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Panhellenic Games is the collective term for four separate sports festivals held in 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 ....
.

The four Games were:



The Games took place in a four-year cycle known as the 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 ....
, which was one of the ways the Greeks measured time. The Olympic Games were used as a starting point, year one of the cycle; the Nemean and Isthmian Games were both held (in different months) in year two, followed by the Pythian Games in year three, and then the Nemean and Isthmian Games again in year four.






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Panhellenic Games is the collective term for four separate sports festivals held in 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 ....
.

The four Games were:

  • 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 most important and prestigious of the Games, held every four years near Elis
    Elis

    Elis, or Eleia is an ancient district, that corresponds with the modern Elis Prefecture. It is in southern Greece on the Peloponnesos peninsula, bounded on the north by Achaea, east by Arcadia, south by Messenia, and west by the Ionian Sea....
    , in honour of Zeus
    Zeus

    Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
  • 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....
     - held every four years, near Delphi
    Delphi

    Delphi is an archaeology site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis. Delphi was the site of the Pythia, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, when it was a major site for the worship of the god Apollo after he slew the Python , a deity who lived there and protecte...
    , in honour of Apollo
    Apollo

    In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Apollo , is one of the most important and many-sided of the Twelve Olympians. The ideal of the kouros , Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun; truth and prophecy; archery; medicine and healing; music, poetry, and the arts; and more....
  • 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....
     - held every two years, near Nemea
    Nemea

    For other articles related to Nemea see Nemea 'Nemea is an ancient site near the head of the valley of the River Elissos in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese, in Greece....
    , also in honour of Zeus
  • Isthmian Games
    Isthmian Games

    The Isthmian Games or Isthmia were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, and were named after the Isthmus of Corinth of Corinth, where they were held....
     - held every two years, near 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....
    , in honour of 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....


The Games took place in a four-year cycle known as the 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 ....
, which was one of the ways the Greeks measured time. The Olympic Games were used as a starting point, year one of the cycle; the Nemean and Isthmian Games were both held (in different months) in year two, followed by the Pythian Games in year three, and then the Nemean and Isthmian Games again in year four. The cycle then repeated itself with the Olympic Games. They were structured this way so that individual athletes could participate in all of the games.

Participants could come from all over the Greek world, including the various Greek colonies from Asia Minor to Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
. However, participants probably had to be fairly wealthy in order to pay for training, transportation, lodging, and other expenses. Neither women nor non-Greeks were allowed to participate, except for very occasional exceptions such as the Roman emperor Nero
Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
.

The main events at each of the games were chariot racing
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....
, wrestling
Amateur wrestling

Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles : Greco-Roman wrestling and Freestyle wrestling....
, boxing
Boxing

Boxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar human weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds....
, 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....
, stadion and various other foot races, and the pentathlon
Pentathlon

The pentathlon was an athletics event in the Ancient Olympic Games and other Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. The name derives from Greek language words for "five competitions." The five events were Stadion , amateur wrestling, which were also held as separate events, and the long jump, javelin throw, and discus throw, which were...
 (made up of wrestling, stadion, long jump
Long jump

The long jump is an athletics event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far from the take-off point as possible....
, javelin throw
Javelin throw

The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the Javelin , a spear-like object made of metal, Glass-reinforced plastic and, in some cases, carbon fiber....
, and discus throw
Discus throw

The discus throw is an event in track and field competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disk ???itself called a discus???in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors....
). Except for the chariot race, all the events were performed in the nude
Nudity in sport

Nudity in sport is uncommon but has not been totally absent from ancient or current sporting activities....
.

The Olympic Games were the oldest of the four, said to have begun in 776 B.C.E.. It is more likely though that they were founded sometime in the late 7th century B.C.E. The Pythin, Nemean and Isthmian games most likely began sometime in the first or second quarter of the 6th century B.C.E..

The games are also known as the stephanitic games, because winners received only a garland
Garland

Garland, which in French originally denoted "wreath of flowers", may refer to:* Garland , a class of decoration, of which there are many types...
 for victory. (Stephanitic derives from stephanos the Attic Greek
Attic Greek

Attic Greek is the prestige dialect of Ancient Greek that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. Of the ancient dialects, it is the most similar to later Greek, and is the standard form of the language studied in courses of "Ancient Greek"....
 word for crown.) No financial or material prizes were awarded, unlike at other Ancient Greek athletic or artistic contests, such as the Panathenaic Games
Panathenaic Games

The Panathenaic Games were a set of games held every four years in Athens in Ancient Greece.The games were actually part of a much larger religious festival, the Panathenaia, which was held every year....
, at which winners were awarded many amphorae
Amphora

An amphora is a type of ceramic vase with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body. The word amphora is Latin, derived from the Greek language amphoreus , an abbreviation of amphiphoreus , a compound word combining amphi- plus phoreus , from pherein , referring to the vessel's two carrying handles on opp...
 of first-class Athenian olive-oil. The Olympic games awarded a garland of olives; the Pythian games, a garland of laural, i.e. bay leaves; the Nemean games, a crown of wild celery
Wild celery

Wild celery is a plant in the family Hydrocharitaceae . Contrary to the implications of its name, wild celery bears little to no resemblance to the Celery one may buy at the market....
, and the Isthmian, a garland 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 in the archaic period, one of dried celery in the Classical
Classical Greece

Classical Greece was a culture that was highly advanced and which heavilly influenced the cultures of Ancient Rome and much of the Western World....
 and Hellenistic
Hellenistic period

The Hellenistic period describes the era which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. During this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith in Europe and Asia....
 periods, and again one of pine from then on. Though victors received no material awards at the games, they were often showered with gifts and honors on returning to their polis
Polis

A polis -- plural: poleis --is a city, a city-state and also citizenship and body of citizens. When used to describe Classical Athens and its contemporaries, polis is often translated as "city-state."...
.

See also

  • Panathenaic Games
    Panathenaic Games

    The Panathenaic Games were a set of games held every four years in Athens in Ancient Greece.The games were actually part of a much larger religious festival, the Panathenaia, which was held every year....
  • Agonothetes
    Agonothetes

    In ancient Greece, an agonothetes was the president or superintendent of the Panhellenic Games. At first the person who instituted the games and defrayed the expenses was the Agonothetes; but in the great public games, such as the Olympic Games and Pythian Games, these presidents were the representatives of different states, or were chosen fr...
  • Theorodokoi
    Theorodokoi

    Theorodokoi in Ancient Greece were sacred envoy-receivers, whose duty was to host and assist the Theoroi "viewers" before Panhellenic Games and Festivals....
  • Theoroi
    Theoroi

    Theoroi in Ancient Greece were sacred ambassadors, messengers sent out by the state which was about to organize a Panhellenic Games or Festival. Theoroi were received and hosted by Theorodokoi....