ABSTRACT
Javelin, Greek ako¯n or akontion, one of the three distinctive events of the Greek pentathlon. Already attested in Patroclus’s funeral games (Achilles awards the prize for throwing the spear to Agamemnon in recognition of his rank as commander of the Greek troops at Troy), the javelin retained its connection with war at the panathenaea, where ephebes on horseback threw at a target. Generally, however, the javelin appeared only as one of the events of the pentathlon, where it was thrown for distance. A light shaft of elderwood, five or six feet in length, with a pointed metal-clad tip (to stick in the ground), the javelin was thrown with the aid of a thong (ankyle¯) through which competitors inserted their index or first two fingers (long fingers were thought to give an advantage). This lengthened throws, either by increasing leverage or by imparting rotation and so stability to the shaft in flight (champions could reach an estimated 300 feet). Competitors who overstepped the starting line or threw wide of the boundaries of the stadium committed fouls – and endangered spectators. An Athenian law-court speech deals with a boy who was struck and killed during javelin practice in the gymnasium.
