THE STADIA OF THE PELOPONNESOS

This dissertation is an architectural study of the origin, development and design of the stadia of the Peloponnesos (a region of southern Greece) from their earliest appearance in the sixth century B.C. to their latest use in the fourth century A.D. Stadia served two related purposes: as the

A new Topographical and Architectural Survey of the Sanctuary of Zeus at Mount Lykaion

During the summer of 1996 a team from the Mediterranean Section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology undertook a computerized above-ground topographical and architectural survey of the sanctuary of Zeus at Mount Lykaion. The objective of the survey was to create, by means of an electronic total station survey, a new and highly accurate map of the above ground and visible architectural components of the sanctuary including the areas of the ash altar, the temenos and the bases for the columns of Zeus on the southern peak of Mount Lykaion. Also included were the monuments, buildings and structures of the high mountain plateau located below the southern peak, including the xenon, stoa, area of seats and statue bases, fountain houses, hippodrome, stadium and bath facility. The survey has been keyed to the 1 : 5000 topographical maps from the Geographical Service of the Greek Army (ΓΥΣ). The survey project has produced an accurate map of the sanctuary and has also generated questions and thoughts for future work

THE STADIA OF THE PELOPONNESOS

This dissertation is an architectural study of the origin, development and design of the stadia of the Peloponnesos (a region of southern Greece) from their earliest appearance in the sixth century B.C. to their latest use in the fourth century A.D. Stadia served two related purposes: as the

The hippodrome and the equestrian contests at the sanctuary of Zeus on Mt. Lykaion, Arcadia

The Sanctuary of Zeus on Mt. Lykaion in Arcadia was well known as the site of the Lykaia, athletic and equestrian contests held in honour of Zeus; there is epigraphical, literary and archaeological evidence for the existence of the festival. The site was excavated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by K. Kontopoulos and K. Kourouniotis of the Archaeological Society of Athens, and work at the site resumed in 2004, as a synergasia between the University of Arizona and the Greek Archaeological Service, under the auspices of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, and known as the Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project, http://lykaionexcavation.org. Two late 4th century BC victor inscriptions, IG V 2 549 and 550, found at the site by Kourouniotis, tell us a great deal about the nature of the athletic and equestrian contests. The inscriptions give us the list of the events that include 3 boys events, 9 men’s athletic events and 4 equestrian events. In addition, Kourouniotis found archaeological evidence for both the stadium and the hippodrome in the mountain meadow 200 m below the altar of Zeus, including stone starting blocks from the stadium and stone turning posts from the hippodrome. Evidence from the current work of the Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project demonstrates that the dromos of the stadium and the hippodrome existed on two parallel terraces, at different elevations. The dimensions of the hippodrome are 250 m long and 50 m wide and are similar in dimension to early examples of the Roman circus of the Augustan period. There is some archaeological evidence to suggest the existence of a proto-stadium near the southern peak of Mt. Lykaion, 40 m below the altar of Zeus. This would support the idea that before the stadium and hippodrome were created in the lower mountain meadow, the athletic contests were held near the temenos and altar. Such events may also have included early equestrian contests at the southern peak of the mountain

Les hippodromes et les concours hippiques dans la grèce antique

Les courses hippiques ont eu dans le monde grec une importance considérable, non seulement dans les concours olympiques, mais dans beaucoup d’autres rencontres sportives de fréquentation locale, régionale ou panhellénique. Ce volume constitue le premier ouvrage exclusivement consacré à ces courses et aux hippodromes. Il rend compte des importants progrès faits ces dernières années dans l’analyse des représentations iconographiques et des textes littéraires ou épigraphiques ayant trait aux sports hippiques. Il contient de nouvelles restitutions d’hippodromes déjà connus, comme ceux d’Olympie et du Lykaion, et la présentation de pistes nouvellement identifiées, comme celles de Delphes ou d’Épidaure. Vingt-huit articles, issus d’un colloque international qui s’est tenu à Athènes en 2016, restituent dans toute leur ampleur et dans toute leur diversité la place et la forme des hippodromes et des courses hippiques dans l’architecture, les arts figurés, la poésie et l’histoire politique, économique, sociale et religieuse du monde grec.Horse racing held a significant role in the Greek world, not only in the Olympic competitions, but in many other sporting events – local, regional or Panhellenic. This volume is the first study to exclusively investigate these races and hippodromes. This volume acknowledges the significant progress made in recent years in the analysis of iconographic representations and literary or epigraphic texts relating to hippic sports. It outlines new reproductions of already known racetracks, such as those of Olympia and the Lykaion, and presents newly identified tracks, such as those of Delphi or Epidaurus. Twenty-eight articles, coming out of an international conference held in Athens in 2016, reproduce in all their breadth and diversity, the place and the form of racetracks and horse racing in architecture, the figurative arts, poetry and the political, economic, social and religious history of the Greek world

Ancient Arcadia

Papers from the third international seminar on Ancient Arcadia, held at the Norwegian Institute at Athens, 7-10 May 200