A magistrate or official in ancient Greece responsible for organizing and overseeing public athletic contests and games.
From Greek agōn 'contest, struggle' + thetes (from tithenai 'to place, set'). The term refers to the person who arranged and supervised the great athletic competitions like the Olympics.
The agonothete at the ancient Olympics had an enormous responsibility—they controlled everything from athlete registration to judging to punishing cheaters, making them some of the most powerful and respected officials in ancient Greek society!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.