The Ancient Greek Olympics

The first Olympic games were established in 776 BC at Olympia, Greece. In honor of Zeus, Greek city states gathered to one place, wars were halted, and the battle for the best athletes in all of Greece, favored by the Gods, would begin. The Olympic games became the cornerstone of honor and unity. Today the Olympic tradition has spread worldwide and includes over 200 countries and a vast variety of different sports all based on those competed at the ancient Greek Olympics. The ancient Greek Olympics have greatly influenced modern competition sports.

Most people are familiar with the modern day olympics as being held every four years where both men and women can compete in a summer or winter sport. Location changes each time the Olympics are

There were also only five different events up until 684 BC when the tradition started to expand (Woff 38). In Greece, starting about the age of six, boys would have to give up their toys and childhood to begin training for an athlete’s most prideful honor, competing in the Greek Olympics. Most education up until this point has revolved around Greek history and will continue to do so until the teen years when focus is derived just as much on physical education. Sports were practiced at school in a palaestra and were greatly admired because they were thought to be practiced in preparation for

The rules of most of these games are generally the same as the modern day sport, however, sports like boxing had fewer limitations, opponents were chosen randomly and some sports were fought to the point of passing out or even death (perseus.tufts.edu.). Most sports like running or wrestling were competed in the nude and covered in oil to help the athletes from being held back by their tunics. This is one of the reasons only other men and spectators were allowed to watch. Women were not allowed to view the athletes in competition. Once the events were over and the spectators have made their decisions, winner were chosen for each event. Unlike the typical gold, silver, or bronze medal presented to today’s olympic winners, ancient champions were given a crown of olive leaves and a carved statue of them put on display at the Olympia. After the five days of competition and winnings were distributed, it was time to go home. By this time, news of any winners from each home town were known and it would be time to celebrate the win. Champions were now praised heroes to their homes thanks to the rigorous training and favorability of the