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Professor Gardner's article on this highly interesting subject in the last number of the Journal of Hellenic Studies gives so excellent a summary of its data, and reasons upon these data so judiciously, that the few remarks I venture to offer here are intended to be supplementary much rather than critical.
First, as to the ἃλμα, or Long Jump. Mr. Gardner says: ῾ ὑπὲρ τὰ ἐσκαμμένα πηδᾶν was proverbial for describing a long leap. What were these ἐσκαμμένα? The scholiast to Pindar (Nem. v. 34) says that after every leap a fork was drawn across to mark its length, so that he who leaps beyond all marks distances his rivals. This seems the natural explanation of the phrase.’ Now the scholiast's words are, ἡ δὲ μεταφορὰ ἀπὸ τῶν πεντάθλων, οἷς σκάμματα σκάπτονται ὅταν ἅλλωνται· ἐκείνων γὰρ κατὰ τὸν ἀγῶνα πηδώντων ὑποσκάπτεται βόθρος ἑκάστου τὸ ἅλμα δεικνύς. Might not the last words, especially taken in conjunction with the ὑπὸ of the compound verb, mean, ‘showing where each was to jump to’ (or ‘where each expected to jump to’), and thus agree with the explanation, also referred to by Mr. Gardner, that the ἐσκαμμένα were marked before the leaps were taken?
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- Copyright © The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies 1881
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page 218 note 1 Mr. J. B. Martin, President of the London Athletic Club, who was present when this paper was read at a meeting of the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies, has since informed me that 29 ft. 7 in. were cleared by a running jump at Chester in 1854, and 13 ft. 7 in. by a standing jump at Manchester in 1875, 5 lb. weights (ἁλτῆρες) being used in the first case and 23 lb. weights in the second. He also makes the somewhat bold suggestion that the 
may have been the Hop Step and Jump. He gives the best on record (without weights) as 49 ft. 3 in. (done at Harwich in 1861). This would approach the performance attributed to Phaÿllus. 40 ft. 2 in. were cleared in this contest, without a run, in 1865.
Mr. Martin adds: ‘It has recently become a practice to place a handkerchief or piece of paper as a mark to be jumped at.’
Mr. Gardner has now shown me a vase in the British Museum on which he has just discovered three marks, plainly representing the 
behind a leaper in the act of alighting. See cut opposite.
page 218 note 2 Mr. Gardner refers to this vase as giving the attitudes of the athletes in action. But if the leap was taken standing, surely the leaper's feet would be together. And the disk-thrower does not ‘frame’ like Myron's.
page 220 note 1 To prevent misconception of my meaning I will add that I translate the passage (Nem. vii. 70–73) thus: ‘I swear that without overstepping the bound I have sent forth the swift speech of my tongue as it were a bronze-headed javelin, such as saveth from the wrestling the strong neck sweatless yet, or ever the limbs be plunged in the sun's fire.’