Olympionikai

work by Timaeus

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July 19, 2026

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The Olympionikai was a work by the Greek historian Timaeus, who lived around 350–264 BCE. This synchronic list documented victors of the Olympic Games, alongside other important figures like Spartan kings and Athenian magistrates. Timaeus's work was significant because it helped establish the practice of dating events by the Olympiad, a four-year period between the Olympic Games, which became a standard in ancient historiography. The Olympic Games themselves were a religious festival honoring Zeus, first held in 776 BCE at Olympia in Greece.123

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Timaeus
The Olympionikai (“Victors at Olympia”) was a synchronic list of victors in the Olympic Games, the kings and ephors of Sparta, the archons (magistrates) of Athens, and the priestesses of Hera at Argos. Timaeus’s work established the practice of dating by the Olympic Games that became…
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The Olympionikai (“Victors at Olympia”) was a synchronic list of victors in the Olympic Games, the kings and ephors of Sparta, the archons (magistrates) of Athens, and the priestesses of Hera at Argos. Timaeus’s work established the practice of dating by the Olympic Games that became…
Read More