Hera Culture

The Olympic Games first began in 776 B.C. and continued to occur every four years for an estimated one thousand more years. Women were not able to compete in the games for many understandable reasons. Men competed in tough ways that were not beneficial for women. The Hera Games to honor another goddess were available. The culture in the time period is different than the culture is today. The Olympics started in Greece about 3,000 years ago and it is understandable for women not to compete because of the way men competed, the Hera Games, and the culture in Greece at the time. The way that men competed were inappropriate for women to witness. The clothing that the men wore were not appropriate for women to see them in. The men who competed …show more content…
The Hera games occurred every four years in between the Olympic Games. The Hera Games are games put in place to honor the goddess, Hera. Hera is the wife and sister of Zeus. Her name could also be spelled, Heraia. Hera is the most famous goddess and she is the goddess of women and marriage. Hera was known to rule "over the women and the earth"(Leder 3). Women should not have to honor and look up to a man such as Zeus. The women should be able to honor and look up to a powerful woman that they could see as a role model. The clothing the girls wore were appropriate unlike the men 's wear. The women wore tunics almost as long as their knees and their hair "free." Some people say that the women dressed as a man during the games. They could compete with no shoes or simple sandals. The Hera games were not for married women but for "young, adolescent, and unmarried women [that] competed in age groups"(Leder 3).There were a few types of games that took place during the event. The women 's games took place a year earlier than the men 's games and took place every four years after. Citizens from any Greek city - state could participate in the games. The one most important event that took place during the Hera games were foot races. The person that won the games received olive branches and "a share of the cow sacrificed to the goddess"(Leder 3). The men 's games consisted of running, wrestling, and boxing on the first day. The second day of the games was at the hippodrome which is a horse track. Also on the second day there was discus throwing, javelin throwing, wrestling, jumping, and running. On the third day there were many running races. On the fourth day there was wrestling, boxing, and a race where a person would run in all of their amour. Lastly, on the fifth day the winners got wreaths and in the evening there were celebrations with banquets(Woff 10-25). There was not a need for Women to participate in Men 's games