1 Corinthians 9:25 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

A corruptible crown— The Apostle alludes to the crowns at the Olympic games, which were formed of garlands of leaves, which soon withered and perished, and which were the only rewards of the contenders in those games. In the Olympic games, sacred to Jupiter, the crown was of wild olive; in the Pythian, sacred to Apollo, it was of laurel; in the Isthmian or Corinthian, it was of pine-tree; and in the Nemaean, of parsley: but concerning these particulars, as well as the remarkable temperance alluded to above, we refer to Mr. West, and to Elsner on the place