Midterm Glossary

Question 1

Ageneois

Answer 1

literally, beardless, a term used to disgnate an age category for competitors between the category for paides (children) and that for andres. The specific age limits for the ageneois category varied from place to place but were generally for the late teens. By the Hellenistic peiod, this category was in use for nearly all agmes including Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean but it was never adopted at Olympia which retained two basic categories: boys and men.

Question 2

Agora

Answer 2

Agora: the marketplace of every city; usually an open square surrounded by buldings

Question 3

Akoniti

Answer 3

Akoniti: literally means, dustless, a term used to designate a victor who had won without a contest.

Question 4

Andres

Answer 4

Andres: literally,men. Used as a technical term for the oldest age categories

Question 5

Anephedros

Answer 5

Anephedros: literally without a seat; used to describe someone who had won without a bye

Question 6

Apodyterion

Answer 6

Apodyterion: an undressing room, usually in the palaistra or gymnasion; where athletes disrobed prior to practice

Question 7

Arete

Answer 7

Arete: no English equivalent but includes the concepts of excellence, goodness, manliness, valor, nobility, and virtue. It existed in every ancient Greek and was at the time, a goal to be sought and reached for by every Greek.

Question 8

Aryballos

Answer 8

Aryballos: a small vessel, used for the oil of an athlete

Question 9

Boule

Answer 9

Boule: the council or state in a city-state, the Olympic boule consisted of 50 Eleans who hadgeneral control over the Olympic festival

Question 10

Choregos

Answer 10

Choregos: a private citizen who undertook economic sponsorship of a festival or a team

Question 11

Diazome/Periozme

Answer 11

Diazome; loincloth , synonymous with the perizoma

Question 12

Didaskelion

Answer 12

Didaskelion: literally the place of the didaskalos; a classroom, the place of training the mind as compared to the palaistra

Question 13

Ekecheira

Answer 13

Ekecheiria: literally a hold of hands; usually referring to the cessation of hostilities, a truce, especially the sacred true of the games

Question 14

Ephebos

Answer 14

Ephebos: a young man who had reached the age (18) of training for and ultimately entry to citizenship. His training was called ephebic and was crucial to the state’s continual revival in the creation of a citizen’s military reserve

Question 15

EROS

Answer 15

Eros: is a god who helps with the safety of the city-state. He is united with Hermes (God of speech) and Heracles (God of strength) in the gymnasia and when this happenes, friendship and harmony are born and through them the most beautiful freedom grows for their partakers

Question 16

Euandria

Answer 16

Euandria: manliness, physical fitness; a competition in the local games wrapped up with the civic self-image

Question 17

Gymnasion

Answer 17

Gymnasion: distinct from palaistra athlough the two buildings were often connected. Gymnasion consists of covered practice track and parallel to this is the open air track

Question 18

Hermaia

Answer 18

Hermaia: competitions dedicated to Hermes representing the physical side of education in the gymnasion

Question 19

Mouseai

Answer 19

Mouseia: competitions dedicated to the muses representing the intellectual side of education in the gymnasion

Question 20

Paidagogos

Answer 20

Paidagogos: a kind of tutorand chaperon for a young boy; frequently a slave who took the boy to school and home again

Question 21

Paidotribes

Answer 21

Paidotribes: a trainer for physical activities including athletic exercises and military drills

Question 22

Paides

Answer 22

Pais/Paides: a boy but also used as the official designation for the youngest group allowed to compete and to exercise in the gymnasion

Question 23

Skamma

Answer 23

Skamma: the name of the pit where the jumpers landed and where the wrestling ring was formed

Question 24

Stephaninitic

Answer 24

Stephanitic: applied to the four panhellenic games wher`e only the prize of victory was a crown

Question 25

Age of the Paleastra Participants

Answer 25

8-13

Question 26

Age of the Gymnasion participants

Answer 26

14-30

Question 27

Archaic Period

Answer 27

8th-6th century

Question 28

Classical

Answer 28

5-4th century

Question 29

Hellenistic

Answer 29

3rd century to roman times

Question 30

Charis

Answer 30

Grace… if you are in a superior social situation you can extend grace to other people, those underneath can either accept this or reject it

Question 31

Homeric Hero

Answer 31

Imbues the concept of the natural; this supports the aristocratic concept that people are good athletes based on their nature (not their hard work)

Question 32

charis

Answer 32

Grace: if you are in a superior social situation, you can extend your grace to someone; they have the option to either accept or reject

Question 33

Dolos

Answer 33

deceit/trick

Often times, non-aristocratic people would be portrayed as using tricks to win

Question 34

physis/nomos

Answer 34

nature/nurture
the ideal warrior for Homer is the good athlete. one who’s skills are based on his social standing
the descriptions are not independent from prevailing ideologies of that time

Question 35

panathenaic games

Answer 35

a games for all; intended to transform society and democratize athens

Question 36

aristocratic model

Answer 36

if oyu are not rich, you can not compete in the games

Question 37

3 other crown games were 100 years after Olympics… WHy?

Answer 37

two things happenening;
-civil stirfe between aristocrats and middle class
-a new war strategy that focuses on the group strength (hoplite phalanx)
the aristocrats needed something to attract the people’s attention away and also get their young unruly youth ou of the city! this was a way of controlling the masses