Athletes - VIII: Foot Races

This Krater side, [B], depicts three runners engaged in a long distance foot race or “dolichos”. On the right corner a race judge.

The stadium was made of hard-packed earth and was rectangular in shape. There were no terraces and the spectators sat on the banks, except for the officials (organizers and judges, the “Hellanodikes”) who were provided with a stand. The competitors took their place at a starting line marked out by white limestone slabs. They ran in a straight line and not around the stadium as they do today.

 

There were different types of race:

– The “stade” or “stadion”, which consisted of one length of the stadium

– The “diaulos”, two lengths or double stadium

– The “dolichos”, a long-distance race (from 7 to 24 laps)

- The armed race, where the athletes wore a helmet and greaves, and carried a shield.

 

The stadium was made of hard-packed earth and was rectangular in shape. There were no terraces and the spectators sat on the banks, except for the officials (organizers and judges, the “Hellanodikes”) who were provided with a stand.

 

Attic black-figured column-krater

510 - 500 BC

Manner of the Painter of Louvre F6

From Necropolis at Aghia Paraskevi, Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki, Archaeological Museum – Inv. No. 14900

On display at Museum of the History of the Olympic Games in Antiquity, Olympia.

 

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