Nemean Games

They were said to have been founded by Heracles after he defeated the Nemean lion; another myth said that they originated as the funeral games of a child named Opheltes.

[2] All these legends, however, agree in stating that the Nemean Games were originally instituted by the Seven against Thebes in commemoration of the death of Opheltes, later called Archemorus.

When the Seven arrived at Nemea and were very thirsty, they met Hypsipile, who was carrying Opheltes (Greek: Ὀφέλτης), the child of the priest of Zeus and of a queen named Eurydice.

While his nurse Hypsipyle showed the heroes the way to the nearest well, she left the child behind lying in a meadow, which during her absence was killed by a dragon.

The alternative tradition was that he had either revived the ancient games, or at least introduced the alteration by which they were from this time celebrated in honor of Zeus.

[4] The various events, according to Apollodorus,[5] were horse-racing, running in armour in the stadium,[6] wrestling, chariot racing and discus, boxing, spear-throwing and archery, as well as musical contests.

The judges who awarded the prizes were dressed in black robes, and an instance of their justice, when the Argives presided, is recorded by Pausanias.

[8] Regarding the time of year the Nemean Games were celebrated, the scholiast on Pindar[9] merely states that they were held on the 12th of the month of Panemos, though in another passage he makes a statement which contradicts this assertion.

The contemporary games are more of a re-enactment than an actual sporting event,[16] held every four years since 1996, are a form of popular education in history, as well as a counter to the commercialism of the modern Olympics.