The Olympic idea was born in ancient Greece about 3,000 years ago. Sporting contests took place during the great festivals that the Greeks held in honour of their gods. The most important of these contests was the Olympic Games, dedicated to Zeus, the Father of the Gods. The magnificent temple of Zeus was designed by the architect Libon and was built around 450 BC. Every four years, men from all over the Greek world gathered at the Games to demonstrate their sporting spirit in the sporting spirit in the sacred surroundings of Olympia, situated in the state of Elis.
The first recorded Olympic Games took place in 776 BC. There was just one event, a race over a distance called a stade. A stade was about 180 meters, almost the length of the stadium at Olympia. The race was won by a young cook, Coroebus, from Elis.
Over the centuries, many new events were introduced, such as wrestling, the long jump, the discus throw and chariot racing. the period of competition expanded to five days, and the festivals lasted a month.
During this time, a truce was declared throughout the Greek world and all wars had to stop. No one was allowed to carry weapons into Olympia.
No women were allowed to compete in or even watch the Olympic Games, on pain of death. They had their own festival, in honour of the goddess Hera. it was held every five years, and the chief event was a race for young girls over about 30 metres.
During the classical period the Olympic festival drew crowds not only from the Pelopponesian Peninsula but from colonies as far away as Libya and Egypt. Poets and other writers recited spontaneously, sculptors worked on statues while surrounded by spectators, vendors sold food from stalls, traders from throughout the peninsula sold horses.
The Ancient Olympics lasted for more than a thousand years, but they started to lose their importance as the Romans began to take over Greece in the second century BC. Although the Romans kept up the Games, they destroyed the Games' spirit and the sacred traditions that had grown up around them. In AD 394, Emperor Theodosius of Rome officially abolished the Games. He was a Christian, and wanted to put an end to pagan festivals.
|
|
|
|
| Last updated 2008/09/28 10:56:07 PDT | Hits 231 |
|
|
