games
games(agōnes), in the special sense of formal contests, usually in honour of a Greek god or local hero.
Before 300 bc
Prior to the 8th cent. bc they seem to have been small-scale events, centring round a shrine or sanctuary. But the agōn (agonistic festival) at Olympia came to acquire a special status: traditionally founded in 776 BC, by the end of the 8th cent. it was, because of the wide range of athletic contests it offered and its lack of political ties, attracting increasing numbers of foreigners (especially from among the athletic Spartans) and was organized as a Panhellenic agōn (i.e. the contests were open to all Greeks). With interstate relationships assuming increased importance during the 7th cent., local agōnes were reorganized at other places too. The Pythian Games at Delphi became Panhellenic in 582 BC; its range of athletics events followed...[The entire page is 1339 words long]
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