PRIZES
The tradition of awarding prizes at the Panathenaia began in 566. The earliest prize was the pre-canonical Burgon amphora:
It depicts many aspects of Athena: the sacred oil, her status as goddess of crafts, her warlike appearance as a protrectress, etc.
Prizes of sacred oil in beautifully inscribed and decorated amphoras were often used. These amphoras were communication masterpieces that later became regarded as civic, self-declaratory prizes of symbolic and material value.
The olive oil in the amphoras came from sacred trees and was thus a gift directly from Athena. Apart from being symbolic, it also carried material value. For example, 120 vases of oil is equivalent to about $68,000.
Crowns and fillets were also prizes in Athens. However, they were never recorded in official prize lists because they were only temporary symbolic decorations.
Apart from these, there were many other prizes given at the Panathenaia. Gold crowns worth several hundred drachmas were often presented for first place. For those competitors who did not achieve first place, there were often monetary awards of a few hundred drachmas.
Many special equestrian events had prizes of money, along with bulls, oxen, and free meals.
