The ''hoplitodromos'' or ''hoplitodromia'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: , English translation: "race of the

hoplites Hoplites ( ) ( ) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged the soldi ...

") was an ancient foot race, part of 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 ...

and the other

Panhellenic Games Panhellenic Games is the collective term for four separate religious festivals held in ancient Greece that became especially well known for the athletic competitions they included. The four festivals were: the Ancient Olympic Games, Olympic Games, ...

. It was the last foot race to be added to the Olympics, first appearing at the 65th Olympics in 520 BC, and was traditionally the last foot race to be held. Hoplitodromia Louvre CA214 n2

Unlike the other races, which were generally run in the nude, the ''hoplitodromos'' required competitors to run wearing the ''hopla'', the helmet,

greave A greave (from the Old French ''greve'' "shin, shin armor") or jambeau is a piece of armor that protects the human leg, leg. Description The primary purpose of greaves is to protect the tibia from attack. The tibia, or shinbone, is very close to ...

s and heavy shield ('' aspis'') from which the

hoplite Hoplites ( ) ( ) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged the sold ...

infantryman took its name, bringing the total encumbrance to at least 6 kg (12 pounds).Peter Krentz, “A Cup by Douris and the Battle of Marathon,” in Garrett G. Fagan and Matthew Trundle (eds.), New Perspectives on Ancient Warfare (Brill: Leiden, 2010) pp. 190ff. As the ''hoplitodromos'' was one of the shorter foot races, the heavy armor and shield were less a test of endurance than one of sheer muscular strength. After 450 BC, the use of greaves was abandoned; however, the weight of the shield and helmet remained substantial. At Olympia and Athens, the ''hoplitodromos'' track, like that of the '' diaulos'', was a single lap of the stadium (or two ''stades''; about 350–400 m). Since the track made a hairpin turn at the end of the stadium, there was a turning post called a ''kampter'' (''καμπτήρ'') at each end of the track to assist the sprinters in negotiating the tight turn—a task complicated by the shield carried in the runner's off hand. At

Nemea Nemea (; ; ) is an ancient site in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese, in Greece. Formerly part of the territory of Cleonae (Argolis), Cleonae in ancient Argolis, it is today situated in the regional units of Greece, regional unit of Corin ...

, the distance was doubled to four ''stades'' (about 700–800 m), and at

Plataea Plataea (; , ''Plátaia'') was an ancient Greek city-state situated in Boeotia near the frontier with Attica at the foot of Mt. Cithaeron, between the mountain and the river Asopus, which divided its territory from that of Thebes. Its inhab ...

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (adm ...

the race was 15 ''stades'' in total. The ''hoplitodromos'', with its military accoutrements, was as much a military training exercise as an athletic contest. Encounters with units of expert Persian archers, first occurring shortly before the ''hoplitodromos'' was introduced in 520 BC, must have suggested the need for training the Greek armored infantry in fast "rushing" maneuvers during combat to minimize the time spent exposed to Persian arrows. Additionally, the original 400-meter length of the ''hoplitodromos'' coincides well with the effective area of the Persian archers' zone of fire, suggesting an explicit military purpose for this type of training.

References

{{Ancient Olympic sports Ancient Olympic sports Middle-distance running Extinct sports

See also

References