SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:D89246 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Bell, David J.

English

Bell, D.J

OpenGrey Repository

A study of the keles event in Ancient Greece  From the pre-classical period to the 1st century B.C

This thesis covers an area of sport in ancient Greece
which has largely been neglected in recent scholarship,
namely the single-horse race with hockey, or the Keles
event.

The work, which comprises five chapters, avails
itself extensively of- ancient literary, epigraphical
and lexicographical sources, and attempts to place its
main arguments both in the context of horsemanship and
sport in ancient Greece, and also of the social,
political and economic background of the periods in
question: In addition there are frequent parallels
drawn with contemporary horse racing.

The first chapter of the thesis deals with the
history of the Keles event in ancient Greece from the
Archaic period to the end of the first century B.C.. It
traces the development of horse racing from its probable
origin as a pastime of the mounted warriors of the
Geometric period to its zenith in the Hellenistic
period when it became the most popular equestrian event
at the Panathena-: games.

The second chapter deals with the structure and
organisation of horse racing in ancient Greece, and is
divided into three sections. The first discusses the
social position of owners and jockeys and the Importance
attached to a Panhellenic victory in the Keles
event. The second deals with the different formats of
the Ke1es event at different festivals and tackles the
difficult problem of the length of this race at the ancient
Olympic games. The third examines the age
categories set for the horse racing events at sports
festivals in ancient Greece, and compares the handicapping
system employed in modern racing with the disregard
by the ancient Greek authorities for the effect
of the weight carried by a horse in a race.

The third chapter concentrates on the hippodrome
in ancient Greece. The racecourses described in Homer
Iliad Book 23 and Sophocles Electra are analysed,
along with those at_ Olympia, Mount Lycaeon,
Isthmia, Athens and Delos. The chapter ends with a discussion
on the alternative uses of the hippodrome, such
as for agriculture, cavalry training, and recreatyon.

Chapter Four deals with the starting mechanism on
the Olympic hippodrome. The hysplex type of starting
apparatus is discussed first, with an attempt to explain
further its working. It is suggested that such a
device antedated the prow-shaped starting mechanism on
the Olympic hippodrome described by Pausan±as. The
functioning of this latter device is then studied with
reference to the two most recent comprehensive treatments 
of this subject, namely those of H. A. Harris and
H. Wiegartz, and the apparent shortcomings of both are
revealed.

In the final chapter, several terms connected with
horse racing ir. ancient Greece which have caused both
ancient and modern scholars the greatest problems as
regards interpretation are analysed in an attempt to
clarify their various meanings in different contexts

Edinburgh Research Archive

A study of the keles event in Ancient Greece : from the pre-classical period to the 1st century B.C.

258 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following people for assisting me throughout my post-graduate research: Professor

A Mycenaean Cavalryman.

An Archaeological Enigma.

An Early History of Horsemanship.

Ancient Greek Horsemanship.

Arete: Ancient Writers, Papyri, and Inscriptions on the History and Ideals of Greek Athletics and Games.

Athletics

Athletics in Ancient Athens.

Athletics of the Ancient World.

Der Sieg in Olympia und den anderen panhellenischen Spielen.

Die Olympischen Spiele in der Antike.

Early Greek Warfare: Horsemen and Chariots in the Homeric and Archaic Ages.

Festivals of the Athenians. London

Gods, Artists and Athletics.

Greek and Roman Athletics. A Bibliography.

Greek Athletics Sports and Festivals.

Griechische Epigramme auf Sieger an Gymnischen und Hippischen Agonen.

Guerre et Guerriers dans la Grece Antique.

Hellenistic Civilisation. London

Iscrizioni Agonistiche Greche.

Le Cheval dans romaine. Nancy WEILER I. Der Sport 1

Les Cavaliers Atheniens.

Neue Angaben u&quot; 1er den Hippodrom zu

Notes on the Greek Foot Race.

Notes on the Panathenaea.

Ol ympionikai. I vincitori negli antichi agoni Ol. impici.

Olympia in der Politik der griechischen Staatenwelt. Bebenhausen

Olympic Victor Monuments and Greek Athletic Art.

Roman Circuses: Arenas for Chariot Racing. London

Sources for the History of Greek Athletics.

Sport in Greece and Rome.

Sport und Spiel. Archaeologica Homerica.

Sports and Games in the Ancient World. London

Studies in Greek Athletics.

The Emergence of Greek Democracy.

The Enigma Explained.

The flyth of Greek Amateur Athletics.

The Olympic Games: The First Thousand Years.

The Origins of War. London

The Starting-Gate for Chariots at Olympia.

Tour i..; fe, tion, '

Zum Verhältnis von Krieg und Sport in der griechischen

Zur Startanlage Im Hippodrom von Olympia.

https://era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/1842/6886/1/329744.pdf

A study of the keles event in Ancient Greece : from the pre-classical period to the 1st century B.C.

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

OpenGrey Repository

Edinburgh Research Archive