Cynisca was the Spartan queen famous for owning racehorses at the Olympic Games.
Cynisca, daughter of King Archidamus II, became the first woman traditionally credited with winning at the ancient Olympic Games. She entered a four-horse chariot team, and because Olympic victory in chariot racing went to the owner of the horses, she could receive the victory even though a driver handled the team.
Her success occurred at the Olympic Games in the early fourth century BCE and was commemorated by monuments and an inscription at Olympia. Cynisca’s achievement was especially notable because women were generally excluded from competing as athletes in the main Olympic events.
Her story is sometimes confused with those of Gorgo, the wife of Leonidas I, or Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great. Cynisca’s distinction is specifically her victory as the owner of a winning chariot team.