Credit: Sophie de Renneville / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain She was the owner of a chariot that won the chariot race in the Games. Cynisca, the daughter of Archidamus II, King of Sparta, the first female winner in the history of the Olympic games. One might speculate that the majority of the Heraen Games’ participants were Spartan women. Thus, Spartan women were allowed to ride horses and travel as they pleased, as well as hunt and wear short robes. Spartan society held firm to the belief that athletic women give birth to strong children. The Greeks believed that the winners would be endowed with strength by eating the meat of the animal sacrifices. The winners of each race were crowned with a wreath of olive leaves, and animals were sacrificed in the name of Hera. Dolichos: an endurance race 18-24 laps around the stadium (about 3 miles).Hippios: four consecutive races across the length of the stadium (708 meters).Diaulos: two consecutive sprint races along the stadium’s track (354 meters).Stadion: a sprint competition on the stadium’s race track (177 meters).The Heraen Games didn’t include combat sports, which of course were a staple of the men’s games.
The competition initially only included running sports. The games, which were associated with adolescents, were considered a rite of passage into adulthood for females. The Heraean Games, named in honor of the Greek goddess Hera, took place every four years.
Both versions of the games were held in the stadium at Olympia. Very few historical records of the Heraean Games exist, but they were believed to have taken place just after the traditional Olympic Games, around 776 BC.