Ancient Greece - THE OLYMPICS

Parchment

The Games took place every four years from 776BC to at least 393AD. All free Greek males were allowed to take part, from farmhands to royal heirs, although the majority of Olympians were soldiers.&nbsp;Women could not compete or even attend. There was, however, a loophole to this rule – chariot owners, not riders, were declared Olympic champions and anyone could own a chariot. Kyniska, daughter of a Spartan king, took advantage of this, claiming victory wreaths in 396BC and 392BC.

The Games lasted a full five days by the fifth century BC and saw running, jumping and throwing events plus boxing, wrestling, pankration and chariot racing. At least 40,000 spectators would have packed the stadium each day at the height of the Games’ popularity, in the second century AD, with many more selling their wares outside.

Men and boys practise sports and most days girls and women stayed at home to look after their homes and domestic duties. In the city of Sparta, it was different boys and girls practised sports together until they became young adults, when the young women would marry, and young men join the army.

The all-time greats of the ancient Olympic Games. Pankration Theagenes of Thasos He is one of the most admired athletes. Theagenes won the pankration at the 76th Olypmiad in 476BC, having won the boxing title at the previous Games. Born on the island of Thasos to a priest of the temple of Herakles, the locals believe Theagenes was in fact the child of the God himself. The giant of a man toured the Mediterranean, competing in ancient games he was reported to have won 1,400 victory wreaths.

Wrestling Milon of Croton He was a six- time Olympic champion. Milon was everyone's favourite, he was an enormous guy. As part of the big sacrifice he carried a cow into the sanctuary on his back, killed it and then ate the whole cow himself in a single day. He died tangled in a tree in the wild, having tried to split open its withered stump with his bare hands, Milon was eaten by wolves.

Although it was a show exclusively for men. (Well, it probably was, there is some debate as to whether unmarried women fell under the female ban, but no one really knows the answer.) There was certainly one woman who was not only permitted to attend but was one of the very few of the 40,000-plus spectators to get a seat: the Priestess of Demeter. Again there have been arguments as to why the representative of this Goddess of agriculture was given such treatment. But it is thought that the stadium had been built over what was a sanctuary for Demeter, so that is why she was given a seat and didn't signify anything special.

Pankration This was a primitive form of martial art combining wrestling and boxing, and was considered to be one of the toughest sports. Greeks believed that it was founded by Theseus when he defeated the fierce Minotaur in the labyrinth. Competitors fought covered in oil. There were only two rules in pankration - no biting and no gouging.

Equestrian events These included horse races and chariot races and took place in the Hippodrome, a wide, flat, open space. Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek sports. Chariot racing was dangerous to both drivers and horses as they often suffered serious injury and even death, but these dangers added to the excitement and interest for spectators.

The rules Just as modern sports, ancient sports had rules. For a rider for example it was forbidden to turn in the hippodrome before the turning pole, for a runner to make a false start, for a pankratist to gouge his opponent. In the Olympic oath the athletes swore not to cheat. Nevertheless offences were sometimes committed in the thick of the fight. That is why all contests were supervised by umpires. Offenders were punished corporally with a beating of a stick or a whip.

This was a heavy punishment, not only physically, but also psychologically. Outside the context of the games, corporal punishments to free men were not allowed. They were only used in the education of children and in particular for slaves. The punishments at the games probably had a religious significance: the athletes had sworn to Zeus to compete honestly and, if they cheated, they insulted the god by their behaviour.

At the ancient Olympics the only prize was the crown of olive leaves cut from a sacred tree at Olympia. Wrestling This was highly valued as a form of military exercise without weapons. All athletes competed naked and covered in oil. The fight only ended when one of the contestants surrendered, to do this they had to raise their index fingers - at times they died before they could do this.

Boxing In the boxing there were no points, no time limits and no weight classifications like there are in boxing today. Boxers wrapped straps (himantes) around their hands to strengthen their wrists and steady their fingers. Initially, theses straps were soft but, as time progressed, boxers started using hard leather straps, often causing disfigurement of their opponent's face. As they competed naked they were encouraged not to attack the on display genitals. Boxers who could not be separated could opt for Klimax, a system whereby one fighter was granted a free hit and then vice-versa - a toss of a coin decided who went first.

Pentathlon The pentathlon became an Olympic sport with the addition of wrestling in 708 BC, and included the following: Running - Running contests included: the stade race, which was the a test of speed, covering the Olympia track from one end to the other (200m foot race), the diaulos (two stades - 400m foot race), dolichos (ranging between 7 and 24 stades).

Jumping - Athletes used stones or lead weights called halteres to increase the distance of a jump. They held on to the weights until the end of their flight, then threw them backwards. Discus Throw - The discus was originally made of stone and later iron, lead or bronze. The technique was very similar to today's freestyle discus throw.

Introduction Full of blood, passion and extraordinary feats of athletic endeavour, the Olympic Games were the sporting, social and cultural highlight of the Ancient Greek calendar for almost 12 centuries.

&nbsp;The Olympic games served two especially important purposes for the different people of Ancient Greece. The games brought people together in peace and hosted a large and important festival of worship, honouring Zeus the king of Gods. On the middle day of the festival a vast number of cows were slaughtered in honour of Zeus, once he had been given a small taste the rest was for the people. The Olympics are named after the place where they first took place Olympia. For the first 250- plus years this is where the Olympics were held. It featured an altar to Zeus and was a hugely sacred spot.

What it was like for spectators. The ancient Olympics were a huge deal for the Ancient Greeks. They drew spectators and attendees from all the far-flung empire( France, Spain, Italy, Libya, Turkey and Russia), and were the undoubted highlight of the social calendar. One thing that made you Greek was playing sports and going to the Olympics, so Greeks travelled to Olympia to reassert their identity. The numbers were staggering, Scholars estimate that perhaps more than 50,000 travelled to Olympia for a single Games during the height of their popularity. Given that there were no more than four million Greeks all together across the Empire, it is a significant percentage.

The first task was to get to Olympia and for many this involved a considerable journey across dangerous territory. Hopefully, there was an Olympic truce. A truce meant that in the run up to the Olympics, Greek states all agreed to let anyone who wanted, go to the Olympics. The truce, however, did not mean that the fighting stopped. There is at least one instance of there being a battle in Olympia during the Olympics. Once people had made it to Olympia they, understandably, tended to stay for the whole five days of the Games. The place became a bustling bazar with friends, family and associates eating, drinking, gossiping and doing business together. With such a gathering of Greeks, Olympia became the place to be every four years.

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