The footrace at the Olympic Games (pictured here) was the oldest race, and there were different length races.
The grandson of Zeus, the Greek king of the gods, Pelops traveled to Elis, the Greek city-state that governed the area known as Olympia, to accept King Oenomaus' challenge: Defeat me in a chariot race and win the hand of my daughter Hippodamia and my kingdom. Pelops won, and, to commemorate the event, instituted the Olympic Games. The first recording of Olympic participants dates to 776 The Games were held every four years. The footrace was the oldest race, and there were different length races - the fastest and oldest was the stade, which was a distance of c. 200 yards. Some races called for the runners to be armed. In this illustration dating to around 1900, the Olympic participants are shown with shield as the spectators cheer.
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Photo credit: © Ivy Close Images / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: ancient, athlete, elis, foot, games, greece, hippodamia, oenomaus, olympia, olympic, olympics, pelops, race, runner, scene, sports, stade, victor, zeus
