games - the most important and prestigious of the Games, held every four years near Elis, in honour of Zeus...
 of Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece

The term Ancient Greece refers to the period of History of Greece lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman Republic conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth ....
, and were named after the isthmus
Isthmus of Corinth

The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth....
 of Corinth
Corinth

Corinth, or Korinth Corinth is now the capital of the Prefectures of Greece of Corinthia. The city is surrounded by the coastal townlets of Lechaio, Isthmia, Kechries, and the inland townlets of Examilia and the archaeological site....
, where they were held. As with the Nemean Games
Nemean Games

The Nemean Games were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, and were held at Nemea every two years.With the Isthmian Games, the Nemean Games were held both the year before and the year after the Olympic Games and the Pythian Games in the third year of the Olympiad cycle....
, the Isthmian Games were held both the year before and the year after the Olympic Games
Ancient Olympic Games

The Ancient Olympic Games, originally referred to as simply the Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions held for representatives of various city-states of Ancient Greece....
 (the second and fourth years of an Olympiad
Olympiad

An Olympiad is a period of four years, associated with the Ancient Olympic Games of Classical Greece. In the Hellenistic period, beginning with Ephorus, Olympiads were used as Epoch ....
), while the Pythian Games
Pythian Games

The Pythian Games were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games, held every four years at the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi....
 were held in the third year of the Olympiad cycle.

Origin

The Games were reputed to have originated as funeral games
Funeral Games

Funeral Games is a 1981 historical novel by Mary Renault, dealing with the death of Alexander the Great and its aftermath, the gradual disintegration of his empire....
 for Melicertes
Melicertes

In Greek mythology, Melicertes is the son of the Boeotian prince Athamas and Ino, daughter of Cadmus.Ino, pursued by her husband, who had been driven mad by Hera because Ino had brought up the infant Dionysus, threw herself and Melicertes into the sea from a high rock between Megara and Corinth, Greece, Both were changed into marine deitie...
 (also known as Palaemon
Palaemon

Palaemon may refer to*Palaemon , a genus of shrimp*An alternative name for the Greek hero Herakles*An alternative name for the Greek hero Melicertes...
), instituted by Sisyphus
Sisyphus

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus , was a king punished in Tartarus by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll down again, and to repeat this throughout eternity....
, legendary founder and king of Corinth
Corinth

Corinth, or Korinth Corinth is now the capital of the Prefectures of Greece of Corinthia. The city is surrounded by the coastal townlets of Lechaio, Isthmia, Kechries, and the inland townlets of Examilia and the archaeological site....
, who discovered the dead body and buried it subsequently on the Isthmus
Isthmus of Corinth

The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth....
. In Roman times, Melicertes was worshipped in the region.

Theseus
Theseus

For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was a legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra , and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, with whom Aethra lay in one night....
, legendary king of Athens, expanded Melicertes' funeral games from a closed nightly rite into fully-fledged athletic-games event which was dedicated to Poseidon
Poseidon

In Greek mythology, Poseidon was the god of the sea and, as "Earth-Shaker," of earthquakes. The name of the god Nethuns in Etruscan mythology was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon....
, open to all Greeks, and was at a suitable level of advancement and popularity to rival those in Olympia
Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sports. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia, Greece, Greece....
, which were founded by Heracles
Heracles

In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles meaning "glory of Hera", or "Glorious through Hera" Alcides or Alcaeus " was a hero, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus....
. Theseus arranged with the Corinthians for any Athenian visitors to the Isthmian games to be granted the privilege of front seats (prohedria, Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 p??ed??a). Another version states that Kypselos, tyrant of Corinth in the 7th century BC, returned to the Games their old splendour .

If we are to accept the traditional date of the first Olympic Games (776 BC), we can say that the first Isthmian Games would have been held in 582 BC.

At least until the 5th century BC (Pindar
Pindar

Pindar , was an Ancient Greek Lyric poetry poet.Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, Pindar is the one whose work is by far the best preserved, and critics in antiquity tended to regard him as the greatest....
's time) the winners of the Isthmian games received a wreath of celery; later, the wreath was altered such that it consisted of pine
Pine

Pines are Pinophyta trees in the genus Pinus, in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species....
 leaves. Victors could also be honored with a statue or an ode
Pindar

Pindar , was an Ancient Greek Lyric poetry poet.Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, Pindar is the one whose work is by far the best preserved, and critics in antiquity tended to regard him as the greatest....
. Besides these prizes of honor, the city of Athens awarded victorious Athenians with an extra 100 drachmas.

History


From 228 BC or 229 BC onwards the Romans were allowed to take part in the games.

The Games of 196 BC were used by Titus Quinctius Flamininus
Titus Quinctius Flamininus

File:Quinctius_Flamininus.jpgTitus Quinctius Flamininus was a Roman Republic politician and general instrumental in the Roman conquest of Greece....
 to proclaim the freedom of the Greek states from Macedon
Macedon

Macedon or Macedonia was the name of a monarchy centred in the northernmost part of ancient Greece. The homeland of the ancient Macedonians, it was bordered by the kingdom of Epirus to the west and the region of Thrace to the east....
ian rule.

Since the games' inception, Corinth had always been in control of them. When Corinth was destroyed
Corinth

Corinth, or Korinth Corinth is now the capital of the Prefectures of Greece of Corinthia. The city is surrounded by the coastal townlets of Lechaio, Isthmia, Kechries, and the inland townlets of Examilia and the archaeological site....
 by the Romans
Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
 in 146 BC, the Isthmian games continued, but were now administered by Sicyon
Sicyon

Sikyon was an ancient Greece city situated in the northern Peloponnesus between Corinth, Greece and Achaea. The king-list given by Pausanias comprises twenty-four kings, beginning with the autochthonous Aegialeus; the penultimate king of the list, Agamemnon, compels the submission of Sicyon to Mycenae; after him comes the Dorian usurper Pha...
. Corinth was rebuilt by Caesar in 44 BC. Corinth recovered ownership of the Games at some point between 7 BC and AD 3
3

Year 3 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar....
. The Isthmian Games thereafter flourished until Theodosius I
Theodosius I

Flavius Theodosius , also called Theodosius I and Theodosius the Great , was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Reuniting the eastern and western portions of the empire, Theodosius was the last emperor of both the Eastern Roman Empire and Western Roman Empire....
 suppressed them as a pagan
Paganism

Paganism is the blanket term given to describe religions and spiritual practices of pre-Christian Europe, and by extension a term for polytheistic?traditions or folk religion?worldwide seen from a Western or Christian viewpoint....
 ritual.

Contests

Comparable to the Olympic games. Among other competitions were:
  • Chariot races
    Chariot racing

    Chariot racing was one of the most popular Ancient Greece, Roman Empire and Byzantine empire sports. Chariot racing was often dangerous to both driver and horse?they frequently suffered serious injury and even death?but generated strong spectator enthusiasm....
  • Pankration
    Pankration

    Pankration is a martial arts sport introduced to the Ancient Greece Ancient Olympic Games in 648 BC and founded as a blend of boxing and wrestling....
  • Wrestling
  • Musical and poetical contests, in which there is evidence women were allowed to compete.


Famous victors

In 216 BC: Cleitomachus of Thebes (won wrestling, boxing and pankration on the same day).

Isthmian truce

Before the games began, a truce was declared by Corinth to grant athletes safe passage through Greece. In 412 BC, even though Athens and Corinth were at war, the Athenians were invited to the games as usual.

See also

  • the Temple of Poseidon at Isthmia
    Temple of Isthmia

    The Temple of Isthmia is an ancient Greek temple on the Isthmus of Corinth, about 16 kilometers east of ancient Corinth....


External links

  • at the .
  • .
  • .
  • Perseus Site Catalog: .
  • Britannica 1911: