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The Isthmian Games were one of the Panhellenic
Games of Ancient Greece, and were held at Corinth every two years.
With the Nemean Games, the Isthmian Games were held both the year before
and the year after the Olympic Games, while the Pythian Games were held in the third year of the Olympiad cycle. The Isthmian
Games were held in honour of Poseidon, and were said to have originated around
580 BC to celebrate the death of the tyrant
Kypselos. Another story states that the Games were founded by Theseus.
The Games of 196 BC were used by Titus Quinctius Flamininus to proclaim the freedom of the Greek states from Macedonian rule. Administration of these Games was undertaken by the city of Sicyon following the Roman
destruction of Corinth in 146 BC, until Corinth recovered ownership of these Games at
some point between 7 BC and AD 3. The Isthmian Games
thereafter flourished until Theodosius I suppressed them as a pagan ritual.
The winners of the Isthmian Games received a wreath of pine.
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