Dolichos (race)

The dolichos or dolichus (Greek: Δόλιχος, English translation: "long race") in the ancient Olympic Games was a long race (c. 4800 m) introduced in 720 BC.

Separate accounts of the race present conflicting evidence as to the actual length of the dolichos: however, the average stated length of the race was approximately 12.5 laps, or about three miles (4.828 km). The event was run similarly to modern marathons: the runners would begin and end their event in the stadium proper, but the race course would wind its way through the Olympic grounds.

The course would often flank important shrines and statues in the sanctuary, passing by the Nike statue by the temple of Zeus before returning to the stadium.^[1]^[2]

The dolichos was not as popular as the sprint races like the stadion, and it may have served as an undercard for the main event. According to Philostratus, dolichos runners "move almost as if they were walking, holding up their hands in front of them" before the final kick, similar to how modern "sit-and-kick" 5000 metres and 10,000 metres races are often run at the Olympics.^[3]

^ Golden, p. 55. "Dolichos, "long race", one of the regular events of Greek competitive festivals. The dolichos varied in length from seven to twenty-four lengths of the STADIUM - from 1,400 to 4,800 Greek feet. The race at Olympia was apparently one of the longest; only men ran here - the first winner, in 720, was ACANTHUS of Sparta. However, dolichos was on the original programme for paides as well as men at the Pythian games and is attested at Nemea too. The dolichos for younger competitors may have been shorter (like all the footraces for boys and AGENEIOI Plato planned for his Cretan city). A horse (says Galen) would run dolichos better than a man. Among men, the ideal was a strong neck and shoulders - to hold up the hands during most of the race - and light, slender legs for a finishing sprint. A Bithynian nicknamed GRAUS won the Olympic dolichos three times in a row (? 213-221 CE) and FLAVIUS Metrobius claims 140 victories in the late first century CE. The achievement of POLITES of Caria, who won STADION, DIAULOS and dolichos on the same day at Olympia (69 BC), was as remarkable."
^ Miller, p. 32. "At the next Olympiad, in 720, a long-distance footrace called the dolichos was added to the program. The sources are not unanimous about the length of this race: some claim that it was twenty laps of the stadium track, others that it was twenty-four. It may have differed from site to site, but it was in the range of 7.5 to 9 kilometers. We can identify a dolichos in paintings where the runners' knees are low and barely bent, with the arms drawn close to the sides."
^ "Before the Marathon, Greeks Ran Track". Runner's World. 2011-05-09. Retrieved 2024-03-22.

[1] Golden, p. 55. "Dolichos, "long race", one of the regular events of Greek competitive festivals. The dolichos varied in length from seven to twenty-four lengths of the STADIUM - from 1,400 to 4,800 Greek feet. The race at Olympia was apparently one of the longest; only men ran here - the first winner, in 720, was ACANTHUS of Sparta. However, dolichos was on the original programme for paides as well as men at the Pythian games and is attested at Nemea too. The dolichos for younger competitors may have been shorter (like all the footraces for boys and AGENEIOI Plato planned for his Cretan city). A horse (says Galen) would run dolichos better than a man. Among men, the ideal was a strong neck and shoulders - to hold up the hands during most of the race - and light, slender legs for a finishing sprint. A Bithynian nicknamed GRAUS won the Olympic dolichos three times in a row (? 213-221 CE) and FLAVIUS Metrobius claims 140 victories in the late first century CE. The achievement of POLITES of Caria, who won STADION, DIAULOS and dolichos on the same day at Olympia (69 BC), was as remarkable."

[2] Miller, p. 32. "At the next Olympiad, in 720, a long-distance footrace called the dolichos was added to the program. The sources are not unanimous about the length of this race: some claim that it was twenty laps of the stadium track, others that it was twenty-four. It may have differed from site to site, but it was in the range of 7.5 to 9 kilometers. We can identify a dolichos in paintings where the runners' knees are low and barely bent, with the arms drawn close to the sides."

[3] "Before the Marathon, Greeks Ran Track". Runner's World. 2011-05-09. Retrieved 2024-03-22.

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