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... meaning. After all, Thomas Carlyle once said that a man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder. Just as a rudder guides a ship, these ideals guided the Greeks.
These rituals, prayers, offerings and sacrifices, as well as the prospect of a better afterlife provided the Greeks with hope and stability. The belief in a greater afterlife allowed them to live a fuller life without the fear of death. The Greeks also esteemed numerous festivals, athletic games and the arts that were a part of daily life. The festivals and athletic games were held in honour of the gods and the honorary gods statue was often brought out and carried among the worshippers. The purpose was to please the gods so that they would act favorably on up-coming undertakings, such as the next harvest. The main four athletic games that comprised the Panhellenic Games were: the Olympic games (every four years); the Pythian games held at Delphi in honor of Apollo (every four years); the Nemean games at Nemea in honor of Zeus (every two years); and the Isthmian games at the sanctuary of Poseidon on the Isthmus of Corinth (every two years).
The festivals were organised so that at least one of them fell each year, constituting a circuit of games. The oldest and most prominent of these were the Olympic games held in honour of Zeus at his temple in Olympia. Olympia was one of the oldest religious centers in the ancient Greek world. Since athletic contests were one way that the ancient Greeks honored their gods, it was logical to hold a recurring athletic competition at the site of a major temple. Messengers were sent out to announce the dates of a given festival so that everyone could partake. Even wars often came to a cease during these glorious festivals.
The first Olympic games are said to have started in 776 BC, and included only one competition, the foot race. One myth says that the guardians of the infant god Zeus held the first footrace, or that Zeus himself started the Games to celebrate his victory over his father Cronus for control of the world. The footrace, that was 600 feet long, was the sole event for the first 13 Olympiads. Over time, however, the Greeks added longer footraces, and then additional events, such as the pentathlon (5 contests: discus, javelin, long jump, wrestling, and foot race), boxing, wrestling and equestrian contests. The ancient Olympic Games were played within the context of a religious festival.
The Games, held in honor of Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, included a sacrifice of 100 oxen that was made to him on the middle day of the festival. Athletes who participated prayed to the gods for victory, and made gifts of animals, produce, or small cakes, in thanks for their successes. The Olympic games were played every four years and continued for nearly twelve centuries after their commencement. Over time, the Olympic Games flourished, and Olympia became a principal site for the worship of Zeus. Individuals and communities donated buildings, statues, altars and other dedications to the god. The most amazing sight at Olympia was the divine gold and ivory statue of Zeus enthroned, which was made by the sculptor Pheidias and placed inside the temple.
Standing over 42 feet high, the statue was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. A spiral staircase took visitors to an upper floor of the temple, for a better view of the statue. Competition in the Olympic Games was restricted to Greeks only; people who were not Greek could not compete in the Games. Greek athletes traveled hundreds of miles, from colonies of the Greek city-states to come to Olympia.
These colonies were as far away as modern-day Spain, Italy, Libya, Egypt, the Ukraine, and Turkey would be. Ancient athletes competed as individuals, not on national teams, as in todays Olympic Games. The emphasis on individual athletic accomplishment through public competition was connected to the Greek ideal of excellence. Aristocratic men who attained this ideal, through their outstanding words or deeds, won everlasting glory and fame. Those who failed to uphold this code were ascertained public shame and disgrace.
Not all athletes lived up to the code of excellence. Those who were discovered cheating were fined, and the money was used to make bronze statues of Zeus, which were constructed on the road to the stadium. The statues were inscribed with accounts of the offenses, warning others not to cheat, reminding athletes that victory was won by skill and not by money, and emphasizing the Olympic spirit of devotion towards the gods and fair competition. The earliest recorded cheater was Eupolus of Thessaly, who bribed boxers in the 98 th Olympiad. The Olympic festivals were so revered that before and during each one, a truce was announced to allow visitors and athletes to travel safely to Olympia.
An engraving describing the truce was written on a bronze discus, which was displayed at Olympia. During the truce, wars were suspended, armies were prohibited from entering Elis or threatening the Games, and legal disputes and the carrying out of death penalties were forbidden. For the most part, the truce was conscientiously observed, even in the most inharmonious political times, but there were some who did not comply. In such cases, a fine was imposed and the people in question would be banned from the games. There were also several non-athletic festivals throughout the year associated with different gods. Spring was the beginning of the Greek year, and one of the first festivals for the gods was called Anthesteria.
Participants wore garlands, and perfume and competed in contests, and consequently thanked Dionysos by pouring a libation for him of the last of the wine. Mounukhia was a festival that occurred mid-spring and honored Artemis as Moon Goddess and Lady of the Beasts. There was a procession in which the people carried round cakes with little torches stuck in them, and eventually offered them to the goddess. It is believed that April is under the protection of Aphrodite and that the month's name was derived from hers. Also, the name month of May, under the protection of Apollo, most likely emerged from Maia, mother of Apollo and Artemis. There were separate hymn-singing contests for mens and boys choirs in the spring; the winners received a tripod, which they then dedicated to the god.
In the summer solstice, there was a festival called Plunteria around the month of June. This was the festival for washing the ancient statue of Athena. Bathing sacred images was a common custom in Greece. Women had cleaned the temple a few days earlier for the festival, in a rite called the Kallunteria, which means, "to beautify by sweeping. " At this time, the priestess also refilled and re-lit Athena's eternal flame in the temple. Skiraphoria, a festival also in June, occurred at the time of the cutting and threshing of the grain. The Priestess of Athena, the Priest of Poseidon and the Priest of Helios went to the Skiron.
The Skiron was where, according to tradition, the first sowing took place. A large, white canopy was carried over the priests' and priestess' heads during the procession, which mainly women celebrated. To bring fertility, they abstained from intercourse on this day, and to this end they ate garlic to keep the men away. They also threw offerings into the sacred caves of Demeter. Panathenaia was the celebration of Athena's birthday, for according to tradition this was the day she burst from Zeus's head. Though it was her day, all the Olympians attended the festivities as well, for they were also all present at her birth.
This was a sacred feast at which gods and mortals celebrated Athena's birthday together. Every fourth year, the Greater Panathenaia was held, for which a new robe was woven for the goddess, whose middle stripe of panels displayed the Gigantomachy (the battle of the Giants and the Olympians) which symbolized the triumph of civilization over savagery. In the Greater Panathenaia, the three or four days following the procession were occupied by contests of sport and art. Traditionally, the prize for athletes was a "Panathenaia amphora" (Jenkins, p. 46) containing olive oil from the Goddess's sacred grove, and the prize for artists was a gilded crown of wild olives and sometimes money. Next, Aphrodisia was the bathing festival of Aphrodite and Perth (Persuasion), her helper, who had been considered powerful goddesses since the archaic period. They are goddesses of war and statecraft as well as love.
During autumn, there was a minor thanksgiving festival for Apollo called Boedromia, celebrated in gratitude to him as a rescuer in war. Later in autumn, was Puanepsia, a festival of fruit gathering that sought divine blessings for the autumn sowing. This very ancient festival was primarily in honor of Apollo as sun god, but also for Helios and the Horse (Hours). At the end of autumn, Thesmophoria was a celebration of the autumn sowing dedicated to Demeter and restricted to women.
This was unusual in the Greek world for festivals were usually open to both men and women. Finally, in the wintertime, came a time of rest and celebration after the last sowing, and agricultural deities were especially honored. December (mid-Dec. -mid-Jan. ) was under the protection of Poseidon. Generally speaking, festivals of this season were more concerned with raising human spirits and reviving the crops than with the return of the sun. Many of the festivals and religious activities included some form of artistic entertainment as well to further impress the gods. Oftentimes, music and hymns, which were closely related to poetry, as well as theatrical tragedies and comedies, were performed.
Religious festivals and rituals were frequently accompanied by hymns to the specific god, often with a musical accompaniment, and seasonal festivals included singing and dancing. From the dance, evolved Greek tragedy, which honored the wine god Dionysos. Comedy ensued, with a similar development process as tragedy. Throughout the ages, there is extensive evidence of the many ways the Greeks reverenced their gods. They sought to ensure that the gods were always content in order to keep a harmonious relationship with them. They knew the gods were continuously present and could give guidance, hope and comfort if properly approached.
To the Greeks, interaction and worship of the gods was not just a part of life, it was a way of life.
Has, Moses. Hellenistic Culture. New York: Columbia University Press, 1959. Hesiod. Works and Days. ? Jenkins, Ian.
Greek and Roman Life. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986. Kit, H. D. F.
The Greeks. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1951. Perseus Project at Tufts University: web > Plato. Symposium. ? Quotes page: web > Walters, H. B.
A Guide To The Exhibition Illustrating Greek and Roman Life. London: British Museum Order of the Trustees, 1929.
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