I, Ariston, son of Ireneus of Ephesus, started training at my city’s gymnasium, under the supervision of a gymnast named Kallias. I dealt with wrestling, boxing and the pankration, a mixture of the former two, and I excelled in all of them. My gymnast combined my training with lessons about the regulations for participation and the qualities needed in order to excel in the Olympic Games.

He taught me the rules of the pankration: “The pankration athletes, my boy,” he used to say, “train in a dangerous style of wrestling. They have to withstand blows to the eyes and learn special holds, so even if they fall down they still have a chance to win. They should possess knowledge of a range of special techniques in order to apply strangulation holds, bend ankles, twist arms, and punch and jump on their opponents. There are no forbidden holds in the pankration, other than biting and attempting to poke out the opponent’s eyes.”

Kallias also taught me the qualities of being a good wrestler and boxer: “The competitor’s neck should be as straight and proud as that of a horse, which is beautiful and knows it. The shoulders should be broad and square. Arms suitable for wrestling are those that have wide veins starting from the neck and the shoulders. A straight back is attractive, but a slightly bent one is more athletic, because it better adapts to the posture of wrestling while leaning forward. Flexible ribs satisfy the needs of both offensive and defensive wrestling. Most of all, a great athlete should have endurance, courage and skill.”

As the Olympic Games approached, a herald came from Olympia and announced that the festival would start in two months. I decided to participate in the boys’ pankration. Fifty days before the contest, my trainer Kallias and I boarded the ship from Ephesus, our home city, and sailed for mainland Greece to take part in the obligatory training exercises at Elis.

Athletes, in accordance with the Eleans’ official rules, had already started assembling to continue their preparations for the Games. As soon as we arrived, the Hellanodikai (judges) divided us according to our age and told us: “If you have trained to such an extent that you are worthy to attend Olympia, and if you haven’t done anything despicable or proven idle, take heart and move on. Those of you that haven’t worked so hard, go wherever you want.”

 For 30 days I trained with other young men at the square gymnasium building in the city of Elis, where we practiced wrestling. There were special rooms where we smeared ourselves with oil. The training area floors were covered with dirt, so we could fall on soft ground. The oil made us slippery, so we needed more strength to hold our opponents. A little dust scattered on our hands kept the opponent from easily slipping out of our grip.

On the eve of the Games, we departed for Olympia. It was a very hot day in the sacred month. As we approached our destination, the smell of plane trees and the raucous cicadas reminded me of stories I had heard about famous Olympic victors. I remembered Milonas of Croton (6th century BC), the six-time winner in wrestling, who, as they say, carried his own statue to the Altis. Also, Theagenes of Thasos, son of Timosthenes (5th century BC), who, when he was only nine years old, carried home on his shoulders a bronze statue of a god he had removed from the agora, and who later became a famous victor in the pankration.

Before reaching the River Alpheios, we passed Typaean, the famous high mountain with steep slopes. From here should be thrown any woman, the Eleans ruled, who, in violation of the prohibition imposed during the Games, watched them in secret or even happened to be found on the eastern side of the river.

We crossed the river and we found ourselves in the Altis, the central sacred area of Olympia. Looking over its landscape, we could see the stadium. Around it were olive trees with gray and green leaves, as well as other trees. Filled with emotion, I entered the temples of Zeus and Hera for the first time in my life, and gazed on the surrounding statues of glorious athletes.

At Olympia I met other athletes, well known for their victories. First, I met Sostratus the Sicyonian, famous for his technique in the pankration. He won 12 victories at Isthmia and Nemea, three in Olympia and two at Delphi. Later, I also met Leontiskos, a wrestler from Messene. He was crowned once at Delphi and twice at Olympia. His technique in the pankration was similar to Sostratus, but he was particularly famous for his finger-bending skills.

On the day of the inauguration of the Olympic Games we all assembled in front of the statue of Zeus Horkios at the Bouleuterion, to swear an oath that we have strictly followed our training for 10 consecutive months. All the athletes, together with our fathers, brothers and trainers, swore over the severed testicals of a sacrificial wild boar that we would not commit any offence during the Games. The officials also took an oath that they would judge fairly, accept no bribes and keep confidential any information they had learned about a contestant.

On the day of the boys’ events, after we had reached the venue, we were systematically divided into pairs as follows: Officials put small, bean-sized lots containing inscriptions in the sacred silver ballot box of Zeus. One pair was represented by the letter Α, another by the letter Β, a third by the letter Γ and so on. The same letter was always inscribed on two lots.

Each of us stepped forward invoking Zeus and put his hand in the ballot box. One after another, we drew lots. When everyone had a lot, the judge had us stand in a circle and checked our lots. Then he matched each of us with the other person that had the same letter. I had the letter Γ and so I had to compete with Politis of Karia.

I looked at all the cheering spectators and tried to prepare for the most difficult event of my life. The contest was long and tiring, but I managed to defeat my opponent with virtue and courage. Immediately afterwards, I had to face the winners of the other matches and defeated all of them as well. The crowd cheered and applauded as the judge crowned me with the kotinos, the victory wreath woven from a wild olive branch. I accepted the crowd’s applause modestly, proud that I had bestowed glory and everlasting fame on my city.

Illustration By Katerina Alivizatou

*Source: The Olympic Games Through Time, a virtual reality tour of ancient Olympia and the exhibition Stories of the Olympic Games, produced by the Foundation of the Hellenic World, www.fhw.gr.