Cynisca (Kyniska - meaning "puppy") was a Spartan princess who was born around 440 BC. She was the sister of Spartan king Agesilaus II. She became the first woman in history to win at the ancient Olympic Games. While most women in the ancient Greek world were kept in seclusion and forbidden to learn any kind of skills in sports, riding or hunting, Spartan women by contrast were brought up from girlhood to excel at these things and to disdain household chores. Sparta (Doric: Σπάρτα, Attic (and Koine): Σπάρτη) was a state in ancient Greece, whose territory included, in Classical times, all Laconia and Messenia, and which was the most powerful state of the Peloponnesus. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC - 440s BC - 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC Years: 445 BC 444 BC 443 BC 442 BC 441 BC - 440 BC - 439 BC 438 BC... Agesilaus II, or Agesilaos II (Greek Ἀγησιλάος), king of Sparta, of the Eurypontid family, was the son of Archidamus II and Eupolia, and younger step-brother of Agis II, whom he succeeded about 401 BC. Agis had, indeed, a son Leotychides, but he was set aside as illegitimate, current rumour representing... Ruins of the training grounds at Olympia The Ancient Olympic Games were an athletic and religious celebration held in the Greek town of Olympia from (historically) as early as 776 BC to 393 AD. There were 292 Ancient Olympic Games. ... Ancient Greece is the period of Greek history spanning much of the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins and lasting for close to a millennium, until the rise of Christianity. ...

Although the ancient Games were almost entirely male-only, women were allowed to enter the equestrian events - not by running, but by owning the horses. Cynisca won in the four-horse chariot race in 396 BC and again in 392 BC. A junior horse riding event at the Melbourne Show Equestrianism relates to the riding of horses. ... Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek and Roman sports. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC - 390s BC - 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC Years: 401 BC 400 BC 399 BC 398 BC 397 BC - 396 BC - 395 BC 394 BC... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC - 390s BC - 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC Years: 397 BC 396 BC 395 BC 394 BC 393 BC - 392 BC - 391 BC 390 BC...

However according to Plutarch, she was encouraged by her brother Agesilaus (Ages. 20) in an attempt to discredit the sport. He viewed success in chariot racing as a victory without merit, due to the limited involvement of the horses' owner. By having a woman win, he hoped to show the sport to be unmanly, but Cynisca's victories did not stop wealthy Spartans' engagement in the sport. Plutarch Mestrius Plutarchus (c. ...

In the sanctuary of Olympia, Cynisca had an inscription written declaring that she was the only female to win the wreath in the chariot events at the Olympic Games. Olympia (Greek: Ολυμπία Olympía or Ολύμπια Olýmpia, older transliterations, Olimpia, Olimbia), a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. ...

Kings of Sparta are my father and brothers.
Kyniska, conquering with a chariot of fleed-footed steeds,
Set up this statue. And I declare myself the only woman
In all Hellas to have gained this crown.
Greece, formally called the Hellenic Republic (Greek: Ελληνική Δημοκρατία), is a country in the southeast of Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. ...