See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/263541583

Recreating the Ancient Greek Javelin Throw: How Far Was the Javelin Thrown?

Article in Nikephoros · January 2012

CITATIONS READS
2 8,437

3 authors, including:

William A Sands
United States Ski and Snowboard Association
426 PUBLICATIONS 5,925 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by William A Sands on 08 March 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Recreating the Ancient Greek Javelin Throw: How
Far Was the Javelin Thrown?*

Steven Ross Murray, William A. Sands, and Douglas A. O'Roark

Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction, Colorado

The javelin throw was part of the ancient Greeks' athletic festivals, specifically as
an event in the pentathlon. Recent scholarship has shown that the use of a leather
thong, called an ankyle, increases the distance that a facsimile of an ancient Greek
javelin could be thrown, on average, by some 58 percent; however, in that study
athletic men were used, throwing from a standing position, and not highly trained
throwers using a run-up and a well-trained throwing technique. Would the ankyle
provide the same advantage to highly trained throwers? Also, how far did the
ancient Greeks throw the javelin? To our knowledge, only one ancient source,
Statius, even refers to the distance of a javelin throw in antiquity, and it is an
indirect reference to the length of a chariot race course and thus is not precise.
The modern secondary literature on the subject is unsupported, or when
referenced, uses sources that may be in question. We found that highly trained
collegiate throwers, using a run-up and proper throwing technique, threw a
facsimile of an ancient Greek javelin farther with the use of an ankyle, and that a
throw of up to 66 meters was possible. Our results confirm that the ankyle
increases the distance that the javelin can be thrown, but that contemporary
scholars overestimate the probable distance that the javelin was thrown by the
ancient Greeks because of fallacies in the literature.

Introduction
We recently reported that we found, through controlled, experimental
study, that a leather thong called an ankyle (Greek: άγκΰλη, Latin: amentum)
increases the distance that a facsimile of both an ancient Greek javelin (akon or
akontion) and a military spear (dory) could be thrown.1 Our results confirmed the

* A version of this manuscript is to be published in the academic journal Nikephoros, volume 25.
We would like to thank Dr. Nigel B. Crowther of the Department of Classical Studies at the
University of Western Ontario, London, Canada, for his excellent comments in the preparation
of our manuscript. His help was most valuable. Also, we would like to thank Professor
Darrell Tousley of the Department of Art at Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction,
Colorado, USA, for casting the bronze spear heads.

1 S.R. MURRAY, W.A. SANDS, N.A. KECK, and D.A. O'ROARK, Efficacy of the Ankyle in
Increasing the Distance of the Ancient Greek Javelin Throw, in: Nikephoros, 23, 2010, 329-
333. See also S.R. MURRAY, W.A. SANDS, and D.A. O'ROARK. Throwing the Ancient Greek
Dory: How Effective is the Attache Ankyle at Increasing the Distance of the Throw?, in:
Palamedes: A Journal of Ancient History, 6, 2011, 137-151.

1
well-reported belief that the ankyle increases the distance of the javelin throw
(i.e., 58 percent), but not as much as has been reported from experiments
conducted in the Napoleonic era (i.e., 300 percent), yet greater than estimates of
modern-day scholars (i.e., 15 to 35 percent). However, in our earlier studies, we
used novice athletes, throwing from a stationary position—so that we could
isolate the efficacy of the ankyle—instead of using a run-up as is reported to have
been part of the technique employed by the ancient Greeks during athletic
competition.2 It is clear that the ankyle increases the distance of the javelin throw,
but what effect would it have with highly trained throwers using a run-up and
proper technique? Also, just how far did the ancient Greeks throw the javelin in
their athletic festivals?
We have no direct records of how far the ancient Greeks could have
thrown the javelin in their athletic festivals. To our knowledge (and we owe this
to Harris3), the only reference to the distance that the javelin was thrown in
antiquity is from Statius in the Thebaid, where the distance of a chariot race
course at Nemea is described as being “three times a bow shot and four times a
javelin throw: finem iacet inter utrumque quale quater iaculo spatium, ter
harundine vincas” (6.353). However, we do not know the precise distance of the
race course, but we can make an educated guess. Harris discusses the distances of
various hippodromes, stating that “while a few great hippodromes—Olympia,
Byzantium, the Circus Maximus at Rome—were about 600 yds. [548.64 meters]
long, others (e.g., Lepcis Magna) were about 400 yds. [365.76 meters].” Using
this information, a javelin throw in ancient Greece could be estimated to have
been from 100 to 150 yards, or roughly 91 to 137 meters.
Those would be outstanding throws by today's standards. The current
men's world record is 98.48 meters, 4 and the Olympic record is 90.57 meters. 5 So,
based on these estimates, it seems that the ancient Greeks were masterful javelin
throwers, far exceeding the best throws of today with the help of the ankyle. But
are these realistic numbers? We undertook to investigate just how far highly
trained javelin throwers could throw facsimiles of the ancient Greek javelin, the
effect that the ankyle would have on the throws, and thoroughly examined the
secondary literature on the subject.

2 PINDAR, Nem vii 70. See also G. DOBLHOFER, P. MAURITSCH, M. LAVRENCIC. Speerwurf.
Texte,Ubersetzungen, Kommentar in: Quellendokumentation zur Gymnastik und Agonistik im
Altertum, 3, 1993, 59.
3 H.A. HARRIS. Greek Javelin Throwing, in: Greece & Rome, Second Series, 10(1), 1963, 26-36.
4 THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ATHLETICS FEDERATION'S WEBSITE. Retrieved from
http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/records/inout=o/discType=1/disc=JT/detail.html 27 December
2011. The current men's world record is 98.48 meters held by Jan Zelezný, albeit with a
redesigned javelin that placed the center of gravity of the javelin farther forward, thus reducing
the distance that the javelin can fly but making it land on point easier, and thus reducing
arguments and protests about the legitimacy of throws. N.B., The all-time record is 104.80
meters by Uwe Hohn set in 1984, but with a different style of javelin, so it is not officially
recognized as the current world record.
5 OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT. Retrieved from http://www.olympic.org on
28 December 2011.

2
Figure 1. An ancient Greek athlete holding a javelin, with a leather thong
(Greek: άγκΰλη, Latin: amentum) fastened around the shaft. Detail from
an Attic red-figure cup, ca. 470 B.C.E. Paravey Collection, Louvre
Museum, Paris, France. The photograph is by Maria-Lan Nguyen. Used
with permission.

3
 Figure 2. The ankyle, with a loop constructed from a bowline knot
at one end (top), and the blunted, bronze-tipped javelin (bottom).
The photographs are by the authors.

Methods
We constructed javelins just as we did for our former study on the efficacy
of the ankyle.6 We made them from 1.8-meter long, 1.9-cm diameter wooden
dowels. The dowels were made of maple which is similar to elder, the wood that
the ancient Greeks seem to have used to craft their javelins. 7 The javelin tips were
cast from bronze, and they were modeled off examples housed at the Nemea
Archaeological Museum,8 with the exception that our tips were blunted for safety
reasons (See Fig. 1). The javelin tips weighed approximately 30 grams each, and
the overall weight of each javelin, including the bronze tip, was approximately
450 grams. We constructed ankylai from 60-cm-long, leather straps, cut
approximately 1 cm wide and 2.5 mm thick. A loop was tied in one end with a
bowline knot, making the looped, ankyle approximately 48 cm in length (See Fig.
2). The ankyle was wrapped around the javelin, back upon itself, three times to
temporarily secure it (See Fig. 3). We used three twists of the ankyle around the

6 S.R. MURRAY, W.A. SANDS, N.A. KECK, and D.A. O'ROARK, Efficacy of the Ankyle in
Increasing the Distance of the Ancient Greek Javelin Throw, in: Nikephoros, 23, 2010,
forthcoming.
7 BACCHYLIDES, Odes 8.25-36. See also G. DOBLHOFER, P. MAURITSCH, M. LAVRENCIC.
Speerwurf. Texte, Übersetzungen, Kommentar in: Quellendokumentation zur Gymnastik und
Agonistik im Altertum, 3, 1993, 12.
8 S.G. MILLER, Ancient Greek Athletics, New Haven, 2004, 69.

4
javelin for the following reasons: 1. one of the vase paintings from ancient
Greece clearly shows a thrower using three twists with his ankyle, 2. that was the
number of twists Harris claimed was “optimal” in his study; and 3. we found that
three twists worked well in our previous study on the topic. 9 The ankyle was
wrapped around the javelin, starting in the same spot for each trial when the
ankyle was involved, so that once it was stretched and tightened, the thrower's
hand would be in roughly the center of the javelin, and in the same position as
when the javelin was thrown without the ankyle.

Figure 3. One of the throwers preparing to throw the javelin with the
ankyle. The ankyle was secured temporarily to the javelin by wrapping it
back on itself three times around the javelin (see inset). The grip was
completed by inserting the first two fingers into the loop of the ankyle and
then using the last two fingers and thumb to hold on to the javelin. The
photograph is by the authors.

9 S.R. MURRAY, W.A. SANDS, N.A. KECK, and D.A. O'ROARK, Efficacy of the Ankyle in
Increasing the Distance of the Ancient Greek Javelin Throw, in: Nikephoros, 23, 2010,
forthcoming.

5
 Figure 4. The two javelin throwers from Brigham Young University,
Provo, Utah, USA. Both are holding the javelins that were used, and
the athlete on the left has the ankyle fastened around the javelin's
shaft. Note how dirty the javelin tips are. The javelins would pierce
the grass infield about 15 cm when they landed. The photograph is
by the authors.

The methodology of our study was approved by our university's

Institutional Review Board for the protection of human subjects. We recruited
two highly trained javelin throwers (age 24 and 25 years, height 1.93 and 1.88
meters, and weight 109 and 93 kg, respectively, see Fig. 4) from Brigham Young
University in Provo, Utah, United States of America, to volunteer to throw our

6
facsimiles of ancient Greek javelins, with and without an ankyle. We recruited
these subjects because of their success in collegiate competition within the USA
and their close proximity to our institution. We traveled to the campus of
Brigham Young University and met with the two javelin throwers at the track-
and-field complex where informed consent was obtained. We explained the
purpose of the study and showed the throwers the javelins and ankylai and
instructed the throwers on how to use the ankyle properly.
The subjects warmed up through various exercises and stretches and
practiced throwing the javelin, both with and without the ankyle for a period of 30
to 45 minutes. Each subject threw the javelin with and without the ankyle for a
minimum of 5 trials, where legitimate throws occurred (N.B., occasionally an
ankyle would slip or something awkward would happen, and we just repeated the
trial to get a legitimate throw). Subject 1 threw without the ankyle first. Subject 2
threw with the ankyle first. The javelin had to have a parabolic flight path and
land on point or flat to be considered a valid throw. If not, the subject repeated
the throw until five valid throws were recorded for each condition. The subjects
were allowed to perform a run-up and to throw the javelin with their normal
technique. They were allowed as much time as they needed between throws to be
considered fully recovered from the previous throw. However, with them being
so highly trained, fatigue did not appear to be a factor. The throws were measured
by a retractable measuring tape, recorded to the nearest inch, and converted to
meters. The weather conditions for the day were partly cloudy skies, with
temperatures around 15 degrees Celsius, and with modest winds of 10 to 15
kilometers per hour which the throwers had at their backs.

Results
The distances the javelins were thrown for each subject with and without
the ankyle are shown in Table 1. The longest throw using the ankyle was 66.2
meters compared to 49.5 meters without the ankyle.

Table 1. The Distances the Javelins were Thrown without and with the Ankyle

Subject Without the Ankyle With the Ankyle

1 35.1 65.8
1 33.6 66.2
1 35.7 64.2
1 33.2 63.7
1 33.7 64.9

2 46.9 56.5
2 46.5 57.0
2 44.9 61.5
2 46.0 57.6
2 49.5 61.5
_________________________________________________________________

7
Discussion
Our results show that highly trained throwers, incorporating a run-up and
proper throwing technique, throw a facsimile of an ancient Greek javelin farther
when using an ankyle. The ankyle increases the distance of the throws, but not
always by the same percentage for each athlete. One of our subjects (Subject 2)
had difficulty maintaining a secure, temporary attachment of the ankyle to the
javelin throughout his complete throw. He threw with such force that the ankyle
caused the javelin to spin extremely fast, but he would have a premature release
of the attachment of the ankyle to the javelin before his throw was entirely
complete (N.B., a javelin throw is more of a long pull rather than a throw if it is
performed properly10), and he did not benefit as much from the longer lever that
the ankyle would provide. That said, his throws with the ankyle were longer than
without the ankyle, so he did receive a benefit from its use. Harris reported a
similar issue about having a limited attachment of the ankyle to the javelin when
investigating the ankyle, but as we wrote in our previous study 11 we believe that
Harris's problem was related to using a metal javelin and a cord-like material in
constructing his ankyle rather than to the force that was being applied. Perhaps
our subject would benefit from a longer ankyle and another twist or two round the
javelin to accommodate his greater arm speed and force production, but we are
not certain, and this would be a topic for future investigation. Interestingly, our
other subject had little difficulty adapting to using the ankyle. He did note that he
had to consciously slow down his arm movement “slightly” to accommodate
throwing, the “light” wooden javelin, as he called it, and while using the ankyle.
He did have the benefit of throwing the javelin without the ankyle first, so the
extra familiarity may have played a role in his success. We should note that our
athletes only practiced for about 30 to 45 minutes before they threw for their
recorded trials. Also, while the throws require the same general technique,
incorporating the ankyle into the throw is definitely a new skill and one that could
be honed over time to increase each thrower's ability. However, even with weeks
of practice, we are doubtful whether our throwers could add more than 10 meters
to their throws through improved familiarity and technique, but this is open to
further study.
What is interesting to note is that neither of our subjects threw for
distances approaching those that are reported by modern-day scholars as being
feasible estimates for the ancient Greeks. Miller 12 states, “It is not surprising that
an ancient javelin might be thrown as far as a modern one; recent experiments
with the twisting release and the ankyle have produced throws of as long as 94
meters.” Swaddling suggestes a similar distance when she writes, “We have no
detailed information about the length of the throws that were achieved in ancient

10 L. HATTON. Optimising the Javelin Throw in the Presence of Prevailing Winds. Retrieved
from http://www.leshatton.org/Documents/jav2007a_paper.pdf on 3 January 2012.
11 S.R. MURRAY, W.A. SANDS, N.A. KECK, and D.A. O'ROARK, Efficacy of the Ankyle in
Increasing the Distance of the Ancient Greek Javelin Throw, in: Nikephoros, 23, 2010, 329-
333.
12 S.G. MILLER, Ancient Greek Athletics, New Haven, 2004, 71.

8
times, since in general there seems to have been little concern about making
records, but contemporary writers imply that throws of 91 meters were
possible.”13 We are not sure of the specific “recent experiments” or the
“contemporary writers” to which Miller and Swaddling are referring because they
do not list specific sources, but we suspect it is the work of Harris, 14 where he
creatively, yet logically, “arrives” at a length for the javelin throw to be “300 feet”
or 91.44 meters. This distance is again reported by Sweet, 15 albeit the distance
has grown to “over 300 feet.” Perhaps this is where Miller got his “94 meters.”
Other possibilities are that he made an error and reported 94 meters instead of
91.4 meters or that he is reporting information from a study with which we are
unfamiliar. We doubt either author is referring to Gardiner 16 because he
references the experiments conducted by General Reffye during the Napoleonic
era, who reported that a javelin could be thrown 80 meters with the use of the
amentum. Moreover, Jüthner17 does not seem to be the source because his
maximum throws were 65 meters.
Through our earlier research18 we know that the reference to Reffye's work
is, as Crowther19 states, “open to question” and is probably an exaggeration. The
results reported by Jüthner20 are far more realistic, with a throw of 65 meters using
the ankyle, and they are similar to the maximum distances that our highly trained
throwers achieved. However, Jüthner's claim of an improvement from 25 meters
to 65 meters with the use of the ankyle is a very large increase, and our highly
trained throwers did not see an increase of that magnitude. We have no
explanation for the difference other than that the purchase that our ankylai made
on our javelins may have been compromised by the faster arm speed generated,
and thus greater force that was applied, by our own highly trained throwers, but
this is speculation.

13 J. SWADDLING, The Ancient Olympic Games. Austin, 1999, 67.

14 H.A. HARRIS. Greek Javelin Throwing, in: Greece & Rome, Second Series, 10(1), 1963, 26-36.
15 W.E. Sweet, Sport and Recreation in Ancient Greece: A Sourcebook with Translations,
Oxford, 1987, 53. Sweet writes, “We have some indirect evidence about the distance an
athlete could throw, and it appears that the Greeks could throw over 300 feet.”
16 E.N. GARDINER, Throwing the Javelin, in: The Journal of Hellenic Studies 27, 1907, 249-273.
17 J. JÜTHNER, Uber Antike Turngerathe, in: Abhandlungen d. archaologisch-epigraphischen
Seminares der Universitat Wien, 12, 1896, 54, J ÜTHNER states that he personally threw the
javelin more than twice as far while using the ankyle [Ich vermochte den gleichen Ger mittelst
der Schlinge mehr als doppelt soweit zu schleudern als aus freier Hand...]. Juthner reiterates
that the use of the ankyle improves the distance of the javelin throw, stating that the distance
improved was from an initial throw of 25 meters throwing free hand to a throw of 65 meters
using the ankyle in Die Athletischen Leibesubungen der Griechen. II. Einzelne Sportarten. 1.
Lauf-, Sprung- und Wurfbewerbe, Wien 1968, 329.
18 S.R. MURRAY, W.A. SANDS, N.A. KECK, and D.A. O'ROARK, Efficacy of the Ankyle in
Increasing the Distance of the Ancient Greek Javelin Throw, in: Nikephoros, 23, 2010, 329-
333.
19 N.B. CROWTHER, Sport in Ancient Times, Westport, CN., 2007, 67.
20 J. JÜTHNER, Uber Antike Turngerathe, in: Abhandlungen d. archaologisch-epigraphischen
Seminares der Universitat Wien, 12, 1896, 54, and in: Die Athletischen Leibesubungen der
Griechen. II. Einzelne Sportarten. 1. Lauf-, Sprung- und Wurfbewerbe, Wien 1968, 329.

9
 Most interesting yet is that Perrottet21 has “[a]ncient authors claim[ing]
that throws of over 90 meters/270 feet were possible...and far beyond the modern
record of 60 meters.” Yet we are confident he simply made an error and wrote of
the “ancient authors” when he was in fact drawing on one of the aforementioned
contemporary sources. Moreover, his units of measurement are not consistent; 90
meters is equal to roughly 295 feet [1 meter = 3.28 feet; 90 x 3.28 = 295.2] and
not, as he assumes, 270 feet. To convert the other way, 270 feet would equal
approximately 82.3 meters [1 foot = 0.3048 meters; 270 x 0.3048 = 82.3], and a
distance of 82.3 meters is much closer to the 80 meters referenced by Gardiner 22
for General Reffye's experiments. More troubling, however, is that the world
record in the men's javelin throw has not been as low as 60 meters for nearly 100
years, and Perrotte published his book in 2004. We suspect Perrottet simply used
a dated source in his text or else made a typographical error.
Another interesting note that we discovered while reading the secondary
literature on the topic is a wayward footnote in the Loeb edition of Statius. This
was pointed out by Harris,23 and he shows just how easily a fallacy concerning
Greek athletics is “born and perpetuated.” Harris writes:

A footnote in the Loeb edition of Statius at this point affords an amusing

illustration of the way in which fallacies about Greek athletics are born and
perpetuated. It runs, 'A javelin could be flung 80 yards if the "amentum" or strap
were used (Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. s.v. Hasta); the distance between the
posts was therefore about 300 yards.' I have searched the article in Pauly-
Wissowa in vain for any such statement; in any case it would be worthless unless
it was supported by evidence from ancient sources, and if such evidence exists,
the translator should have cited it rather than a modern work. I suspect that he has
confused J. Jiithner's Pauly-Wissowa article with the same author's Antike
Turngerdthe, and that his distance of 80 yds. is General Reffye's Napoleonic 80
metres turning up again.

While the reference to 80 yards [~73 meters] obviously is an error, it is eerily

close to the 66 meters that we found as a plausible example of just how far that
the ancient Greek javelin could be thrown with the ankyle. It is an example of
how sheer happenstance can be close as long as the value seems reasonable.
However, our distance of 66 meters has some caveats. The ancient Greek athletes
would have been well trained and highly skilled in the javelin throw, just as our
subjects were, but the sheer physicality of our throwers (mean height of 1.90
meters, or 6 feet, 2.8 inches, and mean weight of 101 kilograms) is much larger
than the average ancient Greek.24 Moreover, by looking at the size of ancient
Greek armor, the images on vase paintings, and the proportions of statues from

21 T. PERROTTET, The Naked Olympics, New York. 2004, 110-111.

22 E.N. GARDINER, Throwing the Javelin, in: The Journal of Hellenic Studies 27, 1907, 258.
23 H.A. HARRIS. Greek Javelin Throwing, in: Greece & Rome, Second Series, 10(1), 1963, 35.
24 T. W. GALLANT. Risk and Survival in Ancient Greece, Stanford, 1991, 69. Estimates from bone
measurements indicate that the average Greek male was approximately 1.70 meters, or just a
shade below 5 feet, 7 inches, tall.

10
the era, we know that the average Greek athlete was smaller than the athletes used
in our study. Generally speaking, the larger, yet lean athlete, with longer limbs,
can generate greater power through more leverage, especially for a throwing event
such as the javelin throw, and that translates into longer throws. If one doubts
this, one just needs to look at the physicality of the current Olympic champion in
the javelin throw today, Norway's Andreas Thorkildsen. He is 1.90 meters (6 feet,
2.8 inches) tall and weighs between 88 and 93 kilograms. 25
Further, our athletes are collegiate amateurs, and they throw a modern-day
regulation javelin in the range of 60 to 70 meters; interestingly that is roughly the
same distance they throw our facsimiles of the ancient Greek javelin on their best
throws, with the use of the ankyle. An elite ,world-class javelin thrower throws a
regulation javelin even farther, say from 75 to over 90 meters. Thorkildsen won
the 2008 Olympic gold medal in the javelin throw with a distance of 90.57 meters,
setting an Olympic record, but several of his throws were between 79 and 88
meters during the games.26 Theoretically, if the same principles held true for
Thorkildsen as they did for our athletes, the maximum distance our facsimiles of
the ancient Greek javelin could be thrown would be in the region of 85 to 90
meters, but that is a big “if.” Also, Thorkildsen is one of the greatest throwers of
all time, and Olympic champions of 100 years ago were throwing the javelin only
in the range of 55 to 60 meters. So using Thorkildsen as an example with which
to compare to the ancient Greek athletes would be a big stretch. A better, modern-
day comparison may be the Olympic champion in the decathlon because the
ancient Greeks did not throw the javelin as a separate event; instead, it was part of
the pentathlon, a five-event competition made up of the long jump (halma), the
discus (diskos) throw, the javelin (akon or akontion) throw, wrestling (pale), and
the stadion race. Modern-day decathletes compete in similar events except that
wrestling is not included.
The 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon was Bryan Clay of the
United States of America. Clay's stature (1.80 meters, or 5 feet, 10.9 inches, in
height and 84.09 kilograms in weight)27 is smaller than Thorkildsen's, so that,
though still larger, he is closer in size to the ancient Greeks. However, Clay is
also a better comparison because he is not a specialist in the javelin throw, just as
the ancient Greek pentathletes were not single-event specialists. Clay's best throw
in the 2008 Olympic Games was 70.97 meters, the third best throw, behind Leonel
Suarez of Cuba (73.98 meters) and Eugene Martineau of the Netherlands (71.44
meters).28 His throw of 70.97 meters is similar to, yet a few meters longer than,
the distances that our throwers achieve in their formal competitions throwing a

25 ANDREAS THORKILDSEN'S PERSONAL WEBSITE.

http://web.mac.com/a_thorkildsen/www.andreasthorkildsen.com/About_me.html
26 OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT. Retrieved from http://www.olympic.org on
28 December 2011.
27 USA TRACK & FIELD. Retrieved from http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Clay_Bryan.asp on 3
January 2012.
28 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED BEIJING 08 TRACK AND FIELD. Retrieved from
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/olympics/2008/results/ATM900.html on 3 January 2012.

11
regulation javelin, which lends more credence to the comparison of our subjects'
throws as being at the upper limit of, if not surpassing, the distance that the
ancient Greeks could have thrown.
The one thing of which we are confident is that our wooden javelins do
not fly as far as comparable modern metal or carbon-fiber javelins, as is
evidenced by the fact that our throwers throw modern javelins as far without an
ankyle as they do our wooden facsimiles of the ancient Greek javelin with an
ankyle, despite the fact that the wooden javelins are much lighter. A regulation
javelin for men weighs 800 grams, whereas our facsimile of the ancient Greek
javelin weighs only 450 grams. One possible explanation for this is the amount of
flexibility the wooden javelins have compared to modern javelins. When our
subjects threw our wooden facsimiles, the javelins fluttered far more than a
modern-day javelin would under similar circumstances. The fluttering of a
javelin during flight is normal,29 but our wooden javelins' increased flexibility
magnified the effect so that they fluttered even more, which resulted in increased
drag and reduced lift, and therefore shorter throws. Outside of our direct evidence
attesting to this fact, this easily is verified by an interesting story from 1956
Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. 30 Egil Danielsen of Norway was sitting
in third position, behind Janusz Sidlo of Poland, and Viktor Tsybulenko of the
Soviet Union. Sidlo, who had been using a new Swedish steel javelin, suggested
to Danielsen that he should try the Swedish javelin instead of his regular wooden
javelin. Danielsen borrowed Sidlo's new steel javelin, and on his next throw set
an Olympic and world record (as well as a career best) with a throw of 85.71
meters, winning the Olympic gold medal.
By looking at the results of our study, our two highly trained collegiate
throwers were able to throw the facsimile of the ancient Greek javelin consistently
55 to 66 meters using an ankyle. Given the fact that our athletes are much larger
in size than the ancient Greek athletes were, we believe that this distance would
be approaching the maximum distance that was thrown by the ancient Greeks
during their athletic festivals. Perhaps on a perfect day, with the most favorable
wind,31 an ancient athlete may have surpassed 70 meters, but we are highly
doubtful. Nevertheless, 70 meters is far below the estimates of 90 meters or more
that contemporary authors list as a possibility.

29 N. LINTHORNE. Design and Materials in Athletics, in: A. SUBRIC. Materials in Sports

Equipment, Cambridge, 2007, 8. Retrieved from
http://www.brunel.ac.uk/~spstnpl/Publications/Ch12Athletics%28Linthorne%29.pdf on 3
January 2012. See also R. M. BARTLETT, The Aerodynamics of Javelin Flight—A Re-
Evaluation. Retrieved from http://w4.ub.uni-konstanz.de/cpa/article/view/2340/2206 on 3
January 2012.
30 W. ZABLOCKI, Setting the Record Straight: Egil Danielsen, Janusz Sidlo and the True Story
of the 1956 Olympic Javelin Competition. in: Journal of Olympic History, 8, 2000, 8-10.
31 A favorable wind depends on multiple factors such as wind direction and speed, the
construction and materials of the javelin, and the actual angle of attack. See L. H ATTON.
Optimising the Javelin Throw in the Presence of Prevailing Winds, 2007. Retrieved from
http://www.leshatton.org/Documents/jav2007a_paper.pdf on 3 January 2012.

12
 Conclusion
The ancient Greeks threw the javelin as part of their athletic festivals. The
use of the ankyle increases the distance the javelin can be thrown, especially with
highly trained throwers using a run-up and proper technique. The actual distance
that the ancient Greeks could throw the javelin has been estimated by
contemporary scholars to be around 90 meters. This number, we have found, is a
high estimate and is unlikely to have been achieved. We believe that a distance of
55 to 70 meters is more realistic as the maximum distance that the ancient Greeks
probably threw the javelin during their athletic festivals.

__________________________________

Drs. Murray and Sands are sport scientists. Dr. O'Roark is an ancient historian,
with an interest in ancient Greek and Roman history.
__________________________________

Dr. Steven Ross Murray

smurray@coloradomesa.edu

Department of Kinesiology
Colorado Mesa University
Grand Junction, CO 91501-3122, USA

13

View publication stats