Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Olympic Games

  1. Where did the Olympic games come from?
  2. Why were they held at Olympia?
  3. Were there other contests like the Olympics?
  4. Who could compete in the Olympics?
  5. Were women allowed at the Olympics?
  6. How were the athletes trained?
  7. What prizes did Olympic victors get?
  8. Who were the Olympic judges?
  9. What was the penalty for cheating?
  10. Where did the marathon come from?
  11. When did the ancient games begin and when did they end?

Who could compete in the Olympics?


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Tondo: athletes, upper half
Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

The Olympics were open to any free-born Greek in the world. There were separate mens' and boys' divisions for the events.

Harvard 1895.248
Tondo: athlete with strigil
Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of Harvard University Art Museums

The Elean judges divided youths into the boys' or men's divisions based as much on physical size and strength as age.


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Side A: pentathalon scene with three figures
Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

Women were not allowed to compete in the Games themselves. However, they could enter equestrian events as the owner of a chariot team or an individual horse, and win victories that way. The winner of the first Olympic chariot and pair race is listed as "Belistiche, a woman from the seaboard of Macedonia." (Pausanias 5.8.11)

To read more about these topics, see Further Resources.

This exhibit is a subset of materials from the Perseus Project database and is copyrighted.