every four years, lasted five days and was scheduled for the hottest time of the year.
             There was no athletic competition on the first day as both athletes and judges devoted it to prayers, sacrifices, and the taking of oaths. Athletes had to arrive at the city of Elis, which supervised the festivals, at least a month prior to the events where they would train and be observed by the judges (the nobility of Elis). Two days before the events were to begin the athletes, trainers and judges walked the 36 miles from Elis to Olympia where they would arrive on the eve of the festival.
             Competition started on the second day with the chariot and horse races. These events took place in the Hippodrome, a wide, level, open space with pillars at the ends, one marking the start and finish and the other marking the turning post. Very little is known about the rules of chariot and horse races but it's logical to assume that there must have been many accidents at the turning post. Horse and chariot owners, usually well to do aristocrats, rarely competed themselves but instead were allowed to hire jockeys to ride for them.
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