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Horse and chariot racing were popular events in the Greek agones for almost a thousand years. They were not invented by the Greeks but came into existence through the popularity of the two-wheel chariot in the ancient East and ancient Egypt. Evidence of the sporting use of horses and carriages around the middle of the 2nd millenium is known from the Hittites; a training plan for horses in the name of the horse trainer Kikkuli has been preserved. In ancient Egypt some original chariots belonging to kings have been excavated (tomb of Tut’ankhamun, 14th century BC). Pharaohs demonstrated their athletic expertise in archery by shooting at targets while riding chariots with fast horses (Sphinx stela of Amenophis II). In Greece one finds representations of early examples of chariot racing in the Minoan and Mycenean periods, where the custom of chariot racing during funeral games begun (larnax of Tanagra). The first academically proven evidence of a representation of chariot racing dates from a Mycenean amphora of Tiryns (13th century BC).

Les courses hippiques ont eu dans le monde grec une importance considérable, non seulement dans les concours olympiques, mais dans beaucoup d’autres rencontres sportives de fréquentation locale, régionale ou panhellénique. Ce volume constitue le premier ouvrage exclusivement consacré à ces courses et aux hippodromes. Il rend compte des importants progrès faits ces dernières années dans l’analyse des représentations iconographiques et des textes littéraires ou épigraphiques ayant trait aux sports hippiques. Il contient de nouvelles restitutions d’hippodromes déjà connus, comme ceux d’Olympie et du Lykaion, et la présentation de pistes nouvellement identifiées, comme celles de Delphes ou d’Épidaure. Vingt-huit articles, issus d’un colloque international qui s’est tenu à Athènes en 2016, restituent dans toute leur ampleur et dans toute leur diversité la place et la forme des hippodromes et des courses hippiques dans l’architecture, les arts figurés, la poésie et l’histoire politique, économique, sociale et religieuse du monde grec. Horse racing held a significant role in the Greek world, not only in the Olympic competitions, but in many other sporting events – local, regional or Panhellenic. This volume is the first study to exclusively investigate these races and hippodromes. This volume acknowledges the significant progress made in recent years in the analysis of iconographic representations and literary or epigraphic texts relating to hippic sports. It outlines new reproductions of already known racetracks, such as those of Olympia and the Lykaion, and presents newly identified tracks, such as those of Delphi or Epidaurus. Twenty-eight articles, coming out of an international conference held in Athens in 2016, reproduce in all their breadth and diversity, the place and the form of racetracks and horse racing in architecture, the figurative arts, poetry and the political, economic, social and religious history of the Greek world.