Diaulos In Ancient Greek History

Introduction The Olympics started in ancient Olympia Greece, which is located in a valley in Elis, in western Peloponnisos, through which runs the Alpheus River. The Olympics of Ancient Greece were a lot different compared to the Olympics in the modern world. According to the modern world, Olympic athletes have to prove themselves to the extent that they are not only best in their country, but has the ability to compete with other best athletes from all other countries. This is similar to the idea of an Ancient Olympic athlete who had to be a free man who spoke Greek. In contrast to modern Olympics, there were only few events and were always held in Olympia instead of moving to different countries or cities each time. Women were not allowed …show more content…
and 720 B.C. The diaulos was twice the length of the stadion, in which 22 athletes ran in two lines side by side. The name diaulos actually means “Two barraled flute”, which represents the two lanes. The diaulos is same as 400-meter dash in the modern Olympic games, but now days not considered a long distance race, and only eight athletes run in one race in their own separate lane. The other long distance race dolichos covered 20 lengths, in which runners ran single file. It was the first event in the Olympic Program, being relatively boring and relaxing to spectators. (Swaddling, 44) The dolichos race would be similar to 3000 meters or 5000 meters races in the current Olympic …show more content…
The winner in the stadion race, which was considered the most prestigious event, had the honor of naming the festival games that year. As outlined by David Young in The Olympic Myth of Greek Amateur Athletics, for centuries the winners of the stadion represented the city of Croton, Italy. (Young, 134) The most successful athlete was Astylos, who won the stade and diaulos in 488 B.C. and 484 B.C. (Young, 141-142) Polites of Caria was victorious in all three events in 69 A.D. (Young, 178) Dandis of Argon was a successful long-distance runner, winning 15 times in Nemean Games. (Young, 144) All these successful athletes had to train just as hard as the modern world athletes who tend to be the best in all their events and are consistent each time. For example, Michael Philips and Usain Bolt are modern world’s most successful athletes. Young describes the dedication to their careers as “serious, all-engrossing business.” They were coached in training and their diet, and made their sport their life. (Young,