Diaulos(running race)

Diaulos(Greek:Δίαυλος,English translation:"double pipe" ) was a double-stadionrace,c. 400 metres (1,300 feet),introduced in the 14thOlympiadof theancient Olympic Games(724BC). The length of each foot race varied depending on the length of the stadium.^[1]This was because the Greek foot varied widely from one locality to another, for example the stadium atOlympiawas 192.27 metres (630.81 feet) but atDelphiit was 177.50 metres (582.35 ft) long.^[2]Scholars debate whether or not the runners had individual "turning" posts for the return leg of the race, or whether all the runners approached a common post, turned, and then raced back to the starting line.^[3]^[4]Although at Delphi an inscription referenced "turning-posts" as opposed to "turning-post", which suggests each runner had their own turning post, to prevent an outside runner from losing 3–4 metres (9.8–13.1 ft).^[5]These were calledkampteres.^[6]Archaeological evidence atNemeaalso shows that there were individual turning posts.^[7]

Notes

^Gardiner p.136
^Sweet p.27
^Miller, p. 32. "The first addition to the Olympic program was thediaulos,or double-stadion, race in 724. This race, the functional equivalent of the modern 400-meters, is difficult to identify on the vase paintings, because the runners' gait is similar to that of stadion runners. By comparing runners whose knees are slightly lower than the others' (contrast the knees in figures 3 and 11 with those in figure 30), we may be able to distinguish between the two events. The only depiction of thediaulosof which we are certain, however, is on a fragment of a Panathenaic amphora labeled, "I am adiaulosrunner "."
^Golden, pp. 51-52. "Diaulos,"double pipe" (seeAULOS), one of the regular events at Greek competitive festivals. Thediauloswas a footrace two lengths of the STADIUM (400 Greek feet) – up in lanes marked out by lime or gypsum, counter-clockwise around a post (KAMPTËR), and back in a parallel line. According to tradition, it joined the Olympic programme second, in 724; the first winner was HYPENUS of Pisa. Only men randiaulosat Olympia, Isthmia and Nemea. At the Pythian games, however, it was on the original programme for bothpaidesand men.Diaulosrunners needed to be stronger than sprinters but lighter thanHOPLITEracers (who ran the same distance, in armour); however (according to Galen), even a champion would be slower at this distance than a gazelle. Unchallenged by gazelles, somediaulosrunners enjoyed success over many years: an Argive won at Olympia four times running (208-196), a feat matched and surpassed by LEONIDAS of Rhodes (164-152, adding victories inSTADIONand race in armour as well). Double victories instadionanddiauloswere not uncommon. The term is also used for a horse race of two lengths of the Greek HIPPODROME. "
^Gardiner p.137
^Sweet p.27
^Sweet p. 30

Bibliography

Miller, Stephen G.,Ben Schmidt,Ancient Greek Athletics: the events at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea, and Isthmia.Yale University Press, 2004.ISBN 0-300-11529-6.
Golden, Mark.Sport in the Ancient World from A to Z.Routledge, 2003.ISBN 0-415-24881-7.
Gardiner, E. Norman. Athletics of the Ancient World. Oxford: Clarendon. Print.ISBN 978-0486424866.
Sweet, Waldo E. Sport and Recreation in Ancient Greece a Sourcebook with Translations. New York: Oxford UP, 1987. Print.ISBN 978-0300063127.

[1] Gardiner p.136

[2] Sweet p.27

[3] Miller, p. 32. "The first addition to the Olympic program was thediaulos,or double-stadion, race in 724. This race, the functional equivalent of the modern 400-meters, is difficult to identify on the vase paintings, because the runners' gait is similar to that of stadion runners. By comparing runners whose knees are slightly lower than the others' (contrast the knees in figures 3 and 11 with those in figure 30), we may be able to distinguish between the two events. The only depiction of thediaulosof which we are certain, however, is on a fragment of a Panathenaic amphora labeled, "I am adiaulosrunner "."

[4] Golden, pp. 51-52. "Diaulos,"double pipe" (seeAULOS), one of the regular events at Greek competitive festivals. Thediauloswas a footrace two lengths of the STADIUM (400 Greek feet) – up in lanes marked out by lime or gypsum, counter-clockwise around a post (KAMPTËR), and back in a parallel line. According to tradition, it joined the Olympic programme second, in 724; the first winner was HYPENUS of Pisa. Only men randiaulosat Olympia, Isthmia and Nemea. At the Pythian games, however, it was on the original programme for bothpaidesand men.Diaulosrunners needed to be stronger than sprinters but lighter thanHOPLITEracers (who ran the same distance, in armour); however (according to Galen), even a champion would be slower at this distance than a gazelle. Unchallenged by gazelles, somediaulosrunners enjoyed success over many years: an Argive won at Olympia four times running (208-196), a feat matched and surpassed by LEONIDAS of Rhodes (164-152, adding victories inSTADIONand race in armour as well). Double victories instadionanddiauloswere not uncommon. The term is also used for a horse race of two lengths of the Greek HIPPODROME. "

[5] Gardiner p.137

[6] Sweet p.27

[7] Sweet p. 30

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