Documents of horse- and chariot-racing before the Greek agones

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).