By the early 500s BCE, the Olympic Games were organized by Elis, and the judges (the Hellanodikai, “judges of the Greeks”) were Elean officials chosen from leading Elean families. This marks the shift toward a more formal system of appointments and accountability, with Elis claiming authority to run the festival and enforce fairness across Greek city-states.
Athletes, their families, and trainers swore an oath at Olympia beside a statue of Zeus Horkios (“Zeus of Oaths”), promising not to commit wrongdoing in the Games and affirming they had followed the required training rules. This oath set a religious and legal framework that supported the Hellanodikai’s authority to punish cheating and other violations.
The athlete Theagenes was fined by the Eleans (the Olympic organizers and enforcers) after a controversial case involving the boxer Euthymus. The story shows that penalties were not limited to bribery: the Hellanodikai and Elean authorities also acted when behavior around victory and competition was judged improper under the Games’ norms.
The Olympic oath explicitly included a claim that competitors had trained under the regulations for ten consecutive months. This made preparation a rule-backed eligibility requirement, giving the Hellanodikai a basis to exclude or discipline athletes who did not meet standards and to frame fair competition as a matter of sworn obligation.
In the 98th Olympiad (388 BCE), Eupolus of Thessaly bribed other boxers, and the Eleans fined both the briber and those who accepted bribes. The fines paid for the first Zanes—bronze statues of Zeus set up at Olympia as public warnings that victories should not be bought.
Pausanias names bribed athletes in the 388 BCE case, including Prytanis of Cyzicus, along with other boxers who accepted money. Recording the offenders’ names and dedicating Zanes with inscriptions turned enforcement into a lasting public memory, not just a private punishment.
In 364 BCE, Arcadians (with Piseans) held the Olympic festival while Elis was partly conquered, and fighting broke out in the sanctuary during the Games. The episode highlights why control of Olympia mattered: the Hellanodikai and Elean institutions were tied to political authority, not just sport, and disruptions threatened the Games’ legitimacy.
Over time, the panel of Hellanodikai expanded and then was set at ten judges. Standardizing the number helped match judges to a growing program of events and made responsibilities clearer, with judges overseeing specific contests under a structured system.
In the 112th Olympiad (332 BCE), the Athenian pentathlete Kalippos was caught bribing opponents and was fined by the Eleans. Athens tried to pressure Elis to cancel the fine and even threatened boycott; only after pressure linked to Delphi did Athens pay, and the money funded another set of Zanes.
By the Hellenistic era, Zanes lined key approaches to the stadium and acted as a highly visible reminder that cheating broke the Olympic oath. The Hellanodikai’s penalties thus shaped not only individual outcomes but also the moral messaging of the sanctuary itself through repeated, public dedications.
In 125 CE, two Egyptian boxers (Didas and Sarapammon) were fined for fixing the outcome of their match, and the penalty money paid for additional Zanes. This shows the enforcement system continued into the Roman Imperial period, applying even as competitors came from beyond mainland Greece.
In the second century CE, Pausanias documented the oath rituals and the Zanes, describing how fines were imposed and why the statues were erected. His detailed reporting helped preserve the record of the Hellanodikai’s appointments, procedures, and notable enforcement decisions long after many inscriptions and statues were lost.
In the early third century CE, Philostratus complained that corruption was common in athletic competition, while noting the Olympics as a place where such problems were less accepted (even if not absent). His comments reflect the continuing importance of judges and formal penalties to protect the Games’ reputation.
When the ancient Olympic festival ceased in late antiquity, the institutional role of the Hellanodikai also disappeared. The surviving bases of the Zanes and literary accounts remain key evidence for how the Games were governed and how judges tried to enforce fairness over many centuries.
Hellanodikai (Olympic judges): appointments and notable decisions (c.6th century BCE–4th century CE)