Racecourse of Achilles

The Racecourse of Achilles (Ancient Greek: Αχίλλειος δρόμος)[1] is a narrow strip of land north-west of Crimea and south of the mouth of the Dnieper in Ukraine, running nearly due west and cast.[2][3][4] It is now divided into two parts called Tendra Spit and Dzharylhach. According to ancient legends Achilles pursued Iphigenia to this peninsula and there practised for his races.

The land was called Racecourse of Achilles because the hero celebrated his victory there with competitive games and also there he and his men routinely exercised when there was a respite from the fighting.[5][6]

The Leuke island was also called racecourse of Achilles.[1][7]

References
  1. Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, §A152.9
  2. Her. Hist. 4,55
  3. Plin. Nat. 4,26
  4. Strab. Geogr. 7,3.19
  5. Pomponius Mela, Chorographia, §2.5
  6. Pliny the Elder, Natural History, §4.26.1
  7. Arrian, Periplus of the Euxine Sea, §32
  • Henry Malden (1845). "On the Lower Course of the Dnieper; Being an Extract of a Letter from Prof. Henry Malden to the President of the Royal Geographical Society". Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Vol. 15. 15: 351–358. doi:10.2307/1797915. JSTOR 1797915.
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