Cynisca (; or Kyniska, ; born ) was a wealthy

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

n princess. She is famous for being the first woman to win at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

. Cynisca first entered the Olympics in 396 BC, where she won first prize competing with a team of horses she had trained herself. In 392 BC, Cynisca entered her horses in the Olympics for a second time and was awarded another victory in the same event.

Name

The name ''Cynisca'' means 'female puppy' or 'little hound' in

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

. She was named after her grandfather Zeuxidamus, who was also called ''Cyniscos''. Sarah B. Pomeroy suggest that this unusual name could have been a nickname for a tomboyish woman and it alludes to an interest in hunting. It is possible that the name is derived from the hunting traditions of the Spartan elite. Per Cartledge, it could have been a tribute to a species of a Spartan hound that was renowned as scenter during hunting. Pomeroy notes that the names of her close female relatives point to equestrian interests in their lineage.

Early life

Cynisca was born in the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

city-state of

probably born around 440 BC. A member of the

Eurypontid dynasty For most of its history, the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta in the Peloponnese was ruled by kings. Sparta was unusual among the Greek city-states in that it maintained its kingship past the Archaic age. It was even more unusual in that it had ...

, she was the daughter of King Archidamus II and his wife Eupolia. She was probably half-sister to

Agis II Agis II (; died 399 BC) was the 18th Eurypontid king of Sparta, the eldest son of Archidamus II by his first wife, and half-brother of Agesilaus II. He ruled with his Agiad co-monarch Pausanias.

( BC) and full sister to

Agesilaus II Agesilaus II (; ; 445/4 – 360/59 BC) was king of Sparta from 400 to 360 BC. Generally considered the most important king in the history of Sparta, Agesilaus was the main actor during the period of Spartan hegemony that followed the Peloponn ...

( BC), both of whom succeeded their father as a kings of Sparta. She had a sister named Proauga. In her childhood, Cynisca may have earned some experience in sporting from Sparta's female physical education curriculum (equivalent to boys' ''

agoge The ( in Attic Greek, or , in Doric Greek) was the training program prerequisite for Spartiate (citizen) status. Spartiate-class boys entered it at age seven, and would stop being a student of the agoge at age 21. It was considered violent by ...

''), which she presumably attended. Coming from a wealthy family, she could own racehorses. According to Pausanias, Cynisca was the first woman to breed horses and was exceedingly ambitious to succeed at the Olympic Games. Pausanias, ''Description of Greece''
3.8.1–3
Several sources from

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...

and

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

mention how Agesilaus encouraged her to breed horses and compete in the games during her youth. However, his motivations for doing so have recently been debated. According to these ancient sources, Agesilaus supposedly viewed success in chariot racing as a victory without merit. Unlike other events, where a man's bravery and virtue were the decisive factors, he believed that chariot racing merely demonstrated wealth, as it required no direct involvement from the horses' owner. Both of these ancient authors suggested that Agesilaus hoped to expose how the sport was unmanly and aristocratic by having a woman win. Though in reality, Cynisca's victories did not stop wealthy Spartans from engaging in the sport. Several modern scholars, on the other hand, have theorized that Agesilaus' motivations were more practical. They suspect that he was using her victories and wealth to promote his own political career and gain public support through association, rather than providing a moral lesson.Millender, Ellen G., "Spartan Women" p. 500-525. In ''A Companion to Sparta,'' edited by Anton Powell, Vol. 1 of ''A Companion to Sparta.'' Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell, 2018. The evidence provided to support this theory is that Cynisca's two Olympic victories would have also brought fame to Agesilaus and to the wider Eurypontid house. Additionally, the establishment of Cynisca's hero-cult after her death could suggest that Agesilaus was still making use of his sister's fame even after her death.

Olympic Games

In 396 BC, Cynisca employed charioteers to drive the horses she trained and entered her team at the Olympics for the first time, where it won in the four-horse

chariot race Chariot racing (, ''harmatodromía''; ) was one of the most popular Ancient Greece, ancient Greek, Roman Empire, Roman, and Byzantine Empire, Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games from ...

(tethrippon Greek: τέθριππον). Cynisca is thought to have been approximately 40 years old when she won her first Olympic victory. In 392 BC, Cynisca again entered her racing team at the Olympic games and secured another victory. To commemorate her Olympic achievements, Cynisca dedicated a set of bronze statues which depicted herself, her charioteer, her chariot, and her horses at the Temple of Zeus in Olympia.Pomeroy, Sarah B. "Spartan Women among the Romans: Adapting Models, Forging Identities." ''Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome. Supplementary Volumes'', vol. 7, 2008, pp. 221–234. According to Pausanias, these statues were placed in a prominent location in the entrance way of the temple, next to the throne dedicated by Arimnestus, a king of Etruria. Along with the statues, Cynisca also celebrated her victories with an inscription, declaring that she was the only woman to win the wreath in the chariot events at the Olympic Games. Cynisca also dedicated another monument with copy of the same inscription in Sparta. The inscription from Olympia (c. 390-380 BC) reads: :English :Kings of Sparta are my father and brothers :I, Kyniska, victorious with a chariot of swift-footed horses, :have erected this statue. I declare myself the only woman :in all Hellas to have won this crown. : Apelleas son of Kallikles made it. :Ancient Greek : Pausanias also mentions an epigram to Cynisca of unknown authorship, which he claims was the only poetic composition ever written to commemorate the deeds of the royal houses of the Lacedaemonians. In addition to this, a heroön (hero-shrine) was erected for Cynisca in Sparta at Plane-tree Grove, where religious ceremonies were held. Previously, only Spartan kings had been graced in this way; Cynisca was the first woman to receive this honor.

Cultural context

While most women in the

world were kept in seclusion and forbidden to pursue athletic activities such as riding or hunting, Spartan women of the elite

spartiate A Spartiate (, ''Spartiátēs'') or ''Homoios'' (pl. ''Homoioi'', , "alike") was an elite full-citizen men of the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta. Spartiate-class men (including boys) were a small minority: estimates are that they made up b ...

class were trained to excel in sports. The greater freedom that spartiate women experienced in terms of athletic pursuits was largely due to the fact that they were able to dedicate significant amounts of time to their training, since the

helot The helots (; , ''heílotes'') were a subjugated population that constituted a majority of the population of Laconia and Messenia – the territories ruled by Sparta. There has been controversy since antiquity as to their exact characteristics ...

system, whereby the majority of the population was kept in slavery, relieved them of the typical household duties that most other Greek women were expected to attend to. High levels of female athleticism were encouraged in Sparta because as a society, they believed that strong women would produce strong children and supply the army with powerful soldiers. Despite the greater level of social freedom that spartiate women enjoyed, participation in

remained almost entirely restricted to men. There is debate about whether women were even allowed to attend the games as spectators. Several passages from Pausanias shed light on this issue, as he suggests that ''parthenai'' (young, unmarried women) were allowed to attend the Olympics as spectators, but ''gynaikes'' (married women) were barred from entering. In terms of competing in the Olympic games, women were only allowed to enter the equestrian events, not by participating themselves, but rather by owning and training the horses. However, while it was rare for women to compete against men in athletic games, as Cynisca did, there is evidence to suggest that separate athletic competitions existed for women in the Greek world.Matthew Dillon. "Did Parthenoi Attend the Olympic Games? Girls and Women Competing, Spectating, and Carrying out Cult Roles at Greek Religious Festivals." ''Hermes'', vol. 128, no. 4, 2000, pp. 457–480. The existence of these competitions is supported by Pausanias' mention of a number of bronze statues dedicated by victorious female runners (mostly Spartan) at the temple of Hera at Elis, as well as several stone inscriptions that have been uncovered.

Cynisca's cultural impact

Based on archaeological evidence such as the locations of her dedications and hero-cult, as well as the speculation of modern scholars, Cynisca's win at the Olympics likely had a great impact on women across the Greek world, not only her fellow

Lacedaemon Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern Pe ...

ians. After Cynisca's victory, several other Greek women went on to achieve varying levels of success in the sport of chariot racing, including Euryleonis, Belistiche, Zeuxo, Encrateia and Hermione, Timareta, Theodota, and Cassia. However, according to Pausanias, none of these women gained greater recognition for their victories than Cynisca. When Berenike of Egypt won in the four-horse chariot race at the Olympics in the early third century BC, she commissioned an epigram by the poet Posidippus in which she explicitly claimed to have "stolen" the fame (κῦδος) of Cynisca. Her epigram was included in the so-called

Greek Anthology The ''Greek Anthology'' () is a collection of poems, mostly epigrams, that span the Classical Greece, Classical and Byzantine periods of Greek literature. Most of the material of the ''Greek Anthology'' comes from two manuscripts, the ''Palatine ...

, which also indicates its continuing relevance long after the victory itself. Some scholars have suggested that Cynisca's Olympic victories and heroic qualities were likely also honored by men, based on the fact that her heroön was placed in a prominent location near the Platanistas, the exercise grounds for Spartan youths. In modern times, Cynisca has been commemorated by the Greek poet Zoe Karelli, who wrote a poem about her love for horses and the Olympic victory which made her name famous in Greek history. Cynisca is included in Judy Chicago's 1979 feminist art exhibit commemorating historically famous women throughout civilization, '' The Dinner Party.'' In sports of the modern era, Cynisca continues to be recognized. Cynisca Cycling is a U.S. registered women's professional

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

team named after the Spartan princess. Kyniska Advocacy is a UK organization fostering a safe environment for women in sports. Kyniska Hoops is an AAU girls'

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

club, also playing in the girls' U.S. Junior National basketball tournament.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* *Stephen Hodkinson, ''Property and Wealth in Classical Sparta'', The Classical Press of Wales, 2000. * * *G. P. Schauss and S. R. Wenn (eds). ''Onward to the Olympics: Historical Perspectives on the Olympic Games'' (Waterloo, Ont., Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2007). *Melanie Meaker, "Women at the Races: Female Victors at Greek ''hippikoi agones''", in: C. Frank, G. Gilles, C. Plastow, L. Webb (eds.), ''Female Agency in the Ancient Mediterranean'', Liverpool 2024: 49–82.

External links

Cynisca inscription exhibit
at the Museum of the History of the Olympic Games of Antiquity (Olympus, Greece)
Greek inscriptions mentioning Cynisca
online via The Packard Humanities Institute * Pausanias's,
Description of Greece
'' online via Perseus (Tufts University)
Entry for Cynisca
at the Brooklyn Museum Heritage Floor
Greek texts and translations of all ancient sources on Cynisca
a
Cynisca: Documenting Women in Ancient Greek Agonistics
{{Ancient Olympic winners Year of death unknown 5th-century BC Spartans 5th-century BC Greek women Spartan princesses Ancient Olympic competitors Ancient Greek chariot racers Ancient Spartan women Ancient Spartan athletes Sportswomen in antiquity Greek racehorse owners and breeders 440s BC births Eurypontid dynasty Greek sportswomen