In Ancient Greece there was a rule that women weren’t allowed to watch or compete with the men and boys in the Olympic games. If women were caught watching or playing with the athletes she would be thrown headfirst from the top of a mountain on the other side of the playing field.

At one of the Olympic games, there was a lady that wanted to watch her two boys compete in the sports. Her name was Killipateira. Even though she was a woman, she dressed up as a man and went to the games. When she arrived she got so excited that her robe flew up. Since the Ancient Greeks did not wear undies, everyone found out she was a woman. Killipateira was not thrown over the mountain because her two boys were champions. From 776 B.C. till around 100 B.C. when the Ancient Olympics ended, trainers and athletes had to play naked.

In 776 B.C. three groups of foot (running) races were made for women in honor of Hera (the wife of Zeus). The racetracks were not as large as the men’s tracks. The women’s tracks were about five-sixths of a men’s track. If married women watched or even played in the women Olympics, they would be thrown off the mountain, too. Only unmarried women were allowed to watch or compete. The winners of these games could do many things such as:

1. Go watch men and boys play in their games.
2. Have a statue made and have their name carved in it.
3. Sacrifice cows in honor of Hera.

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