Originally a competition that challenged the strength and endurance of Greek gods, Greek games are a tradition shared by Penn State fraternities and sororities -- many of which showed their Spartan spirit Friday afternoon.
Greek organizations raced their handmade chariots in a full sprint down Fairmount Avenue. Every chapter had a theme that they represented throughout the week, and each chariot was decorated for that theme.
"The hardest part of building the chariot was coming up with ideas and making it sturdy. The wheels were hard to put together, but I had a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year." Gary Warren (freshman-mechanical engineering), who is a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, 200 E. Beaver Ave., said.
The chariots had to carry at least two members, and each team earned points based on creativity, size and completion time.
Maria Rossi (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) represented Pi Beta Phi sorority by riding in the chariot during the race.
"Being involved in events like this make a lot of people realize what greek life is all about," Rossi said. "Being greek is about more than having a social life. It's about keeping up with traditions and doing things for the community."
Lauren Giovannitt, who served as program overall for the Greek Week committee and helped organize the event, said she was pleased with the sense of community the event fostered.
"It's nice for everyone to show the greek pride that the Penn State community doesn't usually get to see," she said. "The chariot race brought together different greek organizations instead of people representing their individual chapters."
Delta Gamma sorority, Zeta Phi Beta sorority and Sigma Pi fraternity, 303 Fraternity Row, competed as a triad to win first place.
The chariot race was one of the many events in which fraternities and sororities competed in during Greek Week.
"It was nice to get to know different people in the greek community. There was no real competition during the race. These events help to build relationships between the fraternities and sororities," Rick Denne (sophomore-chemical engineering) a member of Sigma Nu fraternity, 340 N. Burrowes Road, said.
