A Smaller History of Greece | Page 9

Such meetings were of gradual growth, being
formed by a number of neighbouring towns, which entered into an
association for the periodical celebration of certain religious rites. Of
these the most celebrated was the AMPHICTYONIC COUNCIL. It
acquired its superiority over other similar associations by the wealth
and grandeur of the Delphian temple, of which it was the appointed
guardian. It held two meetings every year, one in the spring at the
temple of Apollo at Delphi, and the other in the autumn at the temple of
Demeter (Ceres) at Thermopylae. Its members, who were called the
Amphictyons, consisted of sacred deputies sent from twelve tribes,
each of which contained several independent cities or states. But the
Council was never considered as a national congress, whose duty it was
to protect and defend the common interests of Greece; and it was only
when the rights of the Delphian god had been violated that it invoked
the aid of the various members of the league.
The Olympic Games were of greater efficacy than the amphictyonic
council in promoting a spirit of union among the various branches of
the Greek race, and in keeping alive a feeling of their common origin.
They were open to all persons who could prove their Hellenic blood,
and were frequented by spectators from all parts of the Grecian world.
They were celebrated at Olympia, on the banks of the Alpheus, in the
territory of Elis. The origin of the festival is lost in obscurity; but it is
said to have been revived by Iphitus, king of Elis, and Lycurgus the
Spartan legislator, in the year 776 B.C.; and, accordingly, when the

Greeks at a later time began to use the Olympic contest as a
chronological era, this year was regarded as the first Olympiad. It was
celebrated at the end of every four years, and the interval which elapsed
between each celebration was called an Olympiad. The whole festival
was under the management of the Eleans, who appointed some of their
own number to preside as judges, under the name of the Hellanodicae.
During the month in which it was celebrated all hostilities were
suspended throughout Greece. At first the festival was confined to a
single day, and consisted of nothing more than a match of runners in
the stadium; but in course of time so many other contests were
introduced, that the games occupied five days. They comprised various
trials of strength and skill, such as wrestling boxing, the Pancratium
(boxing and wrestling combined), and the complicated Pentathlum
(including jumping, running, the quoit, the javelin, and wrestling), but
no combats with any kind of weapons. There were also horse-races and
chariot-races; and the chariot-race, with four full-grown horses, became
one of the most popular and celebrated of all the matches.
The only prize given to the conqueror was a garland of wild olive; but
this was valued as one of the dearest distinctions in life. To have his
name proclaimed as victor before assembled Hellas was an object of
ambition with the noblest and the wealthiest of the Greeks. Such a
person was considered to have conferred everlasting glory upon his
family and his country, and was rewarded by his fellow-citizens with
distinguished honours.
During the sixth century before the Christian era three other national
festivals--the Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian games-- which were at
first only local became open to the whole nation. The Pythian games
were celebrated in every third Olympic year, on the Cirrhaean plain in
Phocis, under the superintendence of the Amphictyons. The games
consisted not only of matches in gymnastics and of horse and chariot
races, but also of contests in music and poetry. They soon acquired
celebrity, and became second only to the great Olympic festival. The
Nemean and Isthmian games occurred more frequently than the
Olympic and Pythian. They were celebrated once in two years--the
Nemean in the valley of Nemea between Phlius and Cleonae--and the
Isthmian by the Corinthians, on their isthmus, in honour of Poseidon
(Neptune). As in the Pythian festival, contests in music and in poetry,

as well as gymnastics and chariot-races, formed part of these games.
Although the four great festivals of which we have been speaking had
no influence in promoting the political union of Greece, they
nevertheless were of great importance in making the various sections of
the race feel that they were all members of one family, and in
cementing them together by common sympathies and the enjoyment of
common pleasures. The frequent occurrence of these festivals, for one
was celebrated every gear, tended to the same result.
The Greeks were thus annually reminded of their common origin, and
of the great distinction which existed between them and barbarians. Nor
must we forget the incidental advantages which attended them. The
concourse of so large