Ancient Greek Olympics

The ancient Greek Olympics
By Gabriel Merrill So many people know what the Olympic Games are but how many know how or why they were started. The Olympics were started in 776 BC in Olympia and thus were called the Olympics. The games were held once every four years, which is an Olympiad. To the Greeks the games were more than just a source of entertainment the games were part of their worship. They put the games on in honor of Zeus and to appease the gods. During the celebration of the games there was a truce so the competitors could travel from their countries to the games safely. The prizes for the victors were olive wreaths or laurels. There were many participants in the Greek Olympics that hailed from all over the Balkan Peninsula.
Only free born Greeks could compete in the Olympics. This didn’t include slaves or woman, although there is one Greek woman who did participate. However the Greeks could come from any of the neighboring city states or from Macedon. There were quite a number of city states in Greece; researchers say probably over one hundred. The games were always held in Olympia unlike the Games now a day that are held almost anywhere. The games were more a religious festival than an athletics competition.
But they adequately served both purposes. Part of the reason that the Olympics were held was so that the Greeks could gain the gods favor. The games were held mostly in honor of the Greek god Zeus god of the sky. They were so obsessed with trying to please him that on the middle day of the games they would sacrifice one hundred oxen to his name. They also erected a temple in honor of Zeus on the mountain top and made a great statue of Zeus that was over 43 feet tall. This statue was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The games also became a source of artistic inspiration sculptors and artists’ came from all over to try to capture the magic of the games on paper. Also poets came to write songs and poems for the winners of the games. These poems were known as Epinicians and many of them were passed down from generation to generation and have survived for hundreds of
years. Only free men who spoke Greek were allowed to participate in the games. Also to be in the games a man had to have his name on a list and train for ten months. If a contestant had not trained for ten months he was not allowed to participate. Before the games were started each contestant had to take an oath in front of the statue of Zeus saying that he had trained for ten months. When the game’s first started the competitions only lasted a day, but eventually they grew to five days. When the games were first started there was only one event. That event was called the stadion race which was a short foot race. The exact distance of this race is unknown, but they think it to be around 180-240 meters long; or the half the distance of the stadium. To win the runners had to pass 5 stakes that were placed in the ground; one at the start, three in the middle and one at the finish. The second type of footrace was called the diaulos which was more of a 400 meter foot-race it was at least twice as long as the stadion. This race was a full length around the stadium. A third foot-race that was held was called the dolichos was 18-24 laps long or three miles long. The race normally would wind its way around the Olympic grounds, passing important shrines and statues along the way. They would pass the statue of Nike, goddess of victory and pass the great statue of Zeus. The final running event was called the hoplitodromos or the hoplite race. This race was not the longest race, but it was by far the most rigorous. The race was about 800 meters, but that wasn’t the difficult part. Competitors in this race were forced to run in full battle armor. This included a shield, helmet, spear, sword and breastplate. The armor weighed about seventy pounds. There were many more events including boxing, wrestling, chariot racing, long jump, discus and the javelin throw. The Greek competitors were expected to compete nude. Olive oil was used by the competitors to make them look better. Because the competitors were nude married women were not allowed to watch the festival under pain of death. It was considered cheating if they did, and the women were publically executed. There are many myths too how the Olympics were started.
One of these myths stars a Hero named Pelops, who according to Greek myths was the founder of the Olympics. The story starts with a king named Oinomaos (king of Persia). The king had a beautiful daughter named Hippodamia. The King had declared that anyone who wanted to marry his daughter would have to compete with him in a chariot race. The winner would earn his daughter’s hand in marriage, however losing the race would result in a public beheading of the looser. The hero Pelops took up the King's challenge. Pelops knowing the kings horses were a gift from Poseidon, he knew he would have to cheat to win. So on the eve before the race, he replaced the mettle axles on the chariot with wax ones. When the race starts, the wax melted and the King was violently hurled to his death. Pelops was declared the winner and then married Hippodamia. And thus the Olympic Games were
started. The legacy of the ancient Greek Olympics has passed the test of time and this ancient ritual has survived all the way until the present day world. But now the Olympics are more of a worldwide competition instead of a religious festival for the gods.