Olympics The first Olympics were the ancient Grecian games held in 776 BCE, which means Before Common Era. The games were stopped in 393 CE, which means Common Era, and didn't start again until 1896. According to legend, the ancient Olympic Games were founded by Heracles (the Roman Hercules), a son of Zeus. Yet the first Olympic Games for which we still have written records were held in 776 BCE (though it is generally believed that the Games had been going on for many years already). At this Olympic Games, a naked runner, Coroebus (a cook from Elis), won the sole event at the Olympics, the stade - a run of approximately 192 meters (210 yards). This made Coroebus the very first Olympic champion in history. The ancient Olympic Games grew and …show more content…
The Official Olympic Flag Created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1914, the Olympic flag contains five interconnected rings on a white background. The five rings symbolize the five significant continents and are interconnected to symbolize the friendship to be gained from these international competitions. The rings, from left to right, are blue, yellow, black, green, and red. The colors were chosen because at least one of them appeared on the flag of every country in the world. The Olympic flag was first flown during the 1920 Olympic Games. The Olympic Motto In 1921, Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, borrowed a Latin phrase from his friend, Father Henri Didon, for the Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius ("Swifter, Higher, Stronger"). The Olympic Oath Pierre de Coubertin wrote an oath for the athletes to recite at each Olympic Games. During the opening ceremonies, one athlete recites the oath on behalf of all the athletes. The Olympic oath was first taken during the 1920 Olympic Games by Belgian fencer Victor Boin. The Olympic Oath states, "In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules that govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor …show more content…
Real Gold Medals The last Olympic gold medals that were made entirely out of gold were awarded in 1912. The Medals the Olympic medals are designed especially for each individual Olympic Games by the host city's organizing committee. Each medal must be at least three millimeters thick and 60 millimeters in diameter. Also, the gold and silver Olympic medals must be made out of 92.5 percent silver, with the gold medal covered in six grams of gold. The First Opening Ceremonies The first opening ceremonies were held during the 1908 Olympic Games in London. Opening Ceremony Procession Order During the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the procession of athletes is always led by the Greek team, followed by all the other teams in alphabetical order (in the language of the hosting country), except for the last team which is always the team of the hosting country. A City, not a Country When choosing locations for the Olympic Games, the IOC specifically gives the honor of holding the Games to a city rather than a country. The football World Cup in Qatar, could back-fire, if players complain about the heat. Delhi suffered negative publicity over the state of its facilities at the Commonwealth Games. Cost of
...n countries. This affected the games by shaping how people viewed the games and the peace they would bring. An information guide provided to members of the press uses a similar ideal (Doc #6) the Soviet Union had a bad reputation since they were communists and it was looked down upon. The Olympic organizing committee wanted the Soviet Union to appear as if they were peaceful and democratic as propaganda. Ali Kabir (Doc #10) a sports writer for the Internet edition of English-language Pakistani newspaper deals with the feeling of a newly created nation might have towards proving to the world that they are just as competent as the nation that they had gotten their independence from. A good additional document would be a poster for the Olympics. This would be helpful because it would promote the Olympics that were trying to create unity and peace throughout the nations.
In Ancient Greece they formed the Greek Olympics in the year 776 B.C in which participants participate to honor the gods and demonstrate their physical abilities. What was amazing was that those who participated were only participating in honor and not prizes. Something that they would win was the olive wreath which was basically winning the honor and recognition of the people and the gods. Comparing to the ancient time and now is that there are now commercialized, endorsements, and sponsorships for athletes to represent companies in the Olympics. However, the Olympics still hold true to the idea that it is still a place for participants compete with the best in the world for the honor (gold,silver, and bronze medal). Also, if we look at the sculpture of the Diskobolos made by Myron of Eleutherae it represented the general athlete in motion and would symbolize the ancient times athlete. But something that is different about now and the Greek ...
Politics have obscured the true meaning of the Olympic Games. Sadly, the intervention of politicians has caused the destruction of the Olympics' golden halo. The purity of the Olympics has, since their resurrection in 1896, been politically led. Scandal, corruption, boycotts, and political disputes have smeared the Olympic innocence.
“It is universally accepted that 776 B.C. was the year the festival at Olympia, in honor of Zeus, became known as the Olympics, and the period of four years between celebrations became an Olympiad (Zimmerman 1984).” Yet the precise circumstances surrounding the creation of the ancient Olympics are still shrouded in mystery. Several myths encompassin...
When the Olympic Games first began in 776 B.C. in Athens, Greece, wrestling was the premiere event. It was considered the ultimate test of discipline and strength, in which the world would discover who the greatest warrior is. Wrestling exemplifies the motto of the Olympic Games: Citius, Altius, Fortius. Which means faster, higher, stronger.
In the past the Olympic games were used as a way for the Greeks to honor their gods. Today the games are not an honoring but more of a social gathering. What’s great about the games today is that everyone has equal opportunity to compete. No matter your gender, size, ethnicity, or wealth, all you have to do is work hard and
most prestigous event of the olympic games and, therefore, was held at the end of the program. The race was held at the altis, beginning at the balbis, or starting line. The runners would sprint one length, or stade, and finish at the Altar of Zeus. The distance covered was approximately 600 ancient feet, or 200 meters.
The Pentathlon was the name for the five events in Greek gymnastics: running, jumping, wrestling, discus throwing, and javelin throwing which began with the 18th Olympiad. In the wrestling event, wrestlers were anointed with oil, dusted with powder, and forbidden to bite or gouge one another. Wrestling was looked upon as a weapon-free military exercise. Since there was no weapons wrestlers that competed used their weight and strength as an advantage especially since there were no weight categories. The Javelin was thrown in the same form back in ancient times as it is thrown today. The first recorded Olympic Games had one event, a race, called the stade which is a measure of the distance of the length of the track. By 724 B.C. a two-length race was added and by 700 B.C. there were longer distance races. By 720 B.C., men participated naked, except in the foot race in armor that weighed between fifty to sixty pounds. The outfit included a helmet, greaves, and a shield that helped young men build speed and stamina in preparation for war. The Pentathlon included three running events such as the Stade, the Diaulos, and the Dolichos. The Stade was a 200 yard foot race, was the first and only Olympic event for 13 Games. The dolichos was a variable length foot race averaging twenty stades or four thousand yards for the fifteenth Olympiad. The Diaulos was a four hundred yard foot race that was instituted for the next Olympic Games. The discus was considered by ancient Greeks, an event of rhythm, precision, and finesse of a competitor to throw the discus was as important as his strength. The discus was made of stone, iron, bronze, or lead, and was shaped like a flying saucer. The Sizes were different for the boys' division, since the boys were not expected to throw the same weighted discus as the men. The athletes who competed in the jump event used lead or stone jump weights called halteres shaped like telephone receivers to increase ...
With over two hundred countries participating, the Olympic Games is easily considered as one of the largest multisport event known to history. The Olympics are held at a different country, and even more rarely at the same city. For a country to be chosen to host the Olympics, the country’s National Olympic Committee (the country’s representatives for the Olympics) nominates a city (from the country they represent) that they think has potential in hosting the Olympics nine years prior to when they wish to host the Olympics. It is a two year process that consists of: Application Phase, Candidate Phase and the Election of the Host City. The country that wins the election is given seven years to prepare for the Olympics. (International Olympic Committee, n.d., p. xx-xx) The hosting country expends billions of dollars, usually money they don’t have, preparing for the Olympics. Then the question is raised 'why would a country go through so much trouble and spend an outrageous amount of money to host this event?' Throughout this discussion paper it will address all the pros and cons for a country to host the Olympics. It will also see if a smaller sports event can produce the same benefits the Olympic offers with less cost and risk.
Modern Day Olympics are a huge tradition that sweeps the screens of televisions across the world. Competitors take the arena with uniforms that dawn their countries colors and designs that are meant to resemble their designated flag. For months the news is centered around the games; the preparation, the athletes, and of course the competition. Countries aren 't obsessed, they are inspired and full of pride seeing athletes from their country compete and show their incredible skill. This tradition dates back to ancient Greece where the games began. Tony Perrottet writes about the traditions of the ancient game in his book The Naked Olympics.
The Olympic Games were started by the Greeks a long time ago. It was in the honor of Zeus, the kings of the gods and were part of a religious festivals. They started in 776 B.C. The games were held every four years in Olympia, which is located in southeast Greece. People came from all around Greece to take part or just watch the games. Events in the Ancient Olympic Games were boxing, chariot racing, riding, pentathlon, discus, javelin, jump, running, and wrestling. Events in modern Olympic Games are swimming, diving,
Citius, Altius, Fortius. In other words, “Faster, Higher, Stronger.” That is the Olympic motto which is also tagged with the five rings. The Olympic Rings are an honor. The five rings represent the five inhabited continents uniting together in one place. The five rings represent something else to me; it represents the five characteristics an Olympian has…the five characteristics I have.
“The mission of the IOC is to promote Olympism throughout the world and to lead the Olympic Movement.”
A story that is widely known about how the Olympics came to be is one in which Heracles was the creator and he was the one who made the stadium as an honor to his father Zeus after completing his twelve labors. The winner would be crowned victorious with the same olive wreath that the future Olympic participants would wear if victorious. Though now an olive wreath may sound insignificant this award was sacred to them. It was also considered to be a symbol of wisdom, peace, glory, and prosperity. In the 2004 the summer Olympics came back to Athens, Greece where they had their own interpretation of the traditional games. Such things as awarding the winner with the olive wreath were repeated in honor of the old ways and the fact that that was where it all started made it obviously more
Ancient Olympics The ancient Olympics had some differences from the modern Games. There were fewer events, and only free men who spoke Greek could compete, instead of athletes from any country. Women where not allowed to even watch the games on penalty of death let alone play in them.. Also, the games were always held at Olympia in Greece instead of being moved around to different sites every time. But also they had some similarities to our modern Olympics, winning athletes were heroes who put their home towns on the map, and became financially sound for life. The conflict between the Olympic's ideals of sportsmanship and unity and the commercialism and political acts which accompany the Games where also present in ancient times. "Sotades at the ninety-ninth Festival was victorious in the long race and proclaimed a Cretan, as in fact he was. But at the next Festival he made himself an Ephesian, being bribed to do so by the Ephesian people. For this act he was banished by the Cretans."