Cynisca (/sɪˈnɪskə/; or Kyniska, Greek: Κυνίσκα; born c. 442 BC) was a wealthy Spartan princess. She is famous for being the first woman to win at the Olympic Games, competing in the sport of chariot racing. Cynisca first entered the Olympics in 396 BC, where she won first prize competing with a team of horses she had trained herself. In 392 BC, Cynisca entered her horses in the Olympics for a second time and was awarded another victory in the same event.[1]
Cynisca's name means "female puppy" in Ancient Greek, and she was named after her grandfather Zeuxidamus, who was called Cyniscos.[2] It is possible that this name is derived from the hunting traditions of the Spartan elite, or her family's practice of raising hunting dogs.[3]
Cynisca was born around 442 BC in the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta and was the daughter of the Eurypontid king Archidamus II. Her brother was Agesilaus II, who later succeeded his father and became a king of Sparta. Because of her family's wealth, Cynisca was able to spend time developing her sporting skills and learning how to train horses for chariot racing, paving the way for her future Olympic victories. According to Pausanias, Cynisca was exceedingly ambitious to succeed at the Olympic Games from a young age .[4]
Several sources from Xenophon and Plutarch make mention of how, in her youth, Cynisca's brother Agesilaus encouraged her to breed horses and compete in the games, though his motivations for doing so have recently been debated. According to these ancient sources, Agesilaus supposedly viewed success in chariot racing as a victory without merit. As opposed to other events, where a man's bravery and virtue were the decisive factors, he believed that chariot racing only demonstrated wealth due to the lack of involvement on the part of the horses' owner. Both of these ancient authors suggested that Agesilaus hoped to expose how the sport was unmanly and aristocratic by having a woman win, though in reality Cynisca's victories did not stop wealthy Spartans engaging in the sport.[5][6] Several modern scholars, on the other hand, have theorized that Agesilaus' motivations were more practical. They suspect that he was simply using her victories and wealth to promote his own political career and gain public support through his association to her, rather than providing a moral lesson.[7] The evidence provided to support this theory is that Cynisca's two Olympic victories would have also brought fame to Agesilaus and to the wider Eurypontid house. Additionally, the establishment of Cynisca's hero-cult after her death could suggest that Agesilaus was still making use of his sister's fame even after her passing. [7]
In 396 BC, Cynisca employed male charioteers to drive the horses she trained and entered her team at the Olympics for the first time, where it won in the four-horse chariot race (tethrippon Greek: τέθριππον). Cynisca is thought to have been approximately 40 years old when she won her first victory in the Olympics.[7] In 392 BC, Cynisca once again entered her racing team at the Olympic games and secured another victory.
To commemorate her Olympic achievements, Cynisca dedicated a set of bronze statues which depicted herself, her charioteer, her chariot, and her horses at the Temple of Zeus in Olympia.[8] According to Pausanias, these statues were placed in a prominent location in the entrance way of the temple, next to the throne dedicated by Arimnestus a king of Etruria.[9] Along with the statues, Cynisca also celebrated her victories with an inscription, declaring that she was the only woman to win the wreath in the chariot events at the Olympic Games.[10] Cynisca also dedicated another monument with copy of the same inscription in Sparta. The inscription from Olympia (c. 390-380 BC) reads:[11]