1 ancient olympic games
TRANSCRIPT
The ancient Olympics were rather different fromthe modern Games. There were fewer events,and only free men who spoke Greek couldcompete, instead of athletes from any country.Also, the games were always held at Olympiainstead of moving around to different sites everytime.
Like our Olympics, though, winning athleteswere heroes who put their home towns on themap.
One young Athenian nobleman defended hispolitical reputation by mentioning how heentered seven chariots in the Olympic chariot-race. This high number of entries made both thearistocrat and Athens look very wealthy andpowerful.
The ancient Olympic Games were initially a one-day event until 684 BC, when they wereextended to three days. In the 5th century B.C.,the Games were extended again to cover fivedays.
One difference between the ancient andmodern Olympic Games is that the ancientgames were played within the context of areligious festival.
The Games were held in honor of Zeus, theking of the Greek gods, and a sacrifice of 100oxen was made to the god on the middle dayof the festival.
Athletes prayed to the gods for victory, andmade gifts of animals, produce, or smallcakes, in thanks for their successes.
According to legend, the altar of Zeus stoodon a spot struck by a thunderbolt, which hadbeen hurled by the god from his throne higha top Mount Olympus, where the godsassembled.
Some coins from Elis had a thunderboltdesign on the reverse, in honor of thislegend.
The Greeks referred to the Sanctuary ofZeus as the Altis. The name Altis camefrom a corruption of the Elean word forgrove, alsos .
Sanctuaries were centers of religiousworship where the Greeks built temples,treasuries, altars, statues, and otherstructures.
The crowns made of olive leaves camefrom a wild olive tree in the Altis, whichwas called the olive of the BeautifulCrown.
Olive trees, which supplied the Greekswith olive oil, olives, a cleaning agent forbathing, and a base for perfumes, were animportant resource in the rocky and dryGreek environment.
A Greek legend credited the heroHerakles (Hercules) with introducing theolive tree to Greece.
The ancient Games included running, longjump, shot put, javelin, boxing, pankrationand equestrian events.
Pentathlon
The Pentathlon became an Olympic sport withthe addition of wrestling in 708 B.C., andincluded the following:
Running / Long Jump / Discus Throw/Jabalin Throw/Wrestling
Running
Running contests included: the stadium race,which was the pre-eminent test of speed,covering the Olympia track from one end tothe other (200m foot race), the diaulos (twostadium - 400m foot race), dolichos (rangingbetween 7 and 24 stadiums).
Jumping
Athletes used stone or lead weights calledhalteres to increase the distance of a jump.They held onto the weights until the end oftheir flight, and then jettisoned thembackwards.
Discus throw
The discus was originally made of stone and later of iron, lead orbronze. The technique was very similar to today's freestylediscus throw.
Wrestling
This was highly valued as a form of military exercise withoutweapons. It ended only when one of the contestants admitteddefeat.
Boxing
Boxers wrapped straps around their hands to strengthen theirwrists and steady their fingers.
Initially, these straps were soft but, as time progressed, boxersstarted using hard leather straps, often causing disfigurementof their opponent's face.
Pankration
This was a primitive form of martial art combining wrestling andboxing, and was considered to be one of the toughest sports.Greeks believed that it was founded by Theseus when hedefeated the fierce Minotaur in the labyrinth.
Equestrian events
These included horse races and chariot races and took place inthe Hippodrome, a wide, flat, open space.
THE CONTEXT OF THE GAMES
AND THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT
Today, the Olympic Games are the world'slargest pageant of athletic skill andcompetitive spirit.
They are also displays of nationalism,commerce and politics. These two opposingelements of the Olympics are not a moderninvention.
The conflict between the Olympicmovement's high ideals and thecommercialism or political acts which
Olympia was one of the oldest religious centers in the ancientGreek world.
Since athletic contests were one way that the ancient Greekshonored their gods, it was logical to hold a recurring athleticcompetition at the site of a major temple.
Also, Olympia is convenient geographically to reach byship, which was a major concern for the Greeks. Athletes andspectators traveled from Greek colonies as far away asmodern-day Spain, the Black Sea, or Egypt.
An international truce among the Greeks was declared for themonth before the Olympics to allow the athletes to reachOlympia safely.
The judges had the authority to fine whole cities and ban theirathletes from competition for breaking the truce.
There were 3 other major gameswhich were held on 2- or 4-yearcycles:The Isthmean Games at Corinth, the
Pythian Games at Delphi, and the Nemean Games at Nemea.
Because it started 200 years beforethe other competitions, the Olympicsremained the most famous athleticcontest in the ancient Greek world.
The Olympics were open to any free-born Greek in the world.
There were separate mens' and boys'divisions for the events.
Women were not allowed to competein the Games themselves.However, they could enter equestrianevents as the owner of a chariot teamor an individual horse, and winvictories that way.
Not only were women not permitted to competepersonally, married women were also barred fromattending the games, under penalty of death.
Athletic competitions for women did exist in ancientGreece. The most famous was a maidens' footrace inhonor of the goddess Hera, which was held at theOlympic stadium. There were 3 separate races for girls,teenagers, and young women.
The length of their racecourse was shorter than themen'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 in ancientGreece. Many Greeks believed that developing thebody was equally important as improving the mind foroverall health. Also, regular exercise was important ina society where men were always needed for militaryservice.
The palaestra (wrestling-school) was one of the mostpopular places for Greek men of all ages to socialize.
Many accounts of Greek daily life include scenes inthese wrestling-schools, such as the opening ofPlato's Charmides.
Young men worked with athletic trainers who usedlong sticks to point out incorrect body positions andother faults. Trainers paid close attention to balancingthe types of physical exercise and the athlete's diet.
The Greeks also thought that harmonious movementwas very important, 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 for victors toreceive benefits such ashaving all their meals atpublic 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 thetraining period at Olympia. One athlete claimedthat bad winds kept his ship from arriving in time,but was later proved to have spent the trainingperiod traveling around Greece winning prizemoney in other competitions.
Another athlete was so intimidated by hisopponents that he left the Games the day beforehe 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, sothe Athenians sent messengers tocities all over Greece asking for help.
The traditional origin of the marathoncomes from the story how a heraldnamed Phidippides ran the 26 milesfrom Marathon to Athens toannounce the Greek victory and diedon the spot.
The Olympic festival brought huge numbers ofvisitors to Olympia.
Most people slept outside, under the stars,although the wealthy and members of officialdelegations erected elaborate tents andpavilions.
Merchants, craftsmen, and food vendors arrivedto sell their wares.
The busy schedule included religiousceremonies, including sacrifices; speeches bywell-known philosophers; poetry recitals;parades; banquets; and victory celebrations.
