The Augustan Games of Naples

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

Even as all eyes turn to Beijing and the 2008 Olympics, archaeologists are examining newly found Greek inscriptions for clues to the Sebasta, one of the classical world's most important competitions. The discovery, made during excavations in advance of subway construction in Naples (ancient Neapolis), is providing the first new information about the Sebasta since an inscription describing the games was found at Olympia more than a century ago. Scholars are excited by the prospect of learning more about these competitions, which, according to the first-century A.D. geographer Strabo, "rivaled the most famous games of Greece."

 

Founded at Naples in A.D. 2, the Sebasta were held in honor of the emperor Augustus (sebastos is Greek for augustus). The inscription from Olympia gives their full name as the Italic Roman Augustan Isolympic Games and Festivals. It sets out rules for the Sebasta and establishes that the athletic events were held under the same regulations as those at Olympics, hence the term "isolympic" or "equivalent to the Olympics." Later additions to the Sebasta, probably after the death of Augustus in A.D. 14, included musical and dramatic contests and a sacrifice to him.

 

 

http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/isolympics/

Edited May 5, 2008 by Gaius Paulinus Maximus