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Oenomaus, catapulted headfirst out of his chariot, was trampled by the hooves of Pelops’ horses and ground to shreds by the sharp bronze wheels of Pelops’ chariot. As his chariot thundered around the corner, the linchpin came loose. On the first turn King Oenomaus whipped his four white horses to make the first move for the lead. With the king’s court shouting and cheering, the two men dashed down the stretch of the hippodrome at Olympia. When the sun was high the next day, Pelops and Oenomaus stepped into their chariots behind horses champing at the bit. The gold sparkled in the moonlight the charioteer’s merciless heart beat with greed he accepted the offer of Pelops. There the dastardly Pelops offered a bag of gold to the traitorous Myrtilus if, on the next morning, the charioteer would loosen the linchpin on the king’s chariot.
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ANCIENT OLYMPICS CHARIOT RACES FULL
In the light of the full moon in September, Pelops met the king’s charioteer, Myrtilus, under the wild olive trees on the Hill of Kronos. He used his conniving mind as well as his magnificently trained body, accepted the king’s offer, and asked that the contest be a chariot race. All died, that is, until a Phrygian prince, named Pelops, came along.
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Such a challenge deterred many suitors but there were others who so coveted the fair Hippodameia, and her father’s rich kingdom, that they accepted the terms of the king. The agreement was that each suitor could try to best the king-father, but should the suitor lose, he forfeited his life. King Oenomaus, a strong athlete with agility and a superb master of the chariot race, challenged each suitor to a physical contest. Oenomaus had a trick of his own for disposing of these unwanted men, anxious to plight a troth with the daughter, Hippodameia. Like all fabled kings, Oenomaus had a daughter of incomparable beauty like the others, he felt that no man was good enough for that daughter. In the most ancient of olden times, King Oenomaus was the tyrant who ruled the Olympian valley and surrounding territory. The chariot race between Oenomaus and Pelops (see the east pediment of the temple of Zeus where the race is depicted ) and the wrestling match between Heracles and Augeas. There are two mythology references about the Olympic games in ancient Greece.