Handmade ceramic Black-figure  Amphora, museum copy, classic period around 500-400 BC.

Masterpiece handmade ceramic Black-figure Amphora, museum copy, around 500-4000 BC.

The front side depicts a chariot race while the back side shows Hercules killing the lion of Nemea with the company of Iolaus and under the protection of Athena.

The term amphora means an oval vessel with a vertical handle on both sides. It was used to store wine and sometimes oil.

The name amphora comes from the adverb amphi and the verb carry.

Equestrian competitions in ancient Greece were held during the Olympic Games of antiquity as well as in other pan-Hellenic events such as Pythia or Nemea. It consisted of various types of chariot races which were first performed in 680 BC. when the duration of the races was extended to allow time for the new races to take place,  and from horse racing which was a horse race, a race which, however, was soon abolished. The winners were not considered the horsemen or the riders of the chariots - horsemen - but their owners - horsemen - who were also the ones who were crowned. According to Greek mythology, the first chariot races were held in Olympia between Pelops and Oenomaus, while the mythical hero Hercules participated in a chariot race in Troizina with Iolaus who was his driver. The horse they had during the race was called Areionas and its owner was the god Poseidon who was also the protector of the chariot races. Other early reports of chariot races are found in the Iliad, where chariot races were organized by Achilles in honor of Patroclus, who had recently been killed in battle.