Ancient Greek Olympics

One important ancient Greek invention was the Olympic Games. The Olympic Games

were an event that the majority of Greek citizens attended for nearly twelve centuries. The

Olympic Games were so important to ancient Greek civilization that the Greeks could not get

men to fight in the army when the Persians invaded Greece in 480 B.C. because they wanted to

watch the Olympic Games. Even if Greece was afraid of invasion, the Olympic Games still took

place. The time span in which they took place was from 776 B.C. to 393 A.D., and they typically

took place every four years. The participants in the Olympic Games were free Greek males, and

women did not usually participate in the Games. The Olympic Games were centered around a

religious festival. Greeks used the Games as an excuse to gather together and eat a feast. In order

to honor the Greek god Zeus, the people would slaughter cows and offer them up to Zeus. After

the cows were slaughtered, the people would cook them and eat them. The Olympic Games took

place in Olympia for more then 250 years. Olympia was full of olive trees, and these were used

to make wreaths. The winners of the different events would receive wreaths. There was also an

altar for Zeus in Olympia. Some of the events of the early Olympic Games included wrestling,

running, chariot racing, jumping, and boxing. Starting around the fifth century B.C., the Olympic

Games were five days long. The Olympic Games hosted in Olympia reached their height of

popularity in the second century A.D. Around 40,000 fans would come to the stadium each day

to watch the events (3).

One thing that was different in the ancient Olympic Games is that the competitors

participated in all of the events naked. This was the case because the Greeks glorified the human

body, and they saw it as a beautiful thing. Running was one of the most highly watched events in

the ancient Olympic Games, and if one of the competitors had a false track start, then they would
receive corporal punishment. The boxing event also had some interesting rules. In boxing, there

were no weight classes, no specific amounts of time for each round, and no points. In order for

the competitors to indicate their surrender, they would raise their index fingers. One of the most

famous boxers of the time that competed in the Olympic Games was Diagoras of Rhodes. This

man was said to be 2.2 meters tall, and it was rumored that his father was a Greek god. He had

the nickname euthymaches, and this term means fair fighter. This nick name was fitting for

Diagoras because he would stand right in front of his opponent. He did not pull any tricks on his

opponents, such as ducking from punches. He was a winner in the 79th Olympic Games, which

took place in 464 B.C. Diagoras was the father of three sons. Between the three of them, his sons

won five events at the Olympic Games (3).

The ancient Greek Olympic Games were held in honor of the various Greek gods.

However, the main focus was on the Greek god, Zeus. There was a large statue of Zeus at

Olympia that was made of ivory and gold. This is one of the ancient wonders. The statue was

made by Pheidias, a Greek sculptor. The order in which the events took place in the ancient

Greek Olympic Games in unknown. It is known that the first day of the five-day festival was

dedicated to sacrifices. At different times throughout the Games, the athletes would make small

sacrifices themselves, and they also prayed (2).

Sporting events in ancient Greek culture were usually associated with funerals,

specifically funeral rituals. There were certain funeral rituals used for heroes and those fallen in

battle. Athletic events were always a large part of Greek culture. The Greeks were also known to

have competitive spirits and heathy bodies. At the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C., there was

only one event and one winner. This event was the stadion foot-race. Koroibos of Elis was the
winner of this event. The Greeks recorded every winner of every Olympic event from then on, so

this allows us to have an accurate account of the ancient Greek Olympics today (1).

The Olympic Games were advertised to people living all over Greece. People traveled

from the islands and the mainland in order to be present at the Olympic Games. For example,

people came from the islands of Magna Graecia and Ionia. If wars were occurring during the

time of the Olympic Games in Greece, then a truce would be called for a month or more. This

allowed the spectators to safely travel to watch the Games, and more athletes could participate in

the events. Once all the spectators and athletes arrived at Olympia, the city was full of people,

noise, and many activities. Before accommodations were provided for the spectators that lived

far away, the spectators made make-shift camp sites. The streets were full of poets, craftsmen,

philosophers, food vendors, and musicians. The spectators cheered loudly for the athletes during

the various athletic events, and they would throw laurel leaves and flowers at the winners once

the event was over (1).

The athletes that competed in the Olympic Games were usually trained by an educated

physical trainer that knew how to make the human body perform best. The trainers were

educated on the best exercises and diet for the body. The trainers were thanked by their athletes

for all their hard work. Occasionally, the athletes thanked their trainers through the dedication of

a statue. Another important thing that the athletes did was get rubbed and massaged with oil

before and after exercising. This allowed the muscle tension to be released, and it prevented the

future cramping of the muscles. One of the main reasons why the men competed in the Olympic

events naked is because they wanted total freedom of movement. Some people thought clothes

would have slowed the athletes down, or clothes could have gotten in their way. Not wearing
clothes also prevented the athletes from getting overheated. There are other thoughts as to why

the athletes did not wear clothes, but these are the main reasons (1).
 Works Cited

1. https://www.ancient.eu/Olympic_Games/

2. http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Olympics/

3. https://www.olympic.org/ancient-olympic-games