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Opheltes sarcophagus in Corinth, c. 170 B.C., from F.P. Johnson, Corinth IX, Sculpture 1896-1923. (Cambridge, 1931) No. 241 |
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The myth of the first Nemean Games is the story of the death of the baby Opheltes, son of Lykourgos and Eurydike. When their son was born, Lykourgos consulted the oracle at Delphi in order to find out how he might insure the health and happiness of his child. The priestess replied that the child must not touch the ground until he had learned to walk. Upon his return to Nemea, Lykourgos assigned a slave woman, Hypsipyle, the task of caring for his child. On that fateful day, the Seven Heroes (Seven against Thebes) passed through Nemea on their way to attack Thebes. When they asked Hypsipyle for something to drink, she placed the baby on a bed of wild celery, where he was killed by a serpent, thus fulfilling the prophecy. The Seven Heroes renamed the baby Archemoros ("Beginner-of-doom"), and held the first Nemean Games in his honor as a funerary festival. Vestiges of these origins could be seen at the site, namely the shrine of Opheltes and the Sacred Grove of cypress trees, as well as in the customs of the games: the judges wore black tunics, and the crown awarded to the victor was made of wild celery. 
Bronze Opheltes Found at Nemea (BR 671)
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