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Now the founders of our great festivals are justly praised for handing down to us a custom by which, having proclaimed a truce1 and resolved our pending quarrels, we come together in one place, where, as we make our prayers and sacrifices in common, we are reminded of the kinship which exists among us and are made to feel more kindly towards each other for the future, reviving our old friendships and establishing new ties.2
1 The armistice or “Peace of God”—the sacred month as it was called at Olympia—during which the states participating in the games ceased from war. See Gardner and Jevons, Manual of Greek Antiquities, p. 270.
2 Lys. 33.1, speaks of Heracles as having founded the Olympic festival out of good will for Hellas.
Isocrates. Isocrates with an English Translation in three volumes, by George Norlin, Ph.D., LL.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1980.
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