4º E.S.O. EUROPEAN SECTION

The ancient Olympics were rather different from the modern Games. There were fewer events, and only free men who spoke Greek could compete, instead of athletes from any country. Also, the games were always held at Olympia instead of moving around to different sites every time.

Like our Olympics, though, winning athletes were heroes who put their home towns on the map. One young Athenian nobleman defended his political reputation by mentioning how he entered seven chariots in the Olympic chariot-race. This high number of entries made both the aristocrat and Athens look very wealthy and powerful.

The ancient Olympic Games were initially a one-day event until 684 BC, when they were extended to three days. In the 5th century B.C., the Games were extended again to cover five days.

One difference between the ancient and modern Olympic Games is that the ancient games were played within the context of a religious festival. The Games were held in honor of Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, and a sacrifice of 100 oxen was made to the god on the middle day of the festival. Athletes prayed to the gods for victory, and made gifts of animals, produce, or small cakes, in thanks for their successes.

According to legend, the altar of Zeus stood on a spot struck by a thunderbolt, which had been hurled by the god from his throne high a top Mount Olympus, where the gods assembled. Some coins from Elis had a thunderbolt design on the reverse, in honor of this legend.

The Greeks referred to the Sanctuaryof Zeus as the Altis. The name Altiscame from a corruption of the Eleanword for grove, alsos . Sanctuarieswere centers of religious worshipwhere the Greeks built temples,treasuries, altars, statues, and otherstructures.

The crowns made of olive leaves camefrom a wild olive tree in the Altis,which was called the olive of theBeautiful Crown.

Olive trees, which supplied the Greekswith olive oil, olives, a cleaning agentfor bathing, and a base for perfumes,were an important resource in therocky and dry Greek environment. AGreek legend credited the heroHerakles (Hercules) with introducingthe olive tree to Greece.

The ancient Games included running, long jump, shot put, javelin, boxing, pankrationand equestrian events.

Pentathlon

The Pentathlon became an Olympic sport with the addition of wrestling in 708 B.C., and included the following:

Running / Jumping / Discus Throw

Running

Running contests included: the stade race, which was the pre-eminent test of speed, covering the Olympia track from one end to the other (200m foot race), the diaulos (two stades - 400m foot race), dolichos (ranging between 7 and 24 stades).

Jumping

Athletes used stone or lead weights called halteres to increase the distance of a jump. They held onto the weights until the end of their flight, and then jettisoned them backwards.

Discus throw

The discus was originally made of stone and later of iron, lead or bronze. The technique was very similar to today's freestyle discus throw.

Wrestling

This was highly valued as a form of military exercise without weapons. It ended only when one of the contestants admitted defeat.

Boxing

Boxers wrapped straps (himantes) around their hands to strengthen their wrists and steady their fingers. Initially, these straps were soft but, as time progressed, boxers started using hard leather straps, often causing disfigurement of their opponent's face.

Pankration

This was a primitive form of martial art combining wrestling and boxing, and was considered to be one of the toughest sports. Greeks believed that it was founded by Theseus when he defeated the fierce Minotaur in the labyrinth.

Equestrian events

These included horse races and chariot races and took place in the Hippodrome, a wide, flat, open space.

THE CONTEXT OF THE GAMES

AND THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT

Today, the Olympic Games arethe world's largest pageant ofathletic skill and competitivespirit. They are also displays ofnationalism, commerce andpolitics. These two opposingelements of the Olympics arenot a modern invention.

The conflict between theOlympic movement's highideals and the commercialismor political acts whichaccompany the Games hasbeen noted since ancienttimes.

Olympia was one of the oldestreligious centers in the ancient Greekworld. Since athletic contests wereone way that the ancient Greekshonored their gods, it was logical tohold a recurring athletic competition atthe site of a major temple.

Also, Olympia is convenientgeographically to reach by ship, whichwas a major concern for the Greeks.Athletes and spectators traveled fromGreek colonies as far away asmodern-day Spain, the Black Sea, orEgypt.

An international truce among theGreeks was declared for the monthbefore the Olympics to allow theathletes to reach Olympia safely. Thejudges had the authority to fine wholecities and ban their athletes fromcompetition for breaking the truce.

There were 3 other majorgames which were heldon 2- or 4-year cycles:the Isthmean Games atCorinth, the PythianGames at Delphi, andthe Nemean Games atNemea.

Because it started 200years before the othercompetitions, theOlympics remained themost famous athleticcontest in the ancientGreek world.

The Olympics were open toany free-born Greek in theworld. There were separatemens' and boys' divisionsfor the events.

Women were not allowed tocompete in the Gamesthemselves. However, theycould enter equestrianevents as the owner of achariot team or anindividual horse, and winvictories that way.

Not only were women not permitted to compete personally, married women were also barred from attending the games, under penalty of death.

Athletic competitions for women did exist in ancient Greece. The most famous was a maidens' footrace in honor of the goddess Hera, which was held at the Olympic stadium. There were 3 separate races for girls, teenagers, and young women.

The length of their racecourse was shorter than the men's track; 5/6 of a stade (about 160 m.) instead of a full stade (about 192 m.). The winners received olive crowns just like Olympic victors.

Athletics were a key part of education inancient Greece. Many Greeks believedthat developing the body was equallyimportant as improving the mind foroverall health. Also, regular exercise wasimportant in a society where men werealways needed for military service.

The palaestra (wrestling-school) was oneof the most popular places for Greek menof all ages to socialize. Many accounts ofGreek daily life include scenes in thesewrestling-schools, such as the opening ofPlato's Charmides.

Young men worked with athletic trainerswho used long sticks to point out incorrectbody positions and other faults. Trainerspaid close attention to balancing thetypes of physical exercise and theathlete's diet. The Greeks also thoughtthat harmonious movement was veryimportant, so athletes often exercised toflute music.

A victor received a crownmade from olive leaves, andwas entitled to have a statueof himself set up at Olympia.

His success increased thefame and reputation of hiscommunity in the Greekworld. It was common forvictors to receive benefitssuch as having all their mealsat public expense or front-rowseats at the theater and otherpublic festivals.

One city even built a privategym for their Olympicwrestling champion toexercise in.

Anyone who violated the rules was fined by the judges. The money was used to set up statues of Zeus, the patron god of the Games at Olympia.

Actions:

In addition to using bribes.

Other offenses included deliberately avoiding the training period at Olympia. One athlete claimed that bad winds kept his ship from arriving in time, but was later proved to have spent the training period traveling around Greece winning prize money in other competitions.

Another athlete was so intimidated by his opponents that he left the Games the day before he was to compete, and was fined for cowardice.

The marathon was never one of theancient Olympic events, although itsorigin dates back to another episodein ancient Greek history.

In the 5th century B.C., the Persiansinvaded Greece, landing atMarathon, a small town about 26miles from the city of Athens. TheAthenian army was seriouslyoutnumbered by the Persian army,so the Athenians sent messengersto cities all over Greece asking forhelp.

The traditional origin of themarathon comes from the story howa herald named Phidippides ran the26 miles from Marathon to Athens toannounce the Greek victory anddied on the spot.

The Olympic festival broughthuge numbers of visitors toOlympia. Most people sleptoutside, under the stars,although the wealthy andmembers of official delegationserected elaborate tents andpavilions. Merchants, craftsmen,and food vendors arrived to selltheir wares.

The busy schedule includedreligious ceremonies, includingsacrifices; speeches by well-known philosophers; poetryrecitals; parades; banquets; andvictory celebrations.