The Olympic Festival--The Gymnastic and Equestrian Contests--The Hippodrome--The Judges--The Preliminary Ceremonies--The Course of the Festival--Honours to the Victors--The Delphic Festival and Pythian Games--The Isthmian and Nemean Games--The Athenian Festivals--The Festivals of Dionysus.
In ancient and in modern times alike it has been usual to connect public festivals with some religious observance, even though the actual occasion might be the celebration of the change of the seasons or some regular event connected with agriculture. Greek worship was naturally of a cheerful nature. The sacrifices were usually followed by banquets, which communicated a festive character to an act of worship, and this was often accompanied by singing and dancing, sometimes of a serious and solemn nature, at other times lively and cheerful. As a rule, sacrifices to the heavenly deities were offered early in the day, but the banquet did not take place till the afternoon, and thus opportunity was afforded for devoting the interval to entertainments, among which, along with song and dance, dramatic and gymnastic performances soon began to occupy a place, and gradually to assume the character of regular competitions. Sacrifices to the infernal deities took place in the afternoon or evening, and were, in consequence, followed by a festival at night, which often degenerated into a wild orgy. These festivities, which were partly connected with the worship and partly celebrated for their own sake or connected with ancient national games, were at first a natural consequence of the religious ceremonies and the manner in which a nation of the cheerful disposition of the Greeks would celebrate them. But as these performances and festivities came to be more closely connected with the religious festivals, they gradually became an integral part of them, and were no longer left to the arbitrary disposition of the persons concerned, but were taken in hand by the state or community, and subject to regular arrangement.
The entertainments most commonly added to the religious ceremonies at the festivals were, in the first place, those of a musical character, partly vocal, partly instrumental, or a combination of both; in the second, dances, both choric and pantomimic, lastly scenic representations, gymnastic contests, processions, national games, etc. Among these the musical, choregraphic, scenic, and gymnastic representations were first raised to the dignity of regular competitions. Of course, different festivals were celebrated in different ways; apart from local differences, the very character of the divinity in whose honour the festival was held, and the different phases of the legend, necessitated differences in the mode of celebration and in the regulation of those who were to take part in them; thus some festivals were celebrated by both sexes together, and others by only one, to the exclusion of the other. In one point, especially, the Hellenic differed from our modern Christian festivals. It is a natural consequence of the Christian religion that the great festivals are celebrated at the same time by all believers in all parts of the civilised world, while the Greek religion knew of no such religious festivals common to all Hellenic tribes. There were a number of national festivals which were of equal importance to all Greeks; but these were not celebrated simultaneously throughout the country, but only at one specially appointed place, to which spectators came from all parts, and which thus provided an opportunity for great national meetings recurring at regular intervals. In consequence of the decentralisation of the country, these provided the only means of awakening and maintaining national feeling among the Greeks. Other festivals were peculiar to particular countries, or even to towns or communities; the differences existing in Greek belief, which are often closely connected with national traditions and racial peculiarities, were also marked in the act of worship. Even those regular festivals which were celebrated alike in most of the Greek states were not all held on the same day, but at different times, which was probably due to the fact that Greek antiquity was acquainted with no common calendar. The proceedings at these festivals also differed greatly according to the place. We know very little about the majority; most details have come down to us concerning the Attic calendar and the customs in use there, though even here our knowledge is very incomplete. The great Hellenic national festivals, which were celebrated at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea, and on the isthmus of Corinth, will first claim our attention.