The Olympic Games

The Olympic Games were a vital part of Greek culture which was heavily influenced by athletics. Today, the Olympic Games are the world’s largest presentation of athletic skill and competitive spirit. Thousands of athletes and spectators participate in this universal event. Revived in 1896, the Olympic Games had their beginnings in ancient Greece, and since then the event is very much comparable to modern Olympic events.

In a city in southwestern Greece, called Olympia, is the birthplace of the Olympic games. Created to offer thanksgiving and honor to Zeus, chief god, the first record of the Olympics dates back to 776 bc and the event occurs every four years thereafter. The first day of the festival was devoted to non-human sacrifices as praise to the gods. Speeches from famous philosophers , poetry readings parades, and banquets were also held before the games begun.

Athletics were of immense importance to the Greeks. The first Olympic Games were made up of only foot races and later through the centuries expanded to include wrestling, javelin hurling, discus throwing, boxing, jumping, chariot racing, horse riding, the pankration and the pentathlon. The period of competition gradually expanded to five days and the festivals to one month. The foot races included four types of racing. The stadion was the oldest event in which runners sprinted for 192 meters or 1 strade. The 2-strade race was 384 meters and long distance running ranged from 1,344 to 4,608 meters (7-24 strades). Ancient Greece also had a 2-4 strade race by athletes in 50-60 pounds of armor. This was especially useful in building stamina, endurance and speed for Greek men who served in the military. In wrestling, the object was to throw your opponent down three times to be the victor. Javelin hurling used a man-high length of wood with a sharpened point that sometimes had an attached metal point. A thong on the javelin for athletes’ fingers attached to its center of gravity and increased its precision and distance. In the discus event a saucer-shaped discus made of stone, iron, bronze, or lead was thrown for distance. Ancient boxing had fewer rules and no weight classes or rounds and opponents were chosen randomly. Boxers fought until the opponent was unconscious or admitted that he has been beaten. In addition, boxers also wore leather thongs instead of gloves and could continue to hit the opponent while he was down. Jumpers held lead or stone halteres or jump weights to propel the body further while jumping across the pit similar to long jump. Chariot racing included two and four horse racing and 2 mule chariot racing. The winner finished twelve laps or nine miles around the track first. Horse riding was a six lap or 4.5 mile race around the track in which only the wealthy participated in because of the costly training involved. The pankration was a grueling and rigorous combination of wrestling and boxing that continued until participants acknowledged defeat.. The rules only forbade biting, and gouging an opponents eyes, nose or mouth with fingernails. The final event, the pentathlon, was a five event combination of discus, javelin, long jumping, sprinting and wrestling. The ancient Greeks were highly competitive and believed strongly in the concept of or competition. The primary Greek goal was to be the best. This concept was centered among every aspect of life, especially athletics. It was therefore considered a tremendous honor to win a victory at Olympia and the fact that reward given to victors at Olympia was an olive wreath illustrates this point. The athletes competed for honor and status, not so much for material goods. It was believed that the vitality of the sacred wild olive branch was transferred to the victorious recipient.

The competitions of the ancient Greek Olympics were only open to free men of Greek descent who have not committed any serious crimes. This was later extended to include boys in 632 bc. Women were not allowed to participated or witness any portion of the Olympics, as the events could become graphic. If a women entered the arena, she would be killed. A truce was put into effect before and during each of the Olympic festivals, to permit visitors to travel safely to Olympia and to maintain peace during the event. During the truce, wars were suspended, armies were prohibited from entering or threatening the Games, and legal disputes and the execution of death penalties were restricted. Violations of this truth were punishable by death. The Olympics in Greece were suppressed officially by Roman emperor Theodosius I in 394 ad because as a Christian he wanted to terminate pagan festivities.