One Proud Olympic Mama! Aelian, Var. Hist. 10.1

Name:  Aelian Date:      175 – 235 CE Region:  Praeneste [modern Italy] Citation:      Various History 10.1

The Olympic Games did not allow women spectators, but there are several stories of women who challenged this law in order to watch their family members compete. You can see another example here.

Pherenike brought her son to the Olympic games. When the judges forbid her from attending the games, she countered them, saying that not only was her father an Olympic champion, but her three brothers were and now even her son was, too.  She was able to win over both the people and their laws (which forbid women from watching the Olympics).

 

Pherenice filium suum ad Olympia certaminis causa adduxit: & quum Hellanodicae prohiberent eam a spectaculo ludorum, ad ius cum ipsis descendit, dicens se patrem habere victorem Olympiorum, atque tres fratres, itemque filium adduxxisse pugilatorem. His rationibus & populum & legem superavit, quae feminas a spectaculis arceret, & Olympia spectavit.

Φερενίκη τὸν υἱὸν ἦγεν ἐς Ὀλύμπια ἀθλεῖν. κωλυόντων δὲ αὐτὴν τῶν Ἑλλανοδικῶν τὸν ἀγῶνα θεάσασθαι, παρελθοῦσα ἐδικαιολογήσατο πατέρα μὲν Ὀλυμπιονίκην ἔχειν καὶ τρεῖς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ αὐτὴ παῖδα Ὀλυμπίων ἀγωνιστήν: καὶ ἐξενίκησε τὸν δῆμον [p. 108] καὶ τὸν εἴργοντα νόμον τῆς θέας τὰς γυναῖκας, καὶ ἐθεάσατο Ὀλύμπια.

Translated into Latin by Joannis Schefferi  (1662)

 

Aelian  [Claudius Aelianus; 175 – 235 CE, modern Italy] was a famous scholar from Praeneste [modern Italy] who lived during the second and early third century CE. He is known for two famous works, a scientific work On the Nature of Living Things and his collection of anecdotes called the Various Histories.

 

Challenging Gender Roles: Sappho, Nikarete, Bilistiche, Leaena. Athenaeus Deip. XIII.lxx

The following passage is a list of famous courtesans from Greek history. It is interesting to note how Sappho is treated; just like her entry in the Suda, this author simplified her complex history and impact by splitting her into two identities: a revered poet and a lusty entertainer. 

There was a courtesan from Eresos [city in Lesbos] named Sappho, just like the famous poet, who loved the beautiful Phaon. She was famously discussed by Nymphodorus in his Travels Around Asia. Nikarete, a courtesan from Megara, was not quite born in poverty; instead, she was born from a noble lineage and had a great education, and even became the philosopher Stilpon’s student. [The Olympic victor] Bilistiche, a courtesan from Argos, was also highly respected; according to the authors of Argive History, she was descended from Atreus’ dynasty.  The courtesan Leaena was also quite famous. She was the lover of the tyrant-killing Harmodius. Even when she was tortured by the tyrant Hippias, she died without betraying [her lover].

Sed & Ereso oriunda meretrix quaedam Sappho, quae pulcrum Phaonem amavit, celebris fuit, ut ait Nymph[odor]is in Asiae Periplo. Nicareta vero Megarensis non ignobilis fuit meretrix, sed & honestis parentibus nata, & ob doctrina amabilis erat: Stilponem enim philosophym audierat. Bilistiche vero Argiva, celebris item meretrix, genus ab Atridis repetens, ut tradunt qui Res Argolicas scripserunt. Celebratur quoque Leaena meretrix, Harmodii amasia tyrannicidae: quae etiam cruciata iussu Hippiae tyranni, nihil enuncians in tormentis mortua est.

 

70. καὶ ἡ ἐξ Ἐρέσου δὲ τῆς ποιητρίας ὁμώνυμος ἑταίρα Σαπφὼ τοῦ καλοῦ Φάωνος ἐρασθεῖσα περιβόητος ἦν, ὥς φησι Νυμφόδωρος ἐν Περίπλῳ [p. 216] Ἀσίας. Νικαρέτη δὲ ἡ Μεγαρὶς οὐκ ἀγεννὴς ἦν ἑταίρα, ἀλλὰ καὶ γονέων ἕνεκα καὶ κατὰ παιδείαν ἐπέραστος ἦν, ἠκροᾶτο δὲ Στίλπωνος τοῦ φιλοσόφου. Βιλιστίχη δ᾽ ἡ Ἀργεία ἑταίρα καὶ αὐτὴ ἔνδοξος, τὸ γένος ἀπὸ τῶν Ἀτρειδῶν σῴζουσα, ὡς οἱ τὰ Ἀργολικὰ γράψαντες ἱστοροῦσιν. ἔνδοξος δ᾽ ἐστὶν καὶ Λέαινα ἡ ἑταίρα, Ἁρμοδίου ἐρωμένη τοῦ τυραννοκτονήσαντος:: ἥτις καὶ αἰκιζομένη ὑπὸ τῶν περὶ Ἱππίαν τὸν τύραννον οὐδὲν ἐξειποῦσα ἐναπέθανεν ταῖς βασάνοις.

 

--Athenaeus, Deipnosoph. XIII.lxx; Translated into Latin by Iohannes Schweighaeuser (1805)

 

 Athenaeus was a scholar who lived in Naucratis (modern Egypt) during the reign of the Antonines. His fifteen volume work, the Deipnosophists, are invaluable for the amount of quotations they preserve of otherwise lost authors, including the poetry of Sappho.

  

 

Challenging Gender Roles: the Olympic Gold Medalist Cynisca, Pausanias, Desc. Graec. 3.15.1

Cynisca, Princess of Sparta and Olympic Champion

Name:  Pausanias Date:        110 – 180 CE Region:    Lydia [modern Turkey] Citation:      Description of Greece  3.15.1

By the grove of plane trees [in Sparta] is a monument to the hero Cynisca, the daughter of king Archidamus.  She was the first of all women to train horses, and was the first woman to win the chariot-race in the Olympic games.

πρὸς δὲ τῷ Πλατανιστᾷ καὶ Κυνίσκας ἐστὶν ἡρῷον, θυγατρὸς Ἀρχιδάμου βασιλεύοντος Σπαρτιατῶν: πρώτη δὲ ἱπποτρόφησε γυναικῶν καὶ Ὀλυμπίασι πρώτη νίκην ἀνείλετο ἅρματι.

Ad platanetum est etiam Cyniscae Archidami regis filiae monumentum heroicum. Ea prima feminarum omnium equos alere instituit, & prima ludis Olympicis de quadrigis palmam meruit. Translated into Latin by Romulus Amaseus

Pausanias [110 -180 CE, modern Turkey] was a Greek writer from Lydia who lived during the era of the “Five Good Emperors.” His work, the Description of Greece, is an important source for geographical, historical, archaeological, and cultural information about ancient Greece.

Challenging Gender Roles: Belistiche the Olympic Gold Medalist

Belistiche: The Olympic Champion

Name:  Pausanias Date:        110 – 180 CE Region:    Lydia [modern Turkey] Citation:      Description of Greece 5.8.11

  In the fifth book of his Description of Greece, Pausanias outlines the evolution of the Olympic games: 

Then they added a race of chariots pulled by a pair of young colts, as well as a colt riding competition. The victory for the first event went to Belistiche, a woman from a shore town in Macedon; the winner of the second event was Tlepolemus the Lycian. Tlepolemus won during the 300^th Olympics; Belistiche won three years prior.

προσέθεσαν δὲ ὕστερον καὶ συνωρίδα πώλων καὶ πῶλον κέλητα: ἐπὶ μὲν δὴ τῇ συνωρίδι Βελιστίχην ἐκ Μακεδονίας τῆς ἐπὶ θαλάσσῃ γυναῖκα, Τληπόλεμον δὲ Λύκιον ἀναγορευθῆναι λέγουσιν ἐπὶ τῷ κέλητι, τοῦτον μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς πρώτης καὶ τριακοστῆς τε καὶ ἑκατοστῆς Ὀλυμπιάδος, τῆς δὲ Βελιστίχης τὴν συνωρίδα Ὀλυμπιάδι πρὸ ταύτης τρίτῃ.

Receptae deinde pullorum bigae & pullus item desultorius. Bigarum palmam Belistiche, femina e maritima Macedoniae ora; desultorii, Tlepolemus Lycius abstulit: hic tricesima prima supra centesimam Olympiade; illa Olympiade ante hanc tertia. Translated into Latin by Romulus Amaseus

Pausanias [110 -180 CE, modern Turkey] was a Greek writer from Lydia who lived during the era of the “Five Good Emperors.” His work, the Description of Greece, is an important source for geographical, historical, archaeological, and cultural information about ancient Greece.

Challenging Gender Roles: One Proud Olympic Mama! Pausanias, Desc. Gr. V.vi.7-8

 On the road to Olympia, on your way to Scillus and before you cross the Alpheius, there is a really tall mountain with jagged rocks called Typaeon. According to the law of Elis, women who were caught at the Olympic Games on days when women were forbidden* (even women who were on the other side of the Alpheius) would be thrown from this mountain to their deaths**. But nobody was ever caught or punished, except Callipateira [although some say it was Pherenice, not Callipateira, who was caught].

The widow Callipateira dressed as a trainer and brought her son Pisirodus to Olympia to participate in the games. When he won, she leapt out of the dugout*** and her disguise was revealed. Outed as a woman, she nevertheless was freed of any charge out of respect to her father, her brothers, and her son (for all of them were Olympic victors). But they made the law that from then on, even the trainers had to be nude in the Olympics.

* Portions of the Olympic games were segregated by gender, but there were several documented women Olympic victors (including Cynisca and Bilistiche, both for chariot racing).  

**There are numerous examples of gender-exclusive rites in ancient Greek and Roman religion being profaned by intruders, including Alcibiades' intrusion of the Eleusinian Mysteries in 415 BCE and Clodius' intrusion of the Bona Dea Scandal in 62 BCE. 

*** A sectioned-off portion specifically for coaches and trainers

In via quae Olympiam ducit cis Alpheum, Scillunte venienti, celsa crepidine praeruptus mons occurrit: Typaeum illum appellant. Hinc de saxo feminas deiicere Eleorum lex iubet, quae ad Olympicos ludos penetrasse deprehensae fuerint, vel quae omnino Alphaeum transmiserint, quibus est eis interdictum diebus. Non tamen deprehensam esse ullam perhibent praeter unam Callipatriam, quam alii Pherenicen nominant. Haec viro mortuo, cum virili ornatu exercitationum se magistrum simulans, Pisidorum filium in certamen deduxit: iamque eo vincente sepimentum id quo magistros seclusos habent, transiluit veste posita. Feminam tamen agnitam, omni crimine liberarunt. datum hoc ex iudicium aequitate, patris, fratrum, & filii gloriae, qui omnes ex Olympcis ludis victores abierant. Ex eo lege sancitum, ut nudati adessent ad ludicrum ipsi etiam magrstri.

κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἐς Ὀλυμπίαν ὁδόν, πρὶν ἢ διαβῆναι τὸν Ἀλφειόν, ἔστιν ὄρος ἐκ Σκιλλοῦντος ἐρχομένῳ πέτραις ὑψηλαῖς ἀπότομον: ὀνομάζεται δὲ Τυπαῖον τὸ ὄρος. κατὰ τούτου τὰς γυναῖκας Ἠλείοις ἐστὶν ὠθεῖν νόμος, ἢν φωραθῶσιν ἐς τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐλθοῦσαι τὸν Ὀλυμπικὸν ἢ καὶ ὅλως ἐν ταῖς ἀπειρημέναις σφίσιν ἡμέραις διαβᾶσαι τὸν Ἀλφειόν. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ ἁλῶναι λέγουσιν οὐδεμίαν, ὅτι μὴ Καλλιπάτειραν μόνην: εἰσὶ δὲ οἳ τὴν αὐτὴν ταύτην Φερενίκην καὶ οὐ Καλλιπάτειραν καλοῦσιν.

 αὕτη προαποθανόντος αὐτῇ τοῦ ἀνδρός, ἐξεικάσασα αὑτὴν τὰ πάντα ἀνδρὶ γυμναστῇ, ἤγαγεν ἐς Ὀλυμπίαν τὸν υἱὸν μαχούμενον: νικῶντος δὲ τοῦ Πεισιρόδου, τὸ ἔρυμα ἐν ᾧ τοὺς γυμναστὰς ἔχουσιν ἀπειλημμένους, τοῦτο ὑπερπηδῶσα ἡ Καλλιπάτειρα ἐγυμνώθη. φωραθείσης δὲ ὅτι εἴη γυνή, ταύτην ἀφιᾶσιν ἀζήμιον καὶ τῷ πατρὶ καὶ ἀδελφοῖς αὐτῆς καὶ τῷ παιδὶ αἰδῶ νέμοντες—ὑπῆρχον δὴ ἅπασιν αὐτοῖς Ὀλυμπικαὶ νῖκαι—, ἐποίησαν δὲ νόμον ἐς τὸ ἔπειτα ἐπὶ τοῖς γυμνασταῖς γυμνοὺς σφᾶς ἐς τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐσέρχεσθαι.

--Pausanias, Description of Greece V.iv.7-8; Translated into Latin by Romulus Amaseus (1696)

Pausanias was a Greek writer who lived during the era of the “Five Good Emperors.” His work, the Description of Greece, is an important source for geographical, historical, archaeological, and cultural information about ancient Greece. 

Bringing Home A Gold Medal: Cynisca, Princess of Sparta [Greek Anthology 13.16]

In Praise of Cynisca 

Name:  Unknown Date:     Unknown Region:    Unknown Citation:    Greek Anthology 13.16

My forefathers and brothers were Kings of Sparta,

I, Cynisca, erect this monument

In my chariot-racing victory.

Of all the women in Greece,

I alone can say that I brought home the prize.

 

Σπάρτας μὲν βασιλῆες ἐμοὶ πατέρες καὶ ἀδελφοί- ἅρμασι δ’ ὠκυπόδων ἵππων νικῶσα Κυνίσκα εἰκόνα τάνδ’ ἔστησα. Μόναν δέ με φαμὶ γυναικῶν Ἑλλάδος ἐκ πάσας τόνδε λαβεῖν στέφανον.

Spartae quidem reges mei patres et fratres, curribusque velocipedum equorum vincens Cynisca imaginem hanc erexi. Solam autem me aio mulierum Hellade ex omni hanc reportasse coronam. Translated into Latin by Johann Friedrich Duebner