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CHAPTER EIGHT
Tertullian calls the first honor of the crown the honor. This includes several things: I. The name of Olympic and sacred victors. II. The acclaim of all, of friends, of countrymen. Of fathers, who were very moved and congratulated on this. III. The guided walk through the arena in the triumphal robes and ornaments. IV. The acclaim and praise of all. V. Being pointed at with a finger. This was sometimes done mockingly. VI. The strewing of flowers, leaves, etc. Other trinkets were added and thrown to be grabbed. Others one wished to honor, both gods and men, were also strewn with these. The building of altars and the lighting of herbs and spices. Many other things were also included. Thrown objects. The scramble. The scattering on the Kalends of December. New Year's gifts. VII. Poems and songs in their praise. Pindar was inimitable in their creation. Also famous were Euripides and Simonides. VIII. The announcement by fast messengers of who the victor was. Examples of these: running-heralds. IX. The announcement to the city or state the victor came from. They took honor in this. Cunning tricks regarding this.
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§ 1
Tertullian first mentions the honor. We understand several things under that single word.
§ 2
And indeed, I. they were not only called (Paschalius de Coron. lib. 6. cap. 7. 8.) Olympic victors, but also victors in the sacred games, as is already clear from the preceding text.
§ 3
II. And in particular, after the crowning, they were glorified with the acclaim of all, especially their friends, relatives, and perhaps most of all, their countrymen. For if the people already cheered for every success in the games, and even more so upon seeing the victory and still more at the crowning, as we have seen above, they undoubtedly would have done so afterward as a tribute to the crowning. The extent to which close relatives cheered can be inferred from the fact that fathers wished to die and even, because they found no outlet for their joy and no vent for their cheers, suffocated. This is what happened to the Acetes we mentioned earlier, who, according to Statius (Statius Sylv. lib. 5. Epiced. in Patr. vf. 225.), wished to pass away as soon as the crown was seized. The same is true of the Rhodian Diagoras, of whom Plutarch says (Plutarchus in Pelopida.) that when he saw his three sons as victors in the games, he wished for death and is said to have said: 'Die, Diagoras, for you will not ascend to Olympus.' As if to say that no greater happiness could exist for him on earth, and that there was nothing higher than the heavenly bliss — understood from a pagan perspective — which he could not obtain on earth anyway.
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Aulus Gellius recounts that he did (A. Gellius Noct. Att. lib. 3. cap. 15.) in fact die. When he had seen all three of his sons win and be crowned on the same day in Olympia, and the three young men embraced him, placed their wreaths on their father's head, and kissed him, and the crowd from all sides threw flowers at him in congratulation, he breathed his last breath right there in the stadium, in plain sight of the people, in the sight and arms of his sons. Pausanias also speaks of this Diagoras, but (Pausanias lib. 6.) attributes two sons to him who won at the same time (it seems as if he means to say that the third, whom he calls Dorieus, won at a different time) named Acusilaus and Damagetus. And he says that, when these two sons were proclaimed victors, they carried him out on their shoulders through the middle of the crowd — he was already dead by then — while all the Greeks threw flowers at him and loudly proclaimed him happy because of his children. Cicero also speaks of it, but (Cicero Tusc. quaest. lib. 1.) in almost the same way as Plutarch, and concludes that he considered it undesirable to remain alive any longer after such great happiness, as a plaything of fate. It is also said that Chilo, one of the seven sages of Greece, suffocated when his son became an Olympic victor, and that for this reason, because he had passed away out of joy, all of Greece followed his funeral procession. See Pliny (Plinius hist. nat. lib. 7. cap. 32.). And finally,
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the extent of the joyous cheers with which countrymen greeted the victor is sufficiently apparent from the fact that the victory, and subsequently the crowning, was attributed not to the winning individual but to his homeland, as he was also considered to have participated in the games on behalf of and therefore for his homeland. More on this elsewhere.
§ 4
III. It was also an honor for the victor now (cap. 4. § 2.) to be seen, and even led up and down through the middle of the arena, especially in the triumphal robes (which was discussed above), and in all the ceremonial ornaments (which were also spoken of there). This is clearly visible in the example of Theagenes as recounted by Heliodorus (Heliodorus Aethiop. lib. 4.). 'But Theagenes, O Knemon, was crowned, proclaimed victor, and led past amidst the shouts of victory from all.' See more on this from Petrus Faber (P. Faber Agon. lib. 2. cap. 11. 12.). Conversely, it was the greatest dishonor to be led through a theater due to an error committed. Suetonius informs us of this (Suetonius in Augusto cap. 45.), saying: for he (Augustus) curbed the licentiousness of the actors to such an extent that he had Stephanion, an actor of Roman comedies, whom he had learned a married woman with a boy's haircut had served, scourged and banished from three theaters. Casaubonus notes (Casaubonus ad loc. cit. & ad cap. 43.) that the Greeks referred to this shameful treatment
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by the names 'being brought to the stage' (*), and 'being disgraced' (**), and also 'being led around' and 'being brought in'.
§ 5
IV. The glorious procession of the Olympic victors was, however, further enhanced by the addition of another honor, namely that they were sometimes also met with acclaim and praise from all, as is most clearly shown by the example of Theagenes just cited. We will not discuss this point in more detail now, as it has already been discussed at length as a prelude to the crowning.
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§ 6
V. The victor's honor was also increased by being pointed at with a finger. This happened not only at the scene but also everywhere afterward. Lucian (Lucianus in Anach.) and Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Dionys. Halicarn. in fine.) call this 'being pointed at with the finger', which was an honor, for there is also a pointing with the finger that is considered a disgrace. Meanwhile, let's hear the full story from Dionysius: 'These men (he is speaking of the athletes, when they become victors) are honored with immortal fame, and immediately each of them encounters applause, congratulations, and is pointed at with a finger. This happens because of their feat and victory not just by one city, but by almost the whole world.' I may mention here how also on other occasions being pointed at with the finger was considered a sign of admiration and honor. Persius alludes to this (Perfius fat. 1. vf. 28.): 'But it is beautiful to be pointed at with a finger and to hear it said: "that's him".' Horace thanks Melpomene in this way (Horatius Carm. lib. 4. Od. 3.): 'That I am pointed at with a finger by passersby
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as a player of the Roman lyre, that I breathe and please (if I please), is your doing.' Thus it was also said of Demosthenes: 'That is that Demosthenes', while they pointed at him with a finger. See more on this from the glory of Rotterdam, Erasmus (Erasmus Adag. Chil. 1. Cent. 10. proverb. 43.). In contrast, being pointed at with a finger was sometimes mocking. Therefore, Augustus banished Pylades from Rome and Italy because he had pointed at and identified with his finger one of the spectators who had laughed at him (Suetonius in Augusto cap. 45.).
§ 7
VI. And it was also an honor for the victor to receive the 'leaf-toss' (*), that is, to be strewn with flowers, leaves, branches, wreaths, and foliage. It has been shown before that this strewing began before or at the crowning, but at the same time, that it took place especially after the crowning. Indeed, it occurred afterward so abundantly and eagerly that not only the victors but also their fathers received it, as has just been shown from the example of Diagoras. And the strewing of flowers took place not only in the arena at the time of the victory but also afterward, especially in the places where the victors (Lydius Agon. sacr. cap. 44.) passed through on their way to their homeland and when they were welcomed there. At this strewing of flowers or leaves (which also includes green branches, as is clear from Lydius), other things, namely gold and copper crowns, ribbons, streamers, sweets, and various trinkets, were also added and thrown for the taking. This is evident from the example of Alcibiades, of whom Nepos says (Corn. Nepos in Alcibiade cap. 6.): As soon as he stepped off the ship, although Theramenes and Thrasybulus had shared the leadership of the same matters and had arrived at Piraeus at the same time, all followed only him, and what had never happened before, except for the victors in Olympia, he was presented with gold and copper crowns by the people. Instead of 'and copper crowns', Muretus reads 'and ribbons', or streamers, bands that hung from the crowns. Something that Janus Gebhardus, however, rejects (J. Gebhardus in notis ad loc. cit. Nepotis.), because he believes that while the rich gave gold crowns, the poor gave copper crowns as a testimony of their affection.
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We add that flowers, leaves, shrubs, and greenery were undoubtedly thrown at the same time, as what Plutarch has recorded (Plutarchus in Alcibiade.) leaves us no doubt. And just as one can see with Alcibiades what an Olympic victor received in this regard, one can see this even more clearly with Nero, when he returned from Greece as an Olympic victor to Naples and Rome. The road before him, and undoubtedly he himself, was strewn with flowers, even with saffron, and furthermore with ribbons and other trinkets, as can be shown from Suetonius (Suetonius in Nerone cap. 25.) and Casaubonus (Casaubonus ad loc. Eratofthenes ap. Scholiast. Euripid.), who also cites what Eratosthenes has recorded in this regard. Besides the Olympic victors, others, whether gods or men, as Casaubonus says (Casaubonus ad Suet. in Calig. cap. 5), whom one wanted to honor greatly, were also strewn with flowers, branches, and other things. Such people who were strewn were called 'leaf-tossed'. Thus it is recounted that Marcus Agrippa (Philo de legat. ad Caj.), accompanied by a large retinue, was so overwhelmed with flowers and foliage that he could also be called 'leaf-tossed'; just as Plutarch (Plutarchus in Julio Caesare.) recounts that the people so overwhelmed Curio with wreaths and leaves as one does with an athlete. So too, according to Curtius (Q. Curtius lib. 5. cap. 1.), Bagophanes strewn the path of Alexander (in his honor) with flowers and wreaths, when that great king was to make his entrance into Babylon. I will not mention now what Xenophon of General Teleutias (Xenophon hist. Graec. lib. 5.) and Plutarch of Lucullus (Plutarchus in Sylla.) and others recount about others. Such a strewing of flowers sometimes included the founding of altars and the lighting of them with fragrant herbs and spices, so that the arriving person would also be drenched, as it were, in their scents. This is clear from what Curtius says about Alexander in the mentioned passage.
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See more on this from Casaubonus (Casaubonus ad Suet. in Calig. cap. 13.). It has already been said that other things were sometimes strewn among the flowers. For in the example of Nero we find, besides the previously mentioned ribbons and streamers, also sweets and birds. And from the above-mentioned passage of Eratosthenes, we also find little crowns of wire, robes, hats, slippers, and more such things. See also Casaubonus (Casaubonus ad Suet. in Ner. cap. 25.). These things were called 'thrown objects' (Missilia) by the Latins. Since the Latins had adopted their customs from the Greeks, we think that the throwing or strewing of such things also took place for the Olympic victors. To this we will now only add that among the Romans an emperor sometimes had such things thrown, namely to entertain the people, who would then eagerly exert themselves to grab the thrown objects. This grabbing was called 'the scramble' (Rapina). Caligula did such a strewing. Suetonius writes about this (Suetonius in Calig. cap. 18.): 'He also threw all sorts of things'. Josephus (Flav. Josephus Ant. Jud. lib. 19. cap. 1.) says that these included very rare fruits and birds. About Domitian, Suetonius says (Suetonius in Domit. cap. 4.): 'He threw all kinds of things'. Furthermore, it was very common to throw and scramble for many things on the Kalends of December, of which Statius gives a list (Statius Sylv. lib. 1. cap. 6.) and of which a remnant can still be found in our New Year's gifts. About this passage by Statius, one can read what J. Gasp. Gevartius has recorded very learnedly (Gevartius ad Statium pag. 121.). When an emperor gave such a strewing for the benefit of the people, we believe that this is also a reflection of what was done for the Olympic victors, for they, glorified by the people with an honorary strewing, threw out some things as a sign of joy, just as they, when invited to meals, would also invite others to a meal, as will be shown in more detail in the following section.
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§ 8
VII. It was also an honor for the Olympic victor that poems and songs were made to sing his praise. Such a poetic work was called a 'victory song', or in full 'victory ode', and also 'magnificent victory song'. Excellent poets composed them, whether commissioned, purchased, contracted, or out of their own passion, for which they were undoubtedly well paid by the victors. And such poems were sung, both by the victors themselves after the victory had been achieved, with which they thanked and praised the gods who were also mentioned in them, as well as by the poets and others. See Faber (Faber Agon. lib. 2. cap. 13.). Whoever did it, it was said of them that they 'sang the victory song'. Among such poets, Pindar excelled, whose victory songs in honor of the victors of the Olympic, but also the Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian games, are still preserved. Pindar, I say, who by the speed of his 'trot', the richness of his thoughts, and the mellifluousness of his language, is considered to have surpassed all other lyric poets and to be inimitable. That is why Horace also sings of him (Horatius Carm lib. 4. Od. 2.):
Whoever tries to emulate Pindar, Iulus, rises with wax, Daedalian wings, and will give his name to the shining sea.
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Like a river that rushes down from a mountain, swollen by the rain, so Pindar roars and gushes forth, immeasurable, with a deep voice.
He is worthy of the laurel of Apollo, whether he lets new words roll in daring dithyrambs and moves in unbound rhythms;
or whether he sings of gods, and kings — of divine lineage — by whom the Centaurs found a just death and the flame of the terrible Chimera was extinguished;
or whether he describes those who bring home the Elean palm as gods, the boxer or the horse, and gives them a gift that is worth more than a hundred statues.
Or, in the older verse:
O Iulus! Who tries to follow Pindar in his track,
He surely rises on waxen wings like Icarus,
And will give his name to the sea.
Like a stream that rushes down from the mountain,
And overflows both banks from the rain,
So Pindar flows, so he gushes, he roars
With full cheeks.
He, worthy of being crowned with Apollo's laurel,
Whether he rushes and wanders through Bacchic songs,
Yes, rolls with new words that he creates,
Or less restrained;
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Whether he praises high gods or kings,
The lineage of the gods, by whom, O horror,
The Centaurs fell, and the Chimera (one shudders)
Was as though devoured.
Or whether he bountifully endows with a victory song
The one who brings home the Elean palm,
As a heavenly being: his praise (as is known in Elis)
Is found to be,
namely, not just like the palm, but also like the erected statues, yes, as Horace says, a hundred times better. We wanted to cite these verses to show that the victory songs were sung to the victors not only in the arena, but also on their journey home and at all times. Among those who created victory songs, Euripides—whose song in honor of Alcibiades we have already mentioned twice before—and the lyric poet Simonides were also famous. It is said of the latter that he was hired and paid for this, whether by Glaucus, Agatharchus, or Scopas, for different sources tell it differently. In any case, he was paid to write a proud verse in honor of the victor. When he did so, he mixed it with a great deal of praise for Castor and Pollux, whereupon the victor gave him half the money, saying that Castor and Pollux should pay the rest. See the aforementioned Faber, who cites Quintilian as proof (Quintilianus Instit. lib. 11. cap. 2. & de Orat. lib. 2.).
§ 9
VIII. No less an honor was it that his victory, and thus he as victor, was announced everywhere by swift fame and by special, dedicated messengers to his father, friends, people, his city, and homeland, which was considered to have won in him.
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Thus, to Philip of Macedon, among the good tidings that were brought to him as a trifecta on one day, the first message brought was (Plutarchus Confol. ad Apollonium. & Apopht. Regia & in Alex. M.) 'that his horse had won in the chariot race in Olympia', that Alexander had achieved victory in Olympia with the four-horse chariot or with the racehorses (for Plutarch tells it differently), according to the testimony of Plutarch, which must reasonably have been done by his own running messengers. And this message was conveyed with very great speed, which Timolaus indicates, according to the mocking Lucian (Lucianus in Navig.), when he wishes to be able to announce in Babylon on one and the same day who won the prize in the Olympic Games. A very fast runner rushed to Gades, or Cádiz, to announce that Nero had won and taken the prize three times in Olympia, and ordered that the 'good-tidings-sacrifices' be made. They were called 'day-runners' (Pausanias lib. 6.), because they covered a very great distance in one day due to their unusual speed, as Pausanias gives as a reason. Because they announced and proclaimed the victor everywhere while running, they were also called 'running-heralds', according to Gebhardus (Gebhardus ad Nep. in Miltiad. cap. 4.) on Nepos. Speaking of a certain Philippides, the runner or running messenger, who was sent by the Athenians to the Lacedaemonians for help against Datis, he says that this man was one of those who were called 'day-runners'. Gebhardus proves the other name, namely 'announcing' or 'proclaiming runners', from Polyaenus. Because of their speed, these messengers could certainly just as well be
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called 'winged' or 'flying' as those messengers who served Galba to give news, and as those postmen who are said to wear a feather or wing on their heads to symbolize their speed (as one can read about the former from Casaubonus (Casaubonus ad Suet. in Augusto c. 27.) and about the latter from Farnabius (Farnabius ad Juvenalem Sat. 4. vf. 149.)). Yes, even as Jupiter's messenger Mercury, who was depicted with wings on his helmet, heels, and herald's staff because of his speed in delivering messages. Pausanias also says (Pausanias lib. 6.), to return to the subject, that a ghost of Taurosthenes is said to have announced his victory on the same day in Aegina. This will be of the same credibility as the story that two laurel-crowned youths, Castor and Pollux, brought the message to Rome on the same day that Marius had struck down the Cimbri. See Florus (Florus lib. 3. cap. 3.) and Pliny (Plinius lib. 7. cap. 22.).
§ 10
IX. What made this tribute even greater was that this message was brought not only to family and good friends but to the public state of their homeland. This indicated that the victor had competed and won in the name of a certain city or state, and that he consequently came to honor and 'crown' that city or state with the victory. That is to say, to make her a participant in the respect and fame of being able to produce, show, and provide men who knew how to compete and win. This was so that people would act with awe and respect towards these states and would especially shrink from starting a war with them. This is alluded to in the inscription on the bronze tablet in honor of Pompey, which is still available in Rome (according to Oudaan) (J. Oudaan Roomze Mog. pag. 308.), when, in the translation by this same author, the following words appear:
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Pompey, after having recaptured Sicily and taken all of Africa, took on the name 'the Great' from it; having advanced to the sunset, he erected trophies in the Pyrenees; having brought back eight hundred and eighty-six cities from the Alps to the ends of Spain, he subdued Sertorius; having quenched the civil war, he, as a Roman knight, drove the chariot of victory for the second time; then, having penetrated to all the seas and to the rising of the sun, he crowned not only himself, BUT ALSO HIS HOMELAND. The latter is taken from the Olympic victors, as is clear from what has already been said elsewhere from Xiphilinus (Xiphilinus in vita Neronis.) about Nero as an Olympic victor, namely: 'Emperor Nero conquers and crowns the Roman people and his own world.' It is also clearly apparent from the words of Isocrates (Isocrates.): '...seeing that in those times the Olympic festival was most loved and admired by all people, and that the Greeks especially showed their wealth, strength, and ingenuity there, and that not only those who had behaved well there garnered admiration, but that the cities (or states) of the victors also became famous.' As also from this, which Sophocles has the tutor of Orestes recount (Sophocles in Electr.):
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Which Vondel renders as follows:
And you yourself know how all the five-year games are told,
And are so broadly portrayed to us from time to time.
After the judges now shouted through their heralds,
That he won the running prize for all who ran with him,
The whole crowd straightway names Orestes by his name,
The son of Atreus' son, who, great of name and fame,
Had gathered that army in Greece and summoned it.
Which could more fittingly be rendered as follows, so that it would especially express that when the victor was announced, his city or country was also mentioned, and glorified in and through him, which is of particular importance here, since that is what we are now dealing with.
For you yourself know that the judges of the race,
Which happens back and forth, those who know the five-game,
They know it, now call out the prize winner.
It happened so here too: thus the great noise roars:
Prince Agamemnon, who could rouse all of Greece
To war, his son Orestes from Argos will now take
The prize for the benefit and glory of that his homeland.
And this made the peoples, states, and cities compete for the victors, with each wanting this or that person to be from their country or city, and thus their name. This zeal even went so far that they tried to poach them from each other with cunning tricks, including bribery, so that a victor would treacherously abandon his homeland, adopt the name of another, and thus honor that other homeland. Their zeal is even evident from the fact that they gladly took in an exiled victor, called him their own, and boasted about it.
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The proof lies in what Pausanias (Pausanias lib. 6.) recounts about Ergoteles, son of Philanor. He was actually a Cretan from Knossos, but when he was sent into exile from there, the Himeraeans eagerly adopted him as their own, and so his statue henceforth bore the name 'Ergoteles the Himeraean'. Pausanias also gives examples of the cunning abduction (Pausanias loc. cit.). He recounts that Astylus, a Crotonian, allowed himself to be tempted by Hiero, the son of Diomenes, to be called a Syracusan, which he also did. His countrymen took this so badly that they turned his house into a prison (to bring him shame) and toppled his statue, which stood in the temple of the Lacedaemonian Juno. He also recounts that Sotades, a Cretan, on the ninety-ninth Olympiad, when he was proclaimed victor, was proclaimed as such in honor of his homeland, but that when he again achieved victory on the following Olympiad, he wanted to be called an Athenian, namely because the Athenians had bribed him with money to do so. The punishment that was imposed on him by his homeland because of such an affront was a disgraceful banishment.