On July 4 and 5, 2026, the Ancient Gymnasium of Olympia will host the performance “Agonizesthai”, as part of the Ministry of Culture’s acclaimed program “All of Greece, One Culture 2026.”

In the sacred place where the very concept of “struggling for victory” (agonizesthai) was born, this production attempts to shed light on the timeless struggle of women to claim their own place in the stadium. The vehicle for this narrative is the story of Kallipateira—the woman who left her mark on history because she dared, defying the ancient law that carried a penalty of death, to disguise herself as a man so she could enter the stadium and watch her son compete in the Olympic Games.

In the performance, Kallipateira’s voice returns as the memory of a body that was put on trial because it transcended the boundaries of its gender. Simultaneously, three contemporary women train, fall, rise, and confront the limits of their own bodies, connecting the ancient past with an ongoing, modern quest.