The System of the Pentathlon

Extract

Mr. Norman Gardiner, in his Greek Athletic Sports and Festivals, pp. 369–370, comes to the following conclusions as to the method of deciding the pentathlon:—

1. From a passage in Xenophon, Hellenica, vii. 4. 29, he concludes that some sort of elimination took place and that only those were allowed to compete in wrestling who had qualified in the first four events. ‘As to the qualification, speculation is useless. We must be content to accept the words of Xenophon and hope that the discovery of some inscription or papyrus may enlighten us.’

2. From the account given by Philostratus of the mythical invention of the pentathlon by Jason, he concludes that victory in three events was sufficient but not necessary. Peleus, we are told, was victorious in wrestling and second in the four other events, and ‘ Jason wishing to please Peleus, combined the five events and thus secured to him the victory in the whole competition.’ ‘Only two explanations are possible. Either wrestling counted more than the other events, a quite unwarranted assumption, or, in case of a tie at least, account was taken of places, i.e. the result was determined by a system of marks.’ As to details, ‘ speculation is useless.’