Page:History of Greece Vol IV.djvu/72

 54 HISTORY OF GREECE. present, but also contending for valuable prizes. 1 Passing to historical G /eece during the seventh century B. c., we find evidence of two festivals, even then very considerable, and frequented by Greeks from many different cities and districts, the festival at Delos, in honor of Apollo, the great place of meeting for lonians throughout the -<Egean, and the Olympic games. The Homeric Hymn to the Delian Apollo, which must be placed earlier than GOO B.C., dwells with emphasis on the splendor of the Delian festival, unrivalled throughout Greece, as it would appear, during all the first period of this history, for wealth, finery of attire, and variety of exhibitions as well in poetical genius as in bodily activity,- equalling probably at that time, if not surpassing, the Olympic games. The complete and undiminished grandeur of this Delian Pan-Ionic festival is one of our chief marks of the first period of Grecian history, before the comparative prostration of the Ionic Greeks through the rise of Persia: it was celebrated periodically in every fourth year, to the honor of Apollo and Artemis. It was distinguished from the Olympic games by two circumstances both deserving of notice, first, by including solemn matches not only of gymnas- tic, but also of musical and poetical excellence, whereas the latter had no place at Olympia ; secondly, by the admission of men, women, and children indiscriminately as spectators, whereas women were formally excluded from the Olympic ceremony. 3 Such exclusion may have depended in part on the inland situa- tion of Olympia, less easily approachable by females than the island of Delos ; but even making allowance for this circum- stance, both the one distinction and the other mark the rougher character of the ^Etolo-Dorians in Peloponnesus. The Delian festival, which greatly dwindled away during the subjection of the Asiatic and insular Greeks to Persia, was revived after- wards by Athens during the period of her empire, when she was peeking in CT ery way to strengthen her central ascendency in the 1 Homer, Iliad, xi, 879, xxiii, 679; Hesiod, Opp. Di. 651. fcfld the festival called Ephesia, had become the great place of Ionic meeting, the presence of women was still continued (Dionys. Hal. A R IT, 25).
 * Homer, Hymn. Apoll. 150; Thucyd. iii, 104.
 * Pausan. v. 6, 5; JElian, N. H. x, 1 ; Thucyd. iii, 104. When Ephesns,