The Ancient Greeks’ Most Prestigious Sport
Runners today take off from a crouch, but ancient Greek sprinters took off from a standing position, their arms stretched out before them. They were also nude. It is unclear how the original start line was marked, but by the fifth century BC at the latest, there was a stone start line, known as the balbis. Eventually, double grooves about four to four and a half inches apart were carved into the balbis, for runners to place their toes and get some leverage to launch themselves at the start of the race. Muscles tensed, coiled, and ready to commence, the ancient Greek stadion sprinters awaited the start of the race. Behind and to their sides hovered Olympic Games officials to ensure that nobody took off too early. Before them lay a packed earth track, at the end of which awaited another set of games officials.
In addition to deciding the winner, they were tasked with spotting and disqualifying any cheaters. If the race was too close and officials determined that it was a tie, there would be a do-over. Finally, the signal to start came – a sharp trumpet blow. The competitors exploded into action, took off, and within a few frantic seconds, the race was over. Since the stadion was the original Olympics’ sole sport competition, those few second were the entire athletic portion of the original Olympic Games. It is hard to grasp today just how important those few seconds were to the participants. The ancient Greeks often dated events not by a numbered calendar like we do, but by four year Olympiads that were named after the winner. So the stadion race’s victor literally won a place in the history books.
