Beijing 2008
Olympic Game History
This history of the Olympic Games is something that everyone is interested in as it was the beginning of this spectacular sporting event that has been going on for centuries. Everyone is familiar with the origins of the Olympics from Ancient Greece. The first Olympic game took place in Olympia, Greece in 776 B.C. The games were held in the wooded valley of Olympia in Elis. In this area the Greeks erected statues of the Greek Gods such as Zeus and other powerful Gods to watch over the games and the participants. At this time, this area was considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
There are some scholars that speculate that the 776 B.C games were not the first games held in Greece but the first games that were in fact organised as a festival of the athletes. The victors of these ancient Olympic Games were crowned with wreaths from the sacred Olive tree that grew behind the temple of Zeus. According to the myths this tree was planted by Hercules, the founder of the Olympic Games. The winners also marched around the grove to the music of the flute while spectators and admirers chanted songs and poetry.
These ancient Greece Olympics were held without interruptions in Greece even through 480B.C during the Persian wars. The games were held every four years 776B.C to 393 A.D when they were abolished by the Christian Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I. The ancient Greek Olympics lasted for 1170 years. The first of the modern summer games was held in 1886 in Athens, Greece.
The very first Olympic Games consisted of only the stadium race but this quickly evolved including games such as:
- Double Stadium Race
- Long Distance Race
- Pentathlon
- Wrestling
- Boxing
- Horse Race
This is the main events that took place in Greece during the first of the Olympic Games. When the games were first created in Greece, there was a great deal of religious adaptations that were connected with these athletic games. The Olympic Games were held as a part of religious ceremonies to honour deceased heroes, writers and artists throughout Greece. Although the religious aspects of the games were large at one time it did not take long for this aspect of the festival to be lost among the countries and their competitive natures.
From the beginning the games from Olympia served as a bond between the Greeks and served as a strengthening feature of Greek unity. The ancient history of the Olympics continued on for centuries until the overtaking of a New Greek leader. The modern Olympic Games are not much different from the ancient Greek festivals. They still include the ceremonies and tributes to the countries and athletes from around the world. Although these games do not hold as high a meaning to the culture and unity of one country to another it does mean a great deal to the athletes who are honours to compete in this age old festival of stamina which makes the history of ancient Olympic Game so important to millions around the world.
