Ancient Greek Olympics
The ancient Greek Olympic Games were not much different than the Olympic Games we view today. It contained various different athletic competitions held between different cities and states within Ancient Greece. The beginning of the Olympic traditions began in 776BC in Olympia and was continued on until the year 393CE.
Olympia, Greece was a sanctuary for Greek Gods and therefore many Greeks felt this was the perfect location to hold such a competition. Within Olympia at this time you would see a 12meter high statue made of ivory and gold depicting Zeus which was one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World. In the very beginning of the Ancient Greek Olympics, only one event was held. This event was the 190 meter Stadion race; a foot race.
The main difference between the ancient Olympic Games and the modern Olympic games is quite simple. The ancient Greek Olympic Games only allowed free men who spoke Greek to compete in their competitions. At the time they felt their games were incredibly international because it included athletes and participants from all the different city-states of Greece.
There were several different qualifications these Greek athletes had to pass before they would be allowed to participate in any of the Olympic events. The first being they would only admit men who were young in age. The second being that each athlete had to take a vow in front of the Zeus statue to vow they had been in training for at least 10months for these games.
Over the years and evolution of the Olympic Games more and more events were being included for the athletes of Greece including:
- Boxing
- 2-Stade Race
- Third Foot Race
- Hoplite Race
From this small sample list of the different events used in the Ancient Greek Olympics, you can see that running and track events were their preferred method of competition during this time.
The winners of the Olympic Games would receive a crown of olive branches and often a large sum of money. They would also have sculptors create statues of the Olympic winners and poets would writer them sonnets and sing their praises.
Many scholars have concluded that any wars that were occurring during any given Olympic year were immediately stopped so that the athletes and the spectators could arrive at the games safely. It is well known that only men were eligible to participate in the Olympic Games and women were only permitted to participate in entering horses in the equestrian events. The male athletes almost always competed naked not only because of the hot weather but because the Olympic Games were created to celebrate the human body.
The Ancient Greek Olympic Games were the beginning of the modern games and created an unstoppable tradition that all cultures of the world can not only understand but appreciate as well. The Olympic Games today are quite similar to the ancient games and they possess the same morals and meaning that the ancient games did so long ago. Athletes today feel just as proud if not more so to compete in this ancient tradition of competition and celebration.
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