#cynisca

[dailyhistoryposts]

Kyniska of Sparta

Kyniska, or Cynisca (442-? BCE) was the first woman to win at the Olympic Games in 396 BCE. A princess, she won first prize in to consecutive Olympics (396 BCE and 392 BCE) in chariot racing with horses she had trained herself.

[Cynisca by Sophie de Renneville]

Born in 442 BCE to King Archidamus II, she was a wealthy princess. This gave her the resources and opportunity to train as an athlete, and from a young age set her sights on the Olympics.

Supported by her family (some say her brother wanted to prove chariot racing was less manly and worthy than other sports, but this has been challenged) she trained the horses and entered in the four-horse chariot race, winning at the age of about 40 years old. She did the same the next Games, four years later.

[The Kotinos, the prize for the winner]

Kyniska's family enjoyed fame and money from her victories. Kyniska dedicated a large set of bronze statues at the Temple of Zeus in Olympia with an inscription declaring her the only woman to win the Olympic Games. She had another set made and placed in Sparta. The inscription reads:

Kings of Sparta who are my father and brothers Kyniska, victorious with a chariot of swift-footed horses, have erected this statue. I declare myself the only woman in all Hellas to have won this crown. Apelleas son of Kallikles made it.

After her death, a hero-cult dedicated to Kyniska was established that reached widespread worship and a hero-shrine dedicated to her. She was the first Spartan woman to receive this honor. All evidence suggests that her accomplishments were well known to be done by a woman, and that she was celebrated rather than shunned for this.

[obsidian-sphere]

The Saturday Evening Post, April 6, 1935.

[venicepearl]

Cynisca or Kyniska (born c. 442 BC) was a wealthy Spartan princess. She is famous for being the first woman to win at the Olympic Games, competing in the sport of chariot racing. Cynisca first entered the Olympics in 396 BC, where she won first prize competing with a team of horses she had trained herself. In 392 BC, Cynisca entered her horses in the Olympics for a second time and was awarded another victory in the same event.

[unbolt-me]

BUT IS IT POETRY? // Cynisca (One-Horse Consolation Race)

“Sorry, we’re closing.” …and she leaves the battlefield on her gala-shield.

Jingling with armor, she fumbles with a jammed lock in the half-light hall.

In the cold bedroom she kicks into the corner a chlamys on which

two heraldic cats with apathetical smiles claw a lonely heart.

And then stands face up, mixing her tears with water and Bloody Caesar.

TONY: So, I wonder…

TATI: Again?

TONY:Okay…

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[centerednscholared]

The Bhubezi Women - The Women Who Hold Up the World by Cheryl Penn

The Bhubezi Women – The Women Who Hold Up the World by Cheryl Penn

 Hatshepsut’s Needle

It’s really quite difficult to tell how/when/why the Revealing of the Bhubezi Women unfolded.  It’s equally problematic to tell how many there are, or their particular function in Holding up the World.  One fact is evidenced – they are all REAL historical figures, most of which have been misunderstood by history.  Bhubezi Women identified thus far: Magenta, Sienna (better…

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[hodie-scolastica]

Cynisca of Sparta

My ancestors and brothers were kings of Sparta I, Cynisca, victorious with a chariot of swift-footed horses erected this statue.  I declare that I am the only woman in all of Greece to have won this crown. -Inscription* found at the base of the statue of Cynisca in Olympia

Cynisca (born c. 440 BCE) was the first woman to win at the ancient Olympic games.  Her four-horse chariot team won twice, first in 396 and then again four years later in 392. It is unlikely, however, that she even saw her victories happen as women were barred from even entering the stadium.

She was the daughter of Archidamus II, king of Sparta, and his wife Eupolia and the sister of King Agesilaus II.  Her mother’s name, Eupolia, means “well-horsed,” perhaps showing where she got her interest in horses from.  Her own name, Cynisca, means “female hound.”

We know nothing of her life until her victory.  She was not able to participate in the Games for much of her life as the Elians had barred the Spartans from Olympia in 420.  It was only after the Peloponnesian war when Sparta attacked Elis and gained access to the city once more.  Cynisca entered her horses into the games at the first possible opportunity in 396, at which point she would have been in her fifties.

Like other Olympic victors in chariot racing, Cynisca did not drive her team herself, but employed a jockey.  Unlike many other victors, she probably did not even see her own victory.  She did, however, train her horses herself and was encouraged to enter the Games by her brother, though what his motives were remains in doubt.  Plutarch and Xenophon both claim it was in an attempt to discredit the sport.  Modern scholars find this explanation dubious.

In honor of her victory, the sculptor Apelles created a sculpture of Cynisca for the sanctuary at Olympia, probably commissioned by the horsewoman herself.  The inscription at its base (see above) is thought to have been written by the woman herself.  She was also commemorated with a hero shrine in Sparta.

Though she was the first, she would not be the only woman to win the Olympic crown.  Female victors were not common, but a few women did follow in Cyisca’s hooftracks.

  *The text in Greek can be found here.

Sources/Further Reading: Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.8.1-3, 3.15, 6.1.6 - Perseus Plutarch, Life of Agesilaus 20.1 - Perseus Xenophon, Agesilaus 9 - Perseus Pomeroy, Sarah B. Spartan Women. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Cynisca - Women Make History Cynisca - Wikipedia