Olympia as the Center of the Greek World:
A study of Theoroi in a panhellenic network.
Olympia and its festival have captivated the minds of millions of people. It must have been a beautiful place to visit in the ancient days. Nowadays the site still breathes the atmosphere of a peaceful and sacred precinct. Do have a look at the video offered beneath because it serves as a very accessible introduction to Olympia and the Olympic games.
Olympia has often been seen as the center of the Greek world. In this webpage, I will look at the role the different poleis played in creating a network in which Olympia was the central point. The polis was very important in this process because they regularly sent delegations, so-called theoriai to festivals like the Olympic Games at Olympia.
Olympia has often been seen as the center of the Greek world. In this webpage, I will look at the role the different poleis played in creating a network in which Olympia was the central point. The polis was very important in this process because they regularly sent delegations, so-called theoriai to festivals like the Olympic Games at Olympia.
A short history of Olympia and the Olympic Games
Olympia is a small village in the western Peleponnese and stood under direct control of the rulers of the region Elis. The name village is not very appropriate for Olympia. It was more of a sanctuary for the Greek gods and it is, of course, well known for the Olympic games. The games at Olympia were part of the most important games in Greece, together with the games in Delphi, Isthmus and Nemea. The first Games were said to be held in 776 BC. We now know with relative certainty that there was already a sanctuary and there were already games before this date. Although there were games, originally and principally Olympia was a sanctuary where multiple gods were worshipped, Zeus being of course the most important of them all. For him the Greeks built the magnificent temple and the impressive statue crafted by the famous sculptor Pheidias. Hercules is said to have brought the Olympic Games to Olympia in ancient times, performing his arduous tasks in this area. From the 8th century onward, the games started to evolve from "a rural cult meeting to an inter-state sanctuary" (Scott 146). People from an ever growing area came to visit the plains of Olympia to participate in the Olympic Games. In this way, the spectators from the different Greek poleis came in contact with each other, facilitating networks throughout the whole Greek world (oikoumene). The visitors, thus, were very important in presenting their polis to the outer world, and, at the same time, coming in contact with visitors from the other poleis. The poleis deemed this contact with the outer world very very important because from the 5th century BC onward they created a formal function that would from that moment on represent the city in common Greek festivals. These delegates were called theoroi and the delegations theoriai. |
A panhellenic network?
"The assembling of Greeks from every level of society and from all over the Greek world offered an important opportunity for social display." (Emerson 2007) Visiting the games was, thus, something that was deemed so important by the poleis that it was formalised in the form of theoroi. They were the people who presented their polis in the panhellenic festivals like the games at Olympia. They did present themselves in different ways. The most important were the placing of dedications and inscriptions. These two were often also combined, because a dedication needed an accompanying inscription to explain who a dedication was for and who it was a gift from. Beneath, an example of an inscription placed by Greek theoroi can be seen. This was, thus, a lasting symbol of a polis's presence in a sanctuary like the one in Olympia. People from other poleis would have walked by and would have read the inscriptions. In this way, all the Greek city states were connected by inscriptions that stood on common Greek ground. In addition to inscriptions, archaeologists have found numerous bronze kettles, bronze weapons and small bronze animal figures. Because the festival of the Olympic Games was open to all Greeks, it is often called a panhellenic festival. The notion of "connectivity" is very important in this concept. The Greeks wanted to have, or at least to feel, a connection between each other to. Therefore, the different poleis created the institution of theoroi, sending these delegates to festivals all over the Greek world. In this way they created a network that can rightly be called panhellenic. |
Theoroi en theoriai in the Greek world
“The fundamental activity of theoroi is to represent the city or political community that sends them, and in doing this they also communicate to the broader Greek world how the leaders of that community want it to be perceived.” (Rutherford 217)
The theoroi were, so to speak, the most important actors in the panhellenic network. They contributed to creating the network in the first place, and they also helped in keeping this network 'alive'. The four major festivals (in Delphi, Nemea, Isthmus and Olympia) were a great moment for the Greek people to come together and to also communicate with each other, which could be direct contact through speech or indirect contact through the placing of dedications and inscriptions. What is important to keep in mind is that the Greeks themselves thought there was the need to put these theoroi in place. In doing so, regular visitors turned into official polis-sent representatives. These representatives, the theoroi, were of crucial importance in maintaining the link and the contact between their metropolis and the rest of the Greek world.
“[The] networks of theoria, which spread out from and in towards both these sanctuaries [i.e. Delfi and Olympia], linked and overlapped poleis spread out across the wider Greek world, creating a tangled mesh which bound that world together.” (Scott 266)
“The fundamental activity of theoroi is to represent the city or political community that sends them, and in doing this they also communicate to the broader Greek world how the leaders of that community want it to be perceived.” (Rutherford 217)
The theoroi were, so to speak, the most important actors in the panhellenic network. They contributed to creating the network in the first place, and they also helped in keeping this network 'alive'. The four major festivals (in Delphi, Nemea, Isthmus and Olympia) were a great moment for the Greek people to come together and to also communicate with each other, which could be direct contact through speech or indirect contact through the placing of dedications and inscriptions. What is important to keep in mind is that the Greeks themselves thought there was the need to put these theoroi in place. In doing so, regular visitors turned into official polis-sent representatives. These representatives, the theoroi, were of crucial importance in maintaining the link and the contact between their metropolis and the rest of the Greek world.
“[The] networks of theoria, which spread out from and in towards both these sanctuaries [i.e. Delfi and Olympia], linked and overlapped poleis spread out across the wider Greek world, creating a tangled mesh which bound that world together.” (Scott 266)
Network Theory: Connectivity in the Ancient Greek World
“More recently, the vogue has been to describe patterns of connection and the associated movements between places in terms of ‘networks’, making use of the related concepts of ‘social network theory’ and ‘connectivity’. The former gives us a vocabulary of ‘hubs’ (i.e. the sanctuaries), ‘nodes’ (i.e. the cities that send delegations), and ‘links’ between the two.” (Rutherford 9)
Since the 1950s there has been a new way to approach social and political relations. This approach is called Social Network Analysis (see also the article by Tom Brughmans mentioned in the bibliography), focusing on how relations can be put in networks. These networks are very visual which means that they can be easier to understand at one glance. The relations that I have tried to describe on this webpage can also be easily put in such a network. There are several types of networks (see the figure to the right), but the network that we are dealing with here can best be described as a centralised network (a).
Applying the terminology of Social Network Analysis, we can come up with the following model of the political and social relations between the Greek poleis and the so-called panhellenic festivals, such as the Olympic Games. In this system, the most important and central point, called the 'hub', is of course Olympia itself. The different poleis that want to be connected to the central hub can be characterised as 'nodes'. The crucial links between the hub and the nodes are the theoroi. They were the crucial actors in the communication between the different poleis and the panhellenic festival.
If we put the archaeological evidence we have into a real social network (see the figure below), we can see the reach that the Olympic Games had. The Games were thus a means to connect all these poleis into a greater panhellenic network. Without the theoroi this network would never have been possible. They were the crucial factor in the creation of this network.
“More recently, the vogue has been to describe patterns of connection and the associated movements between places in terms of ‘networks’, making use of the related concepts of ‘social network theory’ and ‘connectivity’. The former gives us a vocabulary of ‘hubs’ (i.e. the sanctuaries), ‘nodes’ (i.e. the cities that send delegations), and ‘links’ between the two.” (Rutherford 9)
Since the 1950s there has been a new way to approach social and political relations. This approach is called Social Network Analysis (see also the article by Tom Brughmans mentioned in the bibliography), focusing on how relations can be put in networks. These networks are very visual which means that they can be easier to understand at one glance. The relations that I have tried to describe on this webpage can also be easily put in such a network. There are several types of networks (see the figure to the right), but the network that we are dealing with here can best be described as a centralised network (a).
Applying the terminology of Social Network Analysis, we can come up with the following model of the political and social relations between the Greek poleis and the so-called panhellenic festivals, such as the Olympic Games. In this system, the most important and central point, called the 'hub', is of course Olympia itself. The different poleis that want to be connected to the central hub can be characterised as 'nodes'. The crucial links between the hub and the nodes are the theoroi. They were the crucial actors in the communication between the different poleis and the panhellenic festival.
If we put the archaeological evidence we have into a real social network (see the figure below), we can see the reach that the Olympic Games had. The Games were thus a means to connect all these poleis into a greater panhellenic network. Without the theoroi this network would never have been possible. They were the crucial factor in the creation of this network.
Further Reading
J.K.
Last updated: 06-06-2014
Selected Bibliography
Brughmans, Tom. (2013). “Thinking Through Networks: A Review of Formal Network Methods in Archaeology.” Journal of Archaelogical Method Theory 20: 623-662.
Dittenberger, Wilhelm and Purgold, Karl (1896). Die Inschriften von Olympia. Berlin: Verlag von A. Asher & Co.
Emerson, Mary. (2007). Greek Sanctuaries: An Introduction. London: Bristol Classical Press.
Malkin, Irad (2003). ‘Networks and the Emergence of Greek Identity’, Mediterranean Historical Review, vol. 18.2, pp. 56-74.
Miller, Stephen G. (2004). Ancient Greek Athletics. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Rutherford, Ian. (2013). State Pilgrims and Sacred Observers in Ancient Greece: A Study of Theoria en Theoroi. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
--- (2007) “Network Theory and Theoric Networks.” Mediterrranean Historical Review, vol. 22.1, pp. 23-37.
Scott, Michael. (2010). Delphi and Olympia: The Spatial Politics of Panhellenism in the Archaic and Classical Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Spivel, Nigel. (2004). The Ancient Olympics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Young, David C. (2004). A Brief History of the Olympic Games. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Images
[1] http://www.lakopetrabeach.com/assets/media/PICTURES/LAKOPETRA%20BEACH/ancient-olympia-peloponnese-5593
[2] https://www.propylaeum.de/uploads/pics/alteGeschichteEinstieg_01.jpg
[3] http://cabinetmagazine.org/issues/17/baran-nets.jpg
[4] own creation
[5] own creation
[6] http://covers.booktopia.com.au/big/9781107038226/state-pilgrims-and-sacred-observers-in-ancient-greece.jpg
[7] http://michaelscottweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/9780521191265i.jpg[8] http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Tg-4o2NFL._SY300_.jpg
Video
[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgjLFDZGoLk
Last updated: 06-06-2014
Selected Bibliography
Brughmans, Tom. (2013). “Thinking Through Networks: A Review of Formal Network Methods in Archaeology.” Journal of Archaelogical Method Theory 20: 623-662.
Dittenberger, Wilhelm and Purgold, Karl (1896). Die Inschriften von Olympia. Berlin: Verlag von A. Asher & Co.
Emerson, Mary. (2007). Greek Sanctuaries: An Introduction. London: Bristol Classical Press.
Malkin, Irad (2003). ‘Networks and the Emergence of Greek Identity’, Mediterranean Historical Review, vol. 18.2, pp. 56-74.
Miller, Stephen G. (2004). Ancient Greek Athletics. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Rutherford, Ian. (2013). State Pilgrims and Sacred Observers in Ancient Greece: A Study of Theoria en Theoroi. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
--- (2007) “Network Theory and Theoric Networks.” Mediterrranean Historical Review, vol. 22.1, pp. 23-37.
Scott, Michael. (2010). Delphi and Olympia: The Spatial Politics of Panhellenism in the Archaic and Classical Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Spivel, Nigel. (2004). The Ancient Olympics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Young, David C. (2004). A Brief History of the Olympic Games. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Images
[1] http://www.lakopetrabeach.com/assets/media/PICTURES/LAKOPETRA%20BEACH/ancient-olympia-peloponnese-5593
[2] https://www.propylaeum.de/uploads/pics/alteGeschichteEinstieg_01.jpg
[3] http://cabinetmagazine.org/issues/17/baran-nets.jpg
[4] own creation
[5] own creation
[6] http://covers.booktopia.com.au/big/9781107038226/state-pilgrims-and-sacred-observers-in-ancient-greece.jpg
[7] http://michaelscottweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/9780521191265i.jpg[8] http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Tg-4o2NFL._SY300_.jpg
Video
[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgjLFDZGoLk