Cynisca (born circa 440 BCE)
Art by Nina Holm (tumblr, deviantart, website)
Although Spartan women were famed for their athleticism, they were not allowed to participate in the original Olympic Games. The competitions were reserved for male athletes, but there was a loophole. The winners of the chariot racing competitions were the owners and trainers of the victorious horses, not the drivers.
In 396 BCE, Cynisca entered her horses in the four horse chariot race and won. She is considered the first female Olympic champion. Cynisca repeated her victory in 392 BCE. Several other women followed her lead and won horse racing events at the ancient Olympic Games.
Cynisca was the daughter of the Spartan king Archidamus II and the sister of Agesilaus II. After her victory,
Cynisca
commissioned two statues of herself, one at the Temple of Zeus in Olympia and one at the Planistai (plane-tree grove) in Sparta. The Planistai was generally reserved for kings of Sparta and
Cynisca is believed to be the first woman honored there. Although neither statue survives, the inscription from the Olympia statue was recorded as:
My fathers and brothers were kings of Sparta
I, Cynisca, having won with a team of swift-footed horses,
