It is impossible to overstate the glory of being an Olympic
victor in antiquity. An Olympic victory was the highest honor
for a mortal to attain and Olympic victors shared in the divine
splendor and immortal fame of the first mythical heroes. The
monetary prizes offered at non-amateur athletic festivals were
insignificant compared to the fame and glory earned by the
Olympic victor. The honors and prizes that Olympic victors
received reflected the philosophy of amateurism central to the
Games. In ancient Greece there were two kinds of games: the
"stephanos" (sacred) in which the prize was a wreath, and the
"thematikoi," in which winners also received a monetary award.
The Olympic games were the most important of the four
panhellenic games, which were all "stephanitai." For each sacred
festival, the prize was a wreath made from the branches of the
sacred plant of the patron god. In the Pythian games it was a
laurel wreath, in the Nemean it was from the celery plant, in
the Isthmian games it was a pine wreath, a