Kallipateira ( Gr. ) of

Ialysos Ialysos (, before 1976: Τριάντα ''Trianta'') is a town and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is a municipal ...

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

(l. c. 388 BCE), was an Ancient Greek athlete trainer. She came from a renowned family of athletes in

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

. She was caught attending the

ancient Olympic Games The ancient Olympic Games (, ''ta Olympia''.), or the ancient Olympics, were a series of Athletics (sport), athletic competitions among representatives of polis, city-states and one of the Panhellenic Games of ancient Greece. They were held at ...

disguised as a male trainer in 388 BCE. Her capture led to a law being introduced that trainers should strip before entering the stadium.

Family

Kallipateira was a granddaughter of Damagetos, king of Ialysos. Her father,

Diagoras of Rhodes Diagoras of Rhodes (; ) was an Ancient Greek boxer from the 5th century BC, who was celebrated for his own victories, as well as the victories of his sons and grandsons. He was a member of the Eratidea family at Ialysos in Rhodes. Biography ...

, was a celebrated

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

and Olympic victor. Diagoras won the boxing at several

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, ...

and was honoured by

Pindar Pindar (; ; ; ) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...

. Her brothers were also Panhellenic champions: Damagetos won

pankration Pankration (; ) was an unarmed combat sport introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC. The athletes used boxing and wrestling techniques but also others, such as kicking, holds, joint locks, and chokes on the ground, making it s ...

events and Akousilaos won in boxing. Her younger brother

Dorieus Dorieus (died c.510 BC; ) was a Spartan prince of the Agiad dynasty who is mentioned several times in Herodotus. The second son of Anaxandridas II, he was the younger half-brother of Cleomenes I and the elder full brother of both Leonidas I and Cl ...

was the most successful, winning the pankration at 21 different Panhellenic games. Kallipateira was a widow at the time of her arrest at Olympia, which she was attending in support of her own son Peisirodos.

Capture at Olympia

Pausanias records the story of how she was caught: Her story features in a sonnet of the modern Greek poet Lorentzos Mavilis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kallipateira Ancient Olympic Games Ancient Rhodian athletes Panhellenic Games 4th-century BC Greek women