According to the two‑sentence entry on Wikipedia, with additions, the Hera Games..
The Hera Games, also called Herai → an ancient Greek festival held in honor of the goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus, and a competition among girls. It was held every four years, exactly one month after the Olympic Games.
Historically, if we go back to the earliest times, according to what we know about ancient Greece, women and girls were not allowed to take part in the Olympic Games.
There is a legend that the games were founded by Hippodamia, the wife of King Pelops. Another legend says that the founders were not Hippodamia but sixteen women from the city of Elis, which is why the Hera Games later came under the supervision of sixteen priests.
In these contests, young girls belonging to the three‑year age groups competed – little, adolescent, and young unmarried girls. The distance they had to run was shorter than the distance run by the men. Later, other events were added to the running competition.
The games began with a ritual sacrifice to the goddess Hera, because at that time sport was considered a service to the gods by the Greeks. The participating athletes were purified with sheep’s blood and water. Then, at the altar, flowers, fruit, wine and olive oil were offered to the goddess. The main gift was a specially woven and beautifully embroidered peplos (traditional women’s garment). After the sacrifices, foot‑races called agōn were held. All the girls ran with their hair loose, wearing short chitons, but each left her right shoulder uncovered. Winners received an olive wreath and a portion of the hide of the sacrificial cow from the Hera temple.
Ancient records have preserved the names of many winners. For example, Xloris, the daughter of King Amphion of Thebes (renowned for her beauty), was such a famous athlete that one of the city’s seven gates bore her name.
One of the outstanding runners was Atlanta of Arcadia. Atlanta could also shoot accurately and sometimes took part in combat.
Kiniska, the daughter of the Spartan king Archidamus, won the four‑horse chariot races at the hippodrome many times. Other women competed, but none achieved fame equal to Kiniska’s. In her honor, a bronze statue was placed in the Zeus temple at Olympia. She was the only woman to win an olive wreath in a chariot race at the Greek Olympics. [1]
References
- Aşmış kamazın şoferi. «hera oyunları». Sözaltı sözlük, 11.07.2023. soz6.com