People watch the Olympics today without much thought as to where they came from, different countries compete in different locations, every four years, isn’t that the way it has always been? Not quite. The Olympic games began in 776 BC in Olympia and there are two common beliefs as to why they became such a thriving event.
One belief is that the games were held because Zeus and Kronos had wrestled in the skies above for possession of the earth and when Zeus won, the people below felt that they needed to hold the games in commemoration of him (Kieran and Daley). In this sense, the games were held in more of a religious manner, in order to honor their god, a logical reason to keep the tradition going on for years. The second most common belief of how the games came about was the story of King Enomaus and his daughter Hippodamia. He wanted to find a suitor for her so he held a chariot race in which he chose 14 men to participate. The winning Pelop’s won Hippodamia’s hand in marriage (Kieran and Daley). The games had more of a romantic but competitive aura if this was the true reason, but no one will ever know for certain.
It wasn’t a coincidence that the Olympics were held at Olympia, there were several reasons behind the decision of where to hold the games. If the games were held in honor of their god Zeus, the location makes perfect sense. Olympia is one of the oldest religious centers, according to the Perseus Project website, and it had enough room to hold all the people competing and the spectators, so why try to find a different place. Another positive aspect of having the games there was because of the location in comparison to other places and countries. When the games first began only the locals could participate but in time the invitation to participants was expanded and people traveled from all over. Olympia was easy to reach by ship which was necessary since many men traveled from Spain, Egypt, and the Red Sea.
The ancient Olympics were much different than what people think of today when they hear about the Olympic games. Today’s Olympics have many different types of events ranging from gymnastics, to track and field, to almost every other sport that is professionally played, as well as others. During the first thirteen Olympic games, from 776BC until 724BC, the only event that took place was a footrace of approximately 200 yards (Schaap). Eventually other games were added including races of different lengths, discus competitions, wrestling, boxing, chariot races, as well as separate games for boys of younger ages who felt more like men if they were allowed to compete with their elders (Kieran and Daley). The Olympic games have undergone many changes since then into the Olympics which people would recognize today.
When the games first originated, the only people who could participate were the local free Greek men but that soon changed. Soon people from all over, Spain, Egypt, and the Black Sea, the most popular locations as researched by the Perseus Project, sent men over to compete in hopes of getting handsome prizes. Not too surprisingly, women were not allowed to participate in the games, and dejectedly they weren’t even allowed to be spectators to support their sons, husbands and fathers. Those people working on the Perseus Project who created their website were shockingly surprised to find that women did have their own way of participating, they could own a chariot team or an individual horse and enter it into an equestrian event. In this way the women also had an opportunity to win an event and receive an award for it, but they were not able to sit and watch the competition take place. They could partake behind the scenes as long as they weren’t seen. Nowadays everyone is invited to participate in the Olympic games, women, men, even teenagers, from countries all over the world.
Today the winners of the Olympic games receive gold, silver, and bronze medals to show their success and recognition by the public eye. From that recognition they take advantage of the fame and make a lot of money by sponsoring and hosting public events as Olympic heroes. During the ancient Olympics, their prizes were much different, they didn’t have such a monetary value, they were more materialistic and symbolic. As found on the University of Pennsylvania Museum webpage, the Athenian winners won a free meal every day for the rest of their lives at City Hall to not only guarantee their nourishment but also for them to be seen in public and envied by all the other citizens of the area. If the young boys and men saw such an accomplished figure out in public they would be more likely to strive towards being strong and well known for their strength. It would be more believable for a young boy to strive towards that accomplishment if they saw it in their everyday lives. The winners also received a more symbolic prize, according to the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center’s website on the Olympics, a crown made from olive branches and bay leaves. When they returned back to their homes they were often rewarded by the people there, sometimes with food, other times with items with monetary value, or other times they were given women. In one sense this is similar to today’s winners who receive recognition for their achievements and receive substantial rewards by the public people.
The Olympic games today are judged by people whom are considered experts on the sport, they need to know all the technicalities involved with the sport to the point that they can be very critical and notice every little aspect done by the participant, both correct and incorrect. The Perseus Project claims that the performance of the ancient Olympians however, were judged by residents of the local region of Elis. Normally people would assume that the other residents of the area wouldn’t be permitted to participate in the events in fear of a bias from the judges but only the fairest people were chosen to be on the panel, therefore everyone still had an equal opportunity of entering the games. It seems as though no matter how fair and unbiased someone is, they would always lean towards someone they are closer to but according to the Perseus Project the system was set up in a way to prevent this.
If someone is caught cheating or taking drugs to enhance their performance at the Olympic events there are serious penalties and fines instilled on them, not to mention the horrible reputation they would have in the public eye. Even back in 776BC, there were serious consequences if you were caught cheating. If a judge determined that you were not following the rules correctly, a problem which could arise today as well, you would be fined a monetary amount, which would then be put towards erecting new statues of the god Zeus in public places, as stated by the Perseus Project workers. Most likely people would have wanted to donate money for this cause because they wanted to instead of being forced to, by putting the money towards these statues it gave it a negative connotation.
Although we have Olympic games today, they have not been constantly played since 776BC. The Olympic Journey, from The Ancient Olympics website stated that in 394AD the ancient games came to an end because of Emperor Theodosius of Rome, a strict Christian. He was convinced that the games were pagan and sacrilegious and since he was emperor at the time he had the power to abolish them.
The Olympics are always interesting to watch because you see so many different cultures coming together to participate in the same event on the same playing field but how often do you think about the changes the games have undergone? They have drastically changed but at the same time, some things hardly changed at all. Over 2700 years later and it is still based on the same competition with the hopes of winning recognition from the public for their achievements.
Works Cited
Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center. 2003. Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center. October 11,2005. http://www.hellenicmuseum.org/exhibits/ancientgrk/olympics.html.
Kieran, John, and Arthur Daley. The Story of the Olympic Games 776 B.C. to 1960 A.D.. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961.
Schaap, Richard. An Illustrated History of The Olympics. New York: Alfred A Knopf, Inc., 1967.
The Ancient Olympics. 1996. Perseus Project. October 11, 2005. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/.
The Ancient Olympics. The Olympic Journey. October 11, 2005. http://library.thinkquest.org/20622/Default.htm.
The Real Story of the Ancient Olympic Games. University of Pennsylvania Museum. October 11, 2005. http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/olympics/olympicintro.shtml.
