What was the penalty for cheating in the ancient olympic games

During the Peloponnesian War in B. While a sacred truce traditionally halted all hostilities during the ancient Olympics, war came right to Olympia during the games in B. As the tie-breaking wrestling match in the final event of the pentathlon was taking place, invaders from neighboring Elis attacked. Archers defending Olympia fired from the roofs of the temples. Security measures for the London Games, which included soldiers on rooftops with surface-to-air missiles, echoed these long-ago events.

While 5, troops engaged in hand-to-hand fighting, spectators used to cheering bloodied athletes in combat sports such as boxing and wrestling stuck around and turned their applause to the warring armies. In the ancient games, licensed merchants ran food and drink concessions and sold souvenirs.

Artists, sculptors and poets hawked their works. Olympic organizers could hand out on-the-spot fines to merchants who engaged in price gouging or sold inferior merchandise.

Champions of the ancient games may not have gotten their photographs on boxes of Wheaties, but their images appeared on specially minted coins and state-commissioned statues. Like many countries today, Greek states invested in sporting facilities and hired trainers who assisted athletes with medicine, nutrition and physiotherapy.

Trainers of Olympic champions became famous themselves and penned popular training manuals with advice on exercise and diet. Cheating seems to have been rare at the ancient Olympics, which traditionally started in B. It is assumed there were cheaters in addition to the known ones listed below, but the judges, Hellanodikai, were considered honest, and on the whole, so were the athletes—partly deterred by stiff fines and the possibility of flogging.

This list is based on zane-statue witness Pausanias but comes directly from the following article: "Crime and Punishment in Greek Athletics," by Clarence A. The Classical Journal , Vol. Gelo of Gela won an Olympic victory, in , for the chariot. Astylus of Croton won in the stade and diaulos races. When Gelo became tyrant of Syracuse -- as happened more than once to the much adored and honored Olympic victors -- in , he persuaded Astylus to run for his city.

Bribery is assumed. The angry people of Croton tore down Astylus' Olympic statue and seized his house. In , the Spartans were excluded from participation, but a Spartan named Lichas entered his chariot horses as Thebans. When the team won, Lichas ran onto the field. The Hellanodikai sent attendants to flog him as punishment. During the 98th Olympics, in B.

The Hellanodikai fined all four men. The fines paid for a row of bronze statues of Zeus with inscriptions explaining what had happened. These 6 bronze statues were the first of the zanes. The Romans used the system of damnatio memoriae to purge the memory of despised men. Egyptians did something similar [see Hatshepsut], but the Greeks did virtually the opposite, memorializing the names of miscreants so their example couldn't be forgotten.

When Dionysius became tyrant of Syracuse, he tried to persuade the father of Antipater, the boys' class winning boxer, to claim his city as Syracuse. Antipater's Milesian father refused. Dionysius had more success claiming a later Olympic victory in 99th Olympics. Dicon of Caulonia legitimately claimed Syracuse as his city when he won the stade race.

It was legitimate because Dionysius had conquered Caulonia. What was the penalty for cheating at the ancient Olympics? Currently voted the best answer. Yes, heavy penalties. Cheating was punished very severely. In the ancient Summer Games, there were rules for every game contested for. Those, who cheated or violated the rules, were disqualified from the contest. Along with the contestant, the trainer and the sponsoring city-state were also fined.