One very prominent figure from early Greek history is Lycurgus of Sparta. He was the famous lawmaker of the city-state. However, another accomplishment that Greek tradition attributes to him is the founding of Greece’s most famous sporting festival. What does the evidence really reveal about this subject? Did Lycurgus of Sparta really found the Olympic Games?
Lycurgus and the Olympics
Let us first examine what the tradition in question actually claims. The surviving source for this tradition is Plutarch, a Greek philosopher of the first century CE. According to Plutarch, Aristotle believed that Lycurgus was associated with the first Olympic Games. In the words of Plutarch:
“Some say that he flourished at the same time with Iphitus, and in concert with him established the Olympic truce. Among these is Aristotle the philosopher, and he alleges as proof the discus at Olympia on which an inscription preserves the name of Lycurgus.”
Iphitus is a figure that appears in other records of the Olympics. He was the king of Elis and was supposedly the founder of the festival. Thus, in this passage, Plutarch is saying that Aristotle (among others) believed that Lycurgus worked alongside Iphitus to establish the Olympic Games.
Evidence for this tradition
Something very useful about this tradition is that we actually know exactly what the supposed evidence for it is. As we can see from the quotation from Plutarch, the alleged proof presented by Aristotle was the existence of a discus at Olympia which had the name “Lycurgus” inscribed on it.
By knowing the proof, we are in a reasonable position to assess whether or not this tradition is actually convincing. Hence, what can we say regarding this ancient claim?
Firstly, there are some scholars who believe that the inscription in question is not genuine but was a forgery from the fourth century BCE. Of course, such a conclusion can only be speculation since we have no additional information about the discus.
Problems with the evidence
A more significant issue is the simple fact that Plutarch’s description of Aristotle’s claim does not present any reason to believe that the Lycurgus mentioned on the inscription was the famous lawgiver of Sparta.
Based on Plutarch’s words, it seems that the discus simply had the name “Lycurgus” on it. There is no suggestion that the inscription explained who, exactly, this Lycurgus was. This is a problem because this was not an uncommon name. In fact, we can find at least eight figures with the name Lycurgus in the legends of Greek mythology.
Therefore, even if this was a genuine inscription from the first Olympic Games, it would not prove that Lycurgus of Sparta was involved. This is especially so when we consider the chronological issues involved in the tradition.
Lycurgus lived long after the first Olympic Games
The Olympic Games were founded in 776 BCE according to ancient Greek records. If Lycurgus of Sparta was involved in founding the Olympics, then obviously, he must have lived in the first half of the eighth century BCE. However, does the evidence really support this conclusion?
In reality, the evidence strongly supports the conclusion that Lycurgus lived at around the middle of the seventh century BCE. This is long after the traditional dates for Lycurgus of Sparta. More importantly, it is long after the first Olympic Games.
One piece of evidence comes from Thales, or Thaletas, of Crete. He is consistently made a contemporary and associate of Lycurgus in the records. Around 400 BCE, Glaucus of Rhegium revealed that Thales lived after a certain figure named Archilochus. This early evidence is the most definite information concerning the dating of Thales.
The dating of Archilochus is not controversial. There is near universal agreement among scholars that he was active between around 680 and 645 BCE. Since Glaucus placed Thales after Archilochus—yet Thales was definitely a contemporary of Lycurgus of Sparta—this shows that Lycurgus was a figure of the middle to late seventh century BCE.
Therefore, Lycurgus of Sparta simply cannot have been involved in the founding of the Olympic Games in 776 BCE.
