articles

By: Jim Lucas on Fri Aug 15, 2008

Legend has it that a very long time ago, Herakles (aka Hercules) had won a race at Olympia and declared the race should be re-enacted every 4 years. The first recorded Olympic games took place in 776 BC, however it is widely believed to have started long before that, with some historians citing the 13th century BC as the beginning.

The most likely of origin stories states that the first Olympics were held as local religious festivals near Olympia until 884 BC, when the king of the Greek state Elis decided to evolve the games to a broader pan-Hellenic festival of sport.
Because states were warring with each other at the time, a promise of peace had to be made in order to ensure the safe travel of athletes to Olympia. Therefore, every Olympiad (a period of four years), a truce would be declared by warring states and the Olympic games would be held in honor of the Hellenic god Zeus.
The olympics became pre-eminent by 572 BC, with Ellis organizing the event and Sparta enforcing the sacred truce. A single 200 yard race run in the nude, known as The Stade, was the only event for the first Olympiad. As time went on, more games and events were added and their importance increased. Longer races were added in 724 and 720 BC and other sports followed. In 708 BC, wrestling and pentathlon were added. Pankration (a Hellenic martial art)in 748 BC, boxing in 708 BC, chariot racing in 680 BC and more followed.
A wild olive branch wreath was the only official prize for an Olympic winner, but some unofficial prized were awarded depending on the athlete's city-state of origin. Athens, for example, allowed Olympic champions to live for free in a special hall set aside for distinguished citizens known as the Pyrtaneum. Others were exempted from paying taxes and some would receive monetary awards.
Athletes were required to arrive in Ellis a month before the Olympic games to train physically, spiritually and mentally under the supervision of the Games' judges, who had ultimate say if athletes were qualified to compete.
Only free born Greeks loyal to their gods were allowed to compete at the time, and thus had to swear an oath to that effect before competing.
The first games would only last one day, but got up to 5 days by 632 BC, with religious thanksgiving sacrifices and prize awarding ceremonies taking place on the fifth day.
As Olympia was dedicated to Zeus, it was regarded as a sacred area for men, therefore women were not allowed to compete or watch. (They were able to watch the chariot races outside the precinct). Women had their own events from which men were banned including javelin throwing competitions.
At the peak of the Ancient Games, the Olympics drew crowds from all of Greece and from colonies as far as Egypt. The festival also attracted some of the most noted historical figures from the time like Plato, Pythagoras, Demosthenes and more. Herodotus, the father of history, wrote about the games. Sculptors, poets and writers gathered to recite and work on statues. Vendors and traders conducted business as the festival grew with more spectators and athletes participating.
The Games finally came to an end in 394 BC when the Christian Byzantine emperor Theodosius declared the Olympics a pagan festival and had them abolished. That was the end of the Ancient Olympics, with the birth of the Modern Olympics taking place in Athens in 1896 AD, thanks to the persistence of Pierre de Coubertin from France; but that is another story...