The Panathenaia was the most important festival celebrated in ancient Athens. It was the state festival honoring the city's patron diety, Athena. The Panathenaia, literally meaning "the Rites of all Athenians", was celebrated annually. Every four years, though, it was celebrated on a much greater scale. This was called the "Greater Panathenaia." It took place from the 23rd to the 30th of the Hekatombaion, the first month of the Athenian calendar year, approximately our month of July. The main day of the festival was the 28th, for this was thought to be Athena's birthday. The festival attracted people from far and wide. It provided them with occasions for honouring the Gods with sacrifices and gifts, as well as being a time of relaxation, feasting, games, and prizes. * A schedule of events can be diagramed as follows:
DAY ONE: MUSICAL AND RHAPSODIC CONTESTS
Adult Kitharodes: singing and accompanying oneself on the kithara (seven-stringed instrument)
Adult Aulodes: singing to the flute
Adult and Boy Kitharist: kithara playing
Adult and Boy Auletes: solo flute playing
DAY TWO: ATHLETIC CONTESTS FOR BOYS AND YOUTHS
DAY THREE: ATHLETIC CONTESTS FOR MEN
The Panathenaic athletic contests had over 20 events, with three age classes, and team and individual competitions. The following briefly describes each event:
Footrace: The footraces were held on the straight track of the Athenian Agora. Each race had ten competitors and was distinguished by distance:
Stadion: 200 yards
Diaulos: 2 lengths
Dolichos: 20 or 24 lengths
The Pentathalon consisted of five events:
The Jump: took place in a large sand pit using jumping weights called halteres to improve distance in the jump.
Dromos: a long footrace
Discus Throw: a throw for distance. Amphoras show the competitor's stances throughout the motion.
Javelin Throw: a thong was placed on the javelin and wrapped around the fingers to facilitate a longer throw.
Wrestling: the object was to win three falls out of five. A fall is a pin of the shoulders, stretching an opponent prone, or tying an opponent in a confining hold.
Wrestling: This is similar to the Pentathalon event but is an individual 'heavy event', as are boxing and the pankration.
Boxing: This was a very brutal sport. Athletes wore leather thongs to inflict pain. The fight continued until one boxer was knocked out or admitted defeat by raising his index finger.
Pankration: A combination of wrestling, boxing, and kicking. There were few rules. Gouging and biting were still prohibited.
Hoplite Race: A race in amour, where contestants had to wear a helmet, shield, and greaves.
DAY FOUR: EQUESTRIAN CONTESTS
Horse racing was proof of wealth and status all throughout Greece. There were various forms of the sport:
Apobates: a chariot-dismounting race with military overtones. It is not clear whether the rider dismounted and ran on foot to the finish or if he merely mounted and dismounted while in motion.
Horse Race: youthful nude jockeys raced on their horses for a length of three laps.
Chariot Race: the tethrippon (four horse chariot race) was the most dangerous, expensive, and prestigious equestrian event. Charioteers were clothed, mature men. The synoris was a similar race in which the clothed driver had two horses and the wheels were actually cart wheels.
Special Equestrian Events: special events only for warriors: horse race, two horse chariot race, two horse chariot procession, and javelin throw on horseback.
DAY FIVE: TRIBAL CONTESTS
These contests were limited to citizens of Athens and derived from ancient traditions.
Pyrrhic Dance: dances in amor where moves often mimicked evasion of blows and missiles.
Euandria: a male beauty contest that incorporated beauty, size, strength, and manhood.
DAY SIX: RACE AND PANNYCHIS, PROCESSION AND SACRIFICE
Torch Race: a relay race in which the winning team had to cover the 2500-meter distance first and also keep its torch lit.
There was also a colorful procession that began at the Pompeion and went through the city to the goddess Athena's shrine on the Acropolis. It was there at the cult statue of Athena that a richly woven robe, called the peplos, was presented to her. There was also a sacrifice of 100 cows on her altar, which was set aflame in the evening by the winner of the torch race.
These sacrifices were then followed by an all-night celebration, called the pannychis.
DAY SEVEN: APOBATES, BOAT RACES
Apobates: an armed warrior who jumps from a moving chariot.
Boat Race: a rowing contest of crews. Little is known about the races
DAY EIGHT: AWARDING OF PRIZES, FEASTING, AND CELEBRATION
Prizes were awarded to the winners as well as the runners up. There was a great feast from the sacrifice at Athena's altar, followed by a grand celebration.
The tradition of awarding prizes at the Panathenaia began in 566. The earliest prize was the pre-canonical Burgon amphora.
It depicts many aspects of Athena: the sacred oil, her status as goddess of crafts, her warlike appearance as a protrectress, etc.
Prizes of sacred oil in beautifully inscribed and decorated amphoras were often used. These amphoras were communication masterpieces that later became regarded as civic, self-declaratory prizes of symbolic and material value.
The olive oil in the amphoras came from sacred trees and was thus a gift directly from Athena. Apart from being symbolic, it also carried material value. For example, 120 vases of oil is equivalent to about $68,000.
Crowns and fillets were also prizes in Athens. However, they were never recorded in official prize lists because they were only temporary symbolic decorations.
Apart from these, there were many other prizes given at the Panathenaia. Gold crowns worth several hundred drachmas were often presented for first place. For those competitors who did not achieve first place, there were often monetary awards of a few hundred drachmas.
Many special equestrian events had prizes of money, along with bulls, oxen, and free meals.