An ancient Greek statue of Hercules.

A gold coin from ancient Greece showing the laureate head of Apollo on one side and Philip II on the other.

A gold coin from ancient Greece showing the laureate head of Apollo on one side and Philip II on the other.

The painted surface of an ancient Greek vase depicts a scene from Homer’s Iliad, in which Achilles, after killing the Trojan prince Hector, drags his body in his chariot.

If there is one incident in Homer’s Iliad that best underscores the epic’s themes of friendship, honor, and revenge, it is the death of Patroclus, Achilles’ best friend who was killed by Hector, the Trojan prince, during the Trojan War.

One of the most famous conflicts in ancient Greek mythology and literature, the Trojan War saw the Greeks fight the Trojans for 10 bloody years, with gods and goddesses choosing their own sides. At one point, Achilles, the greatest Greek warrior, withdrew from the battle due to a dispute with the leader of the Greek forces, Agamemnon.

When Patroclus saw the Greeks struggling and the Trojans advancing, he took the lead among the Greek warriors who wore the armor of Achilles. But Hector challenged him and dealt him his deadly blows.

Overcome with grief and rage, Achilles returned to the fray to avenge the death of his dear friend. He killed Hector in a dramatic duel before dragging his body in his chariot around the tomb of Patroclus. The scene, vividly and gorily depicted by Homer, is on the painted surface of a Greek vase from the late 6th century BCE on display at the Nanjing Museum.

“Achilles then honored his friend in the Greek manner by organizing elaborate games in his name, including chariot races, boxing, wrestling and other athletic contests,” said Guan Lin, curator of the exhibition Ancient Greek Civilization—the Glory of the Aegean Sea in Nanjing, which features more than 270 exhibits from 14 museums and cultural organizations in Greece.

The series covers almost all aspects of ancient Greek culture, whose fascinating story is based on a combination of mythology and history. One of the main themes of the series is the crucial role played by physical training and sports competitions.

A prominent example concerns the origins of the Olympic Games. According to Greek mythology, the Games, which take place annually in the city of Olympia on the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, were first held by Heracles (also known as Hercules), the son Zeus had with a mortal woman.

From birth, Heracles was subjected to the relentless hatred of Hera, the powerful wife of Zeus, whose most devastating act of revenge came when she drove Heracles mad, causing him to murder his wife and their children. As penance and redemption, Heracles was subjected to a series of near-impossible tasks known as the Twelve Labors, upon completion of which he founded the games to honor his father and commemorate his own effort, which could only be described as Herculean.

Zeus, the adulterous father and king of all the Greek gods, offered his much-tormented son little protection before his tragic and violent death—Heracles set himself on fire after suffering immense pain from being poisoned—but he nevertheless granted Heracles immortality, making him a deity on Mount Olympus.

“On the one hand, the image of Heracles embodies masculine strength and virility. On the other hand, his life, a constant struggle against all the hard labor and torture inflicted on him, is a magnificent example of heroism, with a built-in sense of tragedy and nobility,” Guan said.

“These two aspects make Heracles the athletic ideal.”

There is another layer of meaning to the story. Heracles was also seen in Greek mythology as the first hero to sail the seas. He was worshipped as the divine protector of sailors and symbolizes the ambition and efforts of the ancient Greeks to tame and navigate the ocean.

Another Greek god, though far less brave, associated with athletics is Hermes, son of—not surprisingly—Zeus and another of his lovers. Able to move swiftly and freely between the worlds of the mortal and the divine, aided by his winged sandals, Hermes, thanks to his speed and agility, became a patron of travelers, messengers, and athletes.

During the athletic competitions, the winners were given wreaths of laurel or olive branches. While the former was sacred to Apollo, the latter was symbolic of Athena — both children Zeus had outside his marriage to Hera.

According to Greek mythology, Athena, who was competing with the sea god Poseidon for the honor of being the patron deity of Athens, planted an olive tree and successfully won the hearts and minds of the locals. Vases filled with olive oil were awarded to the winners of athletic and equestrian competitions, especially those in honor of Athena.

The exhibit at the Nanjing Museum features the head of Apollo wearing a laurel wreath on one side of a gold Greek coin dating from the early 4th century BCE. On the other side, the legendary Macedonian king Philip II, goad in one hand and reins in the other, is depicted leading his two-horse chariot to victory at the 356 BCE Olympic Games.

The king also appears as a charioteer on a silver coin from around the same time that is on display at the exhibition. This coin features the head of Zeus on the reverse.

These coins, known as Staters, circulated widely throughout the Mediterranean, both for large economic transactions and as a store of money. They helped spread Greek culture and influence, something the Macedonian king was very aware of.

According to the Greek biographer Plutarch, Philip II, the unifier of the Greek city-states, and his horse won the single horse race at the Olympic Games in the same year that his son Alexander was born. The boy is remembered as Alexander the Great, responsible for creating one of the largest empires in history and spreading Greek culture throughout his conquered territory.

The death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC began a gradual decline of Greek culture, culminating in the Roman conquest of Greece in 31 BC. In 393, the ancient Olympic Games were banned by the Roman emperor Theodosius I as part of a broader effort to suppress pagan practices and promote Christianity.

According to the curator, Heracles, who had a difficult life but ultimately became immortal, somehow evoked the Christian idea of ​​a reward in heaven for the suffering endured on earth.

Despite his destructive power, the hero god was worshipped primarily as a champion, a protector, and a peace-loving man. Listen, for example, to a hymn from the 6th century BCE:

“Heracles, noble of soul, mighty in strength… defender of all… you reassure people by driving away wild beasts and by your desire to foster a most honorable peace…”