Most people are surprised to learn that in addition to the 26 events at the modern Olympic Games, Nero (emperor of Rome from 54-68) instituted a 27th event.
What event did nero add to the olympics ?
1.Games for the Veneration of Venus.
Venus was Rome’s chief goddess, and many Roman women passionately wished to emulate her beauty.
The Romans therefore emulated the Greeks by making a festival of Venus, including a decathlon of beauty contests and a marathon of lovemaking (St. Augustine relates in his Confessions).
Of great importance to Nero was that the events be conducted in ways that would please his mistress Poppaea.
But it wasn’t enough to create gorgeous contestants: Nero wanted presiding officials willing to put on a good show as well, people who could be counted on to stage-manage the event with such panache that they would bring political benefits to themselves and Rome at large.
2.Naumachia.
A naumachia was an ancient Roman naval battle for the entertainment of the people. Gladiatorial contests were a favorite type of games, but sometimes actual sea battles were waged.
Ships filled with armed men would first be made to ram each other; then the ship’s crew would exit and fight with swords and spears on land, while sailors from other ships (both friendly and enemy) also waded into battle.
The entire affair was staged in an artificial lake or basin, to allow as many spectators as possible to watch comfortably.
Nero wasted no time in putting together his own naumachia, which he called the Olympic Games.
Because the venue was also a lake, a temporary dam had to be built to allow Nero to put some of the naval battles on dry ground.
A huge crowd of spectators filled a number of grandstands that featured marble seats and gold leaf decoration.
The 200-foot high bleachers held spectators for races, gladiator contests and executions.
To make room for these stands, Nero ordered the destruction of tenement apartments in central Rome.
3.Horse Racing
The emperor had been told he would become emperor at age 30; when that happened he was only 24 years old and impatient for power.
He had already staged several non-Olympic events for the amusement of the people, including one called the “Palace of Nero”.
This was an indoor arena where he would mount horseback and conduct mock battles with sticks and whips. When he moved in to make his naumachia into a more permanent fixture, it seemed wise to also add horse racing.
Of course, this event had special political significance as well: it was a way for Nero to show off his skill with a whip, thus celebrating his ability as a vigorous leader who would bring good fortune to Rome through his leadership and vigor.
Horse racing was very popular in the ancient world, with chariot races the most popular sport. But horses were so expensive (and required such large stables) that only the wealthy could afford them.
In Rome, horse racing had been around for quite some time and was especially popular among people of the Second Class (free residents of Rome), who were allowed to enter about two-thirds of all races.
Race winning money went to a fund that provided services like public baths and grain distribution to the poor.
4.Chariot Racing
Chariot racing was the most popular sport in the ancient world, and no city could claim to be civilized if it did not maintain a hippodrome for racing.
Rome had two great sites for chariot races: the Circus Maximus (where one could see 150,000 spectators at once) and the Circus Flaminius (which held about 20,000).
Nero began by copying an existing hippodrome in Greece, but it soon became clear that the Greek site would not suit Rome’s needs; different events required different courses. So Nero built his own hippodrome on top of the earlier Greek one.
The race ground was 300 yards long by 175 yards wide. The course itself included an area for 300 wild animals to be paraded through in their cages.
Nero also had special positions built for people to watch the races from.
And just as in Greece, there were separate chariot races for women and men (though Nero forbade man-to-man races).
5.Music Competitions
Some naumachias were held in conjunction with musical competitions, which in the ancient world were considered to be the greatest source of civic pride for the people.
This was because it was easier for a small city to win prizes in music than in athletics. In comparison with athletics, music had a strong display element that made it more like theater; it also depended on quiet during practice and did not involve so much training time.
Thus musical events required less infrastructure and less money than athletic ones; they also brought more prestige to a city’s local leaders.
