THE OLYMPIAD
    

         After the 5th century BC the games, which were held every four years, lasted five days. They were scheduled during the hottest months of the year. Throughout the centuries the games evolved, the number of athletic contests from the first to the last Olympiad increased and new contests were introduced. During the 5 days of the Olympic festival, the Greeks sacrificed to Zeus and other deities of the sanctuary. A number of athletic games took place. The festival ended with great religious and festive ceremonies.

Events of an Olympiad

        From the fifth century and on, the Olympic festival lasted five days, although fluctuations might have occurred. Before that time, the duration of an Olympiad varied from one day (held until the 24th Olympiad, 684 BC) to three days (added in the 37th Olympiad, 632 BC). Customarily, those who wished to participate officially in the Games had to be trained in their hometown at least for ten months prior to the games. According to the regulations of the Games,the athletes had to arrive at Elis at least one month before the festival took place in order to continue training and to fulfil some formalities. Before the day of the Games, the spondophoroi, citizens of Elis wearing crowns of olive branches and holding the herald's wand in their hands, travelled to all Greek cities in order to claim
the truce (ekecheiria) and the suspension of all hostilities for 3 months.

The following is a description of a typical Olympiad of the 4th century BC:

A day before the games
     Two days prior to the official opening of the games, a procession of athletes and umpires set out from Elis. Following the Sacred Way which led to Olympia, they would stop at the spring Piera for a ceremonial sacrifice and spend the night at Letrinoi. The following morning the procession was welcomed by the noisy and enthusiastic crowd which had gathered at the sanctuary of Olympia.

Day One
This is the day of the official opening of the festival. The ceremony started with the athlete's egistration and the official oath of the competitors and judges in the Bouleuterion (Council-house). In front of the statue of ZeusHorkios (Zeus of the Oaths), the athletes had to swear that they had been trained for the last ten months and would obey the rules during the Games.The judges then had to swear to judge fair. Next, the registration of equestrian pairs took place. A white board, containing the names of the competitors, was hung outside the Bouleuterion to inform the visitors about the schedule of the games.
The first competition was between the trumpeters and the heralds. The winners had the honour to announce the names of the victors and sound the trumpet for all events at Olympia. Then the public and private sacrifices to their patron gods were held by the missions of the various cities. Sacrifices took place in front of all altars: Poseidon Hippios', Hera Hippia's,Ares Hippios', Athena Hippia's, the Diouskouroi's, Tyche's, Taraxippos' and others. In the afternoon, the noisy crowd scattered around the site, visiting all temples and altars, discussing, meeting old friends, telling stories about past victors of the Games, or hearing authors and poets reciting their works. It was a time filled with joy and pleasure.

Day Two
This was the day of the first competition. First was the stadion race. The herald called the participating boys, and the judges took theirposition. The judge handed out the urn and the runners chose their order by picking lots with letters on them showing their order. The name of the victor winning at the end was announced bythe herald and the victor was awarded with the palm branch. Next, the boys wrestling game started. The wrestlers fought in pairs, and the winners of the matches competed for the final. Then followed the boxing and the pankration matches. The games lasted until the late afternoon. Then, celebrations of the victors lasted until late in the night.

Day Three
This is the day of the equestrian events and the pentathlon games. The equestrian events were among the most popular games of the Olympic festival and they were scheduled according to the following order:

Four-horse chariot race
Race for fully grown horses
Race of chariots drawn by mules
Races for mares
Two-horse chariot race
Four-horse chariot race for foals
Two horse chariot race for foals
Foals' races
In the early afternoon, the pentathlon game, a combination of five different events, jumping,running, javelin (the light events),discus and wrestling (the heavy events), was held at the stadium. Athletes competed in the five games, and the two last victors competed in wrestling.It is not clear who was declared the winner. It has been argued by researchers that the athletes competed in all five events and the last two winners confronted each other in wrestling.The final winner of the pentathlon was declared victor.
The day closed with ceremonies held in honour of Pelops, the mythical founder of the Games, in front of the Pelopion.

Day Four
The day started with the big ceremony, the hecatombe, in honour of Zeus: 100 oxen, offered by the Eleans, were sacrificed in front of Zeus' altar. The procession, set out from the Prytaneion,consisted of city representatives, priests, athletes and all other groups.
Then, the games followed: the stadion race: the stadion (single-course race), the diaulos (double-course race) and the dolichos (long-course race) wrestling boxing pankration armed race

Day Five
This is the day of the official closing of the Olympic festival. A number of sacrifices to the
deities of Olympia took place in front of its various altars. All winners were gathered at the
temple of Zeus to be awarded by the oldest of the Hellanodikai (the judges). Their names and their city of origin were announced by the herald in front of all people. At the Prytaneion [the headquarters of the officials of the sanctuary] great feasts were given by the Eleans in honour of the athletes. Following the feasts, the victors would return to their homeland to receive special honors.