The Origin of Heroes Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stadion

The stadion (or stade) was the oldest of events at the ancient Olympic games. From 776 to 724 BC it was also the only event. The stadion was a sprint of about 180 to 190 meters held in an arena also called a stadion (and leading to the modern word stadium). Even after other events were added to the Olympics, the stadion was seen as the most important of the events.

A trumpet would announce the start of the race and officials were stationed at either end of the course to ensure there was no cheating. Corobeus of Elis won the stadion in 776 BC.

Answer: Diaulos

The Diaulos first appeared in the Olympic games of 724 BC. It was held on the same track as the stadion and was twice the length of that race. Racers would run to the end of course and go around individual "turning posts" to return to the start. Some evidence suggests that in some cases there may have a common "turning post" that all competitors used.

The ancient Olympic games were held every four years and dedicated to Zeus, king of the Greek gods.

Answer: Dolichos

First run in 720 BC, the dolichos was a long-distance race of about 4800 meters. Records indicate that the dolichos began and ended in the stadion but had a middle portion that wound through the Olympic grounds. The runners would pass several of the shrines on the grounds, including the one to Nike, goddess of victory. Acanthus of Sparta was the first recorded winner of the Dolichos.

Answer: Pale

The first Olympic games with pale or wrestling occurred in 708 BC. In pale, the wrestler tried to be the first to reach three points against his opponent. A wrestler scored a point by pinning his opponent's shoulder, hip, or back to the ground. He could also earn a point by forcing his opponent out of the wrestling area or getting his opponent into a submission-hold leading to the opponent conceding defeat. Several moves were prohibited including biting, gouging of the eyes, and kicking. Compared to a modern wrestling match, the area for competition was relatively large, about 28.5 meters square.

Answer: Pentathlon

The five events of the pentathlon were the stadion, the javelin throw, diskos (discus throw), halma (long jump), and pale. The word pentathlon comes from a combination of the words pente (five) and athlon (events). This all-around event was similar in some ways to the military training of the ancient Greeks.

The five events all occurred on the same day. It is unclear exactly how the winner of the pentathlon was determined. There are differing theories including the winner winning a certain number of individual events or earning the most points between the five events.

The pentathlon firs appeared in 708 BC.

Answer: Pygmachia

Pygmachia, or boxing, first appeared at the Olympic games in 688 BC. Fist fighting (the literal meaning of pygmachia), had a long history in Greek culture and sport even at the time of the Olympic games. Rather than modern gloves, ancient boxers wore straps of hide around their knuckles.

Other differences were the lack of weight classes in pygmachia and the lack of timed rounds. Similarities included the prohibition of wrestling-type moves and gouging with the fingers.

Answer: Tethrippon

Tethrippon, the four-horse chariot race dated to 680 BC in the Olympics. Chariot racing in general was popular in Ancient Greece. While many sports in the Olympics were only open to men in terms of competition or viewing, with chariot racing, women (usually wealthy) were allowed to compete by sponsorship of a race and horse team. Chariot races (as well as horse riding races) were held in a specialized stadium calle da hippodrome.

Answer: Keles

The keles was the single-horse chariot race. It first appeared in the Olympic games in 648 BC. The main difference between the various types of chariot races was the number of horses. The chariots themselves were very similar to the ones used in wartime.

The hippodrome was about 780 meters long and 320 meters wide. A wooden barrier known as an embolon divided the hippodrome into two tracks. The chariots would travel down one side and return on the other side.

Answer: Pankration

Pankration first appeared in the Olympic games in 648 BC. The sport included moves from both boxing and wrestling with relatively few moves actually prohibited. Kicking and choking, for instance, were legal moves. Translated from Greek, pankration means "all of power". Like boxing and wrestling in ancient times, pankration did not have weight classes.

The main division was between men and boys. The modern descendant of pankration is mixed martial arts.

Answer: Hoplitodromos

Hoplitodromos was added to the Olympic games in 520 BC and was traditionally the last event of the ancient Olympic games. The race is named for the hoplite, the Greek infantry soldier. While most other events at the Olympic games featured athletes competing in the nude, this race had the runners wearing the helmet and greaves and carrying the shield of a hoplite.

The length of the race was the same as the diaulos.