Cynisca of Sparta – First Female Olympic Champion of Ancient Greece – 396 B.C.

 

 

Cynisca, a Spartan Princess, was the first woman to to win an Olympic event with her four-horse chariot team, not only once but twice, once in 396 and again in 392 B.C.

Born in Sparta, Peloponnese, in 442 BC, Cynisca, whose name means “little puppy”, was a wealthy Spartan princess, the daughter of King Archidamus II and sister to King Agesilaus.

 

The Triumph of Cynisca

 

 

Cynisca, a sporting legend of her time, owned a large estate where she bred, raised and trained horses.

At around the age of forty, she proved herself to be as worthy as any man, when she employed male charioteers to drive the horses she trained (a man employed by a woman must have been unthinkable to the rest of Greece back then) and won the four-horse chariot race (tethrippon Greek: τέθριππον) at the Olympic Games of 396 B.C.

(In the chariot race, the winners were the horse owners, rather than the drivers, Cynisca didn’t have to drive the chariot to win)

This was an especially brave act for Cynisca as women were not permitted to even set foot on the sacred grounds of the ancient Olympic stadium, let alone take part in an event.

Married women risked facing the death penalty for even attending as spectators.

Even men were astounded at her achievements!

However, although Cynisca triumphed in two ancient Greek Olympic events, she was never officially honoured, or awarded a medal.

This was owing to the fact that in those days, it was all about men!

Nevertheless, determined as ever, Cynisca made sure she was remembered by erecting a monument to herself.

 

The ancient Olympic Games

Men only Rules

 

 

The ancient Olympic Games, from 776 BC-393, almost entirely restricted to men, were held in honour of Zeus and staged in Ancient Olympia, one of the most visited archaeological sites of Greece.

 They  began on the day of the mysterious full moon of August and were held every four years.

The tradition still holds today, the modern Olympic Games are held in August, it is a matter of luck though, if the opening ceremony falls on the day of the full moon.

In Greek mythology, Selene, Titan Goddess of the moon, paid nightly visits to her lover, Endymion, in his cave on Mount Latmos, and eventually bore him fifty daughters, who represented the fifty lunar months of the Olympiad, or period of four years, marking the beginning of the Olympic Games.

 

Spartan Women

Unique Women of Ancient Greece

 

 

If you were born a woman in ancient Greece, Sparta was the place to be.

Unlike their counterparts of Athens, Spartan women were positively radical.

Spartan women, some of the most unique women of ancient Greece, had more freedom and were usually better educated than women elsewhere in the ancient Greek world, the thought being, that an educated women would produce strong, intelligent children.

Outside of Sparta, they had a reputation for promiscuity and controlling their husbands and unlike Athenian women; Spartan women could legally own and inherit property.

 

The making of Spartan warriors

 

 

By the fifth century, Sparta, a militarist state, was the most powerful nation in all of Greece.

Soon after birth, male babies of Sparta, were bathed in wine and if they survived this, were taken to the elders, who decided if the child was strong enough to become a Spartan.

 If there were any visible defects, or the child looked weak, it was taken to mount Taygetos, and left to die, owing to this harsh custom, women far outnumbered men in ancient Sparta.

 

Spartan Women

 Powerful In Their Own Right

 

 

To produce these future male warrior babies of Sparta, the women, who were physically outstanding and as dominant as any man in Spartan society, had an upbringing unparalleled to anywhere else in ancient Greece.

 They were fed the same food as the men, drank wine, were taught by the state, how to wrestle, how to dance, how to throw a javelin and to be every bit as competitive as boys.

The Spartan women were powerful in their own right; they could take on men in politics, in the streets and even in the sporting arena.

To men from outside of Sparta, the women here were objects of fear, Aristotle, (384–322 BC), Greek philosopher described ancient Sparta as a “Gynaikokratia”; a state run by women, and he didn’t mean it kindly!

This goes along way in helping us understand how Cynisca of Sparta, came to be the strong, determined and ambitious woman that she was.

 

In Honour of Cynisca

 

 

On the grounds that “male only “rules applied at the ancient Greek Olympics, Cynisca’s victory wasn’t honoured at Olympia.

She made sure though, that that the word would learn of her triumph by erecting a monument of herself at the heart of the Olympic sanctuary, with the following engraved on its base:

Ancient Greek:

Σπάρτας μὲν βασιλῆες ἐμοὶ :πατέρες καὶ ἀδελφοί, ἅρματι δ’ ὠκυπόδων ἵππων :νικῶσα Κυνίσκα εἰκόνα τάνδ’ ἔστασεν μόναν :δ’ ἐμέ φαμι γυναικῶν Ἑλλάδος ἐκ πάσας τόν[-] :δε λαβεν στέφανον. Ἀπελλέας Καλλικλέος ἐπόησε.

English translation:

“Kings of Sparta who are my father and brothers, I, Cynisca, victorious with a chariot of swift – footed horses, have erected this statue and declare I am the only woman in all of Greece to have won this crown. Apelleas son of Kallikles made it.”

 

 

In the Footsteps of Cynisca

 

 

After Cynisca set the pace, many other Greek women went on to achieve success in the sport of chariot racing, including Euryleonis, Belistiche, Zeuxo, Encrateia and Hermione, Timareta, Theodota, and Cassia.

However, according to the 2nd century Greek traveller, geographer and writer, Pausanias, none of these women gained greater recognition for their victories than Cynisca.

 

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