In the northern part of the Aegean Sea, between Samothrace, Mount Athos, Imvros and Lesvos, the volcanic island of Lemnos (Limnos) is located. The prehistory of the island is clearly revealed  through the archaeological sites and the island’s museums, such as the Maritime and Sponge Museum in Nea Koutali, as well as by its historic towns, Hephaestia and the ancient capital of Lemnos, Myrina, which was named after the wife of the first king of the island, Thoas.

The island is a historical and mystic destination, since the island’s history is linked with myths and epic tales. According to Greek mythology, the Argonauts on their journey to Colchis arrived to Lemnos. During their stay on the island, Queen Hypsipyle organized five athletic contests, thus creating the Pentathlon.

The five events of the pentathlon (discus, javelin throw, long jump, stadion race, wrestling) were probably invented by Jason, the leader of the Argonauts. Telamon excelled in the discus, Lynkeus in the javelin throw, and the two sons of Boreas, Zetes and Calaïs at running and jumping. Finally, Peleus, father of Achilles, came out same second in all these sports, but could beat everyone at wrestling.

Then Jason in order to award Peleus for his athletic performance and martial prowess, combined the five events and proclaimed him the first winner of Pentathlon. Later on, the event first appeared on the Olympic Programme at the 18^th Ancient Olympiad in 708 BC and was one of the main sports of the ancient Olympic Games.

In the modern Olympics, the Decathlon and the Pentathlon for men  were introduced at the 5^th Olympiad in Stockholm in 1912  and it included the events of long jump, javelin throw, discus and two running races (200 and 1500 meters). The Pentathlon continued to be a part of the Olympics until 1924, while the Decathlon is still a part of the Olympic Games.

In the 1906 Olympic Games in Athens, which became known as 1906 Intercalated Games, the five-event sport (Greek Pentathlon) was included in the Athletics program. Although, it was never included at the actual Olympics, the “Greek Pentathlon” was inspired by the ancient event and its events were jumping, discus, javelin throw, 192 meters sprint race, which is equivalent to the ancient Stadium Race and Greco-Roman wrestling.

The first female combined event was the Pentathlon, which was held for the first time at the Summer Olympics at Tokyo in 1964. The track-and-field athletes were competing in long jump, but also in shot put, 200-meter sprint race and 80 metres hurdles (it became 100 metres since 1972). Since 1984, the event was replaced by the heptathlon.

Lemnos has been claiming the origin of the Pentathlon and the local entities have collaborated with the PHILIPPAKIS ART workshops, so as to create keepsakes of the sport. These actions aim to inform the local community on the history of the sport, but also to promote the island as an archaeotourism destination, since the tourist attractions of the island are directly related to the cultural heritage of our country.

In Museum Masters and PHILIPPAKIS ART workshops we always support such great efforts and we are contributing at the promotion of our country and its ancient history through our extended list of products.

We supported the gymnasium of Livadochori, in their initiative to revive this ancient institution, in the context of a programme of cultular school activities and cross-cultural exchanges, entitled "The Pentathlon in Lemnos”, supported by the consular delegation of Italy in Lemnos. The two-day gala included athletic events of the Ancient Pentathlon, in relation to the 4th Student Festival of Lemnos, where pupils from Lemnos and Russia participated, as well as an opening and a medals ceremony.

Like a modern Hephaustus, in our workshops we constructed the medals of the event in bronze, silver-plated and gold-plated brass, continuing the ancient art of metallurgy and inspired by the ideals of Olympism and of sportsmanship.

The facilitators of the gala attended the medals ceremony. Among them were: Ms Charitini Fotopoulou, Headmistress of the gymnasium, the teachers Ms Ourania Chalikiwtou and Mr Nick Mpachtsebanos, Mr Thomas Sfounis, who was in charge of the artistic editing of the events, the President of the Red Cross and initiator of the event, Mr.Theodoros Mpaveas, the consular representative of Italy in Lemnos Mr. Kostas Doras,and Mr. Nick Karydis, organizer of the Athletic Department.

A few words about the island... 

A place of gods and heroes, Lemnos is considered the island of Hephaestus, God of fire and metallurgy. According to legend, Zeus in a dispute with Hera hurled Hephaestus headlong out of Olympus. He fell at the island of Lemnos, but from the fall, he broke his leg. There, he was cared for by the Sinties, according to Homer. In return, the god taught them the art of metallurgy, setting up his workshop in a volcano called Moschilos.

In honor of Hephaestus, the ancient Greeks named the chief town of the island Hephaestia and they did sacred initiatory rites dedicated to a tribe called Kaberoi. It is said that Kaberoi were the sons of Hephaestus and nymph Cabiro.

Other stories from epic tales, associate the women from Lemnos with the Amazons. During the reign of Thoas, the women in the island neglected the worship of Aphrodite, so the goddess cursed them with stench. In result, all the women were deserted by their husbands for Thracian women, and in revenge they murdered every man on the island. From this barbarous act, the expression Lemnian deeds became proverbial among the Hellenes. After that, the island was ruled by Hypsipyle, daughter of the old king Thoas. Later on, from the Argonauts and the Lemnian women a new race was descended. 

The "treasures" of Lemnian land...

Golden sandy beaches, crystal clear waters, impressive sand hills, traditional villages and archaeological sites comprise a blessed land with great production of local goods, such as dairy products, mainly cheese (“melichloro”, “kaskavali”, “kalathaki”), honey and cereals as well as a wide variety of white and red wines, with special taste because of the volcanic soil.

Finally, every visitor should try the venizelika, local sweets that were inspired by local housewives, in order to offer them to the then Prime Minister of Greece, Mr Eleftherios Venizelos, when he visited Lemnos after her release in 1912.

Useful links: MUNICIPALITY OF LIMNOS www.limnos.gov.gr |  VISIT GREECE www.visitgreece.gr