Travels through History : The Peloponnese – Nemea

This is an excerpt from my forthcoming book called Travels through History : The Peloponnese.

Nemea is roughly halfway between Corinth and Nafplio. The name is famous as it was here that Hercules carried out the first of his twelve labours, namely the slaying of the Nemean Lion that lived in a nearby cave. After strangling the poor cat, Hercules wore its skin as a trophy. 

Nemea was also famous as the site of one of the four great competitions of ancient Greece, along with the games in Olympia (The Olympic Games), Corinth (The Isthmian Games), and Delphi (The Pythian Games). The first Nemean Games were organised in 573 BC. After the Peloponnesian War, Nemea was destroyed and subsequently abandoned for around 75 years. From 340 to 330 BC, the Games were revived and held every two years until 271 BC, when they moved from Nemea to Argos. The Nemean Games were part of a religious festival held in honour of the god Zeus. 

Like the other Panhellenic Games, the Nemean Games included foot races, wrestling, and poetic contests. Wreaths made of wild celery were given to the winners. The Nemean Games tended not to include horse racing. What made the Nemean Games stand out was that the organisers divided the athletes into age groups: children from 6 to 12 years of age, beardless youth from 16 to 20 years old, and men above the age of 20. Nemea even had a mechanical starting system to ensure all athletes started together.

The largest ruins at Nemea are of the Doric Temple of Zeus dating from the fourth century BC. I visited the museum to see the items from the Mycenaean cemetery in Aidonia. The stadium is to the southeast of the Temple of Zeus and it’s best to enter the same way the athletes did, via a vaulted passage. The building here was where the athletes prepared for competition. 

The stadium held 40,000 spectators. Visitors can still see the earthenware pipes that supplied the stadium with spring water. Stones mark the starting line, supporting the wooden mechanism that gave the starting signal for the athletes.