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Other games:
Pythia
| Isthmia
| Nemea | Panathenaea
| Heraea
| Asclepiea
Nemea
According to the tradition, the Nemean games began in 573 BC and were conducted every two years, during the second full moon after the summer solstice, in honor of Opheltes, son of King Lycurgus, who died horribly after he was bitten by a snake. Even though in later years, Zeus became the protector of the games, they continued to bear their funerary character shown by the black attire of the Hellanodikai (judges) and the pine groove that surrounded the Temple of Zeus. As in the Olympic games, no musical competitions were included in the agonistic programme. Originally the games were controlled by the city-state of Cleonae, but they were later taken over by Argos. The victors in the Nemean games were given a wreath of wild celery.
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