Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

OLYMPIAAS. 833
of Olympia celebrated at Athens, one of which was 776. (Paus. v. 8. ~ 3, viii. 26. ~ 3; Strab. viii.
in existence iln the time of Psindar (Pind. Nes. p. 355.) Timaeus of Sicily, however, who flourished
ii. 23, &c.; Schol. ad loc.), who celebrates the B. c. 264, was the first writer who regularly arancestors of the Athenian Timodemus as conquerors ranged events according to the conquerors in each
in it, and perhaps much earlier (Schol. ad Thuc. i. Olympiad, with which aera he compared the years
126). It was celebrated to the honour of Zeus, in of the Attic Archons, the Spartan Ephors, and that
the spring between the great Dionysia and the of the Argive priestesses. (Polyb. xii. 12. ~ 1.) His
BleIdidia. (Bdckh, Inscs. pp. 53, 250-252.) practice of recording events by Olympiads was folThe other Olympic festival at Athens was insti- lowed by Polybius, Diodorts Siculus, Dionysius of
tuted by Hadrian A. D. 131; from which time a Halicarnassus, and sometimes by Pausanias, Aelian,
new Olympic aera commenced. (Corsini, Fast. A t. I Diogenes Laertius, Arrian, &c. It is twice adopted
vol. ii. pp. 105, 110, &c.; Spartian. Hadr. 13.) by Thucydides (iii. 8, v. 49) and Xenophon (IIell.
[OLYMPIAS.] i. 2. ~ 1, ii. 3. ~ 1). The names of the conquerors
Attalia in Panmphylia. This festival is only in the foot-race were only used to designate the
known to us by coins. (Rathgeber, 1. c. p. 326.) Olympiad, not the conquerors in the other contests.
CQlzicus. (B13ckh, Inscr. n. 2810.) Thucydides (SI. cc.), however, designates -two
Cyrene. (B;ckh, Explicat. Pind. p. 328.) Olympiads by the name of the conquerors in the
Disum in Macedonia. These games were insti- Pancratium; but this appears only to have been
tuted by Archelaus, and lasted nine days, corre- done on account of the celebrity of these victors,
sponding to the number of the nine SiMuses. They both of whom conquered twice ill the Pancratium.
were celebrated with great splendour by Philip II. Other writers, however, adhere so strictly to the
and Alexander the Great. (Diodor. xvii. 16; Dion practice of designating the Olympiad only by the
Chrysost. vol. i. p. 73, teiske; Suidas, s. v. conqueror in the foot-race, that even when the'Ava4avapians.) same person had obtained the prize in other con-' Epl-esets. This festival appears by inscriptions, tests as well as in the foot-race, they only mention
in which it is sometimes called'A vpeash'O/,47rna the latter. Thus Diodorus (xi. 70) and Pausanias
E,'Eia-go, to have been instituted by Hadrian. (iv. 24. ~ 2) only record the conquest of Xenophon
(BiJckh, Inscr. n. 2810; compare n. 2987, 3000.) of Corinth iin the foot-race, although he had also
Elis. Besides the great Olympic Games, there conquered at the same festival in the Pentathlum.
appear to have been smaller ones celebrated yearly. The writers, who make use of the aeras of the
(Accdot. Go. ed. Siebenk. p. 95.) Olympiads, usually give the number of the OlymMliagnesia in Lydia. (Rathgeber, 1. c. pp. 326, pied (the first corresponding to B. c. 776), and then
327.) the nanme of the conqueror in the foot-race. Some
Neapolis. (Corsini, Diss. Agfon. iv. 14. p. 103.) writers also speak of events as happening in the
Ticaea in Bithynia. (Eustath. adDionys. Perieg. first, second, third, or fourth year, as the case may
pp. 172, 173, in Geogr. Min. ed. Bernhardy.) be, of a certain Olympiad; but others do not give
Nicopolis in Epeirus. Augustus, after the con- the separate years of each Olympiad. The rules
quest of Antony, off Actium, founded Nicopolis, for converting Olympiads into the year B. c., and
and instituted games to be celebrated every five vice versa, are given under CHRONOnOGLA, p. 281;
years ( vy&s' rTErTEJptKcdS) in commemoration of beut as this is troublesome, we subjoin for the use
his victory. These games are sometimes called of the student alist of the Olympiads with the years
Olympic, but more frequently bear the name of of the Christian aera corresponding to them from
Actia. They were sacred to Apollo, and were tIe beginning of the Olympiads to A. D. 301. To
under the care of the Lacedaemonians. (Strabo, save space the separate years of each Olympiad,
vii. p. 325.) [ACTIA.] with the corresponding years B. c., are only given
Olympas in Thessaly, on the mountain of that from the 47th to the 126th Olympiad, as this is the
name. (Schol. ad Apaoll. thood. Agomonaut. i. 599.) most important period of Grecian history; in the
Perg.nalos in Mysia. (Biickh, Inser. n. 2810; other Olympiads the first year only is given. In
3Mionnet, ii. 610. n. 626.) consulting the following table it must be borne in
Side in Pamphylia. (Rathgeber, p. 129.) mind that the Olympic Games were celebrated
Suyrtz,. Pausanias (vi. 14. ~ I) mentions an about lMidsumner [OLY-IPIA], and that the Attic
Agon of the Smyrnaeans, which Cormini (Diss. year commenced at about the same time. If,
1gon. i. 12. p. 20) supposes to be an Olympic therefore, an event happened in the second half of
festival. The MlIarmor Oxoniense expressly men- the Attic year, the year B. c. mulst be reduced by 1.
tions Olympia at Smyrna, and they also occur in Thus Socrates was put to death in the 1st year of
inscriptions.. (Gruter, Inscr. p. 314. 1; Bickh, the 95th Olympiaid, which corresponds in the folInser. ad n. 1720.) lowing table to B. c. 400; but as, his death hapTarscus in Cilicia. This festival is only known pened in Thargelion, the lth month of the Attic
to us by coins. (Krause, p. 228.) year, the year B. C. must be. reduced by 1, which
Tegea in Arcadia. (B1ckh, Isscr. n. 1.513. p. gives us B. c. 399, the true elate of his death.
700.) I. c. 01. a. c. 01. B. C. 01.
Tizessalonica in Macedonia. (Krause, p. 230.) 776. 1. 1. 736. 11. 1. 696. 21. 1.
Thyatira in Lydia. (Rathgeber, p. 328.) 772. 2. 1. 732. 12. 1. 692. 22. 1.
Tralles in Lydia. (Krause, p. 233.) 768. 3. 1. 728. 13, 1. 638. 23. 1.
T7rpus in Phoenicia. (Rathgeber, p. 328.) 764. 4. 1. 724. 14, 1. 684. 24. ].
OLY'MVIPIAS ('OXuvurids), the most celebrated 760. 5. 1. 720. 15. 1. 680. 25. 1.
chronological aera among the Greeks, was the 756. 6. 1. 716. 16. 1. 676. 26. 1.
period of four years, which elapsed between each 752. 7. 1. 712. 17. 1. 672. 27. 1.
celebration of the Olympic Games. The Olympiads 748. 8. 1. 708. 18. 1. 668. 28. 1.
began to be reckoned from the victory of Coroebus 744. 9. 1. 704. 19. 1. 664.- 29. 1.
in the foot-race, which happened in the year B. c. 740. 10. 1. 700. 700. 20. 1. 669.. 1.
3a