The ancient Greek olympics

The antediluvian Greek olympicsM whatever nation eff a mickle about the exceptional Games. antiquated games were a lot sm each(prenominal)er than the majestic Games to twenty-four hours with wholly(prenominal) 300 contestants from 11 unthe likes of countries. All of America has heard the devastating news that occurred this year at the 2010 exceedings. Nodar Kumaritashvili died by and by crashing into a metal pole during a luge race. He was only 21 historic period old competing at the Vancouver Olympics and it likewisek his life. Many people do non realize how violent and dangerous certain Olympic events are. To all in all-inclusivey understand the importance of the Olympics you affect to jazz about the Ancient Olympic Games (Papantoniou). consort to Findling, Heracles, Zeuss son, founded the antique Olympics. Yet the scratch Olympic Games were held in 776 BCE. At this Olympic Games, a runner named Coroebus, win the running event. Coroebus became the rattling f irst Olympic champion. The ancient Olympic Games became bigger and often hot so they continued to be admited e genuinely four years for nearly 1,200 years (Findling).At the beginning, the Olympic Games were played as embark on of a unearthly practice. People put their passion for religion into tout and contention. This hereby became a religious ritual for the Greeks (Papantoniou). The Olympic Games were the most illustrious of all former(a) games by far and they were held in capital of Washington.According to Papantoniou, the opinion of rebirth soon came along and when it did troopsy cults were formed. The mind of rebirth came from the idea of creation. We are created from the coming together of a male and female, which was obvious. During this process of birth, the flat coat has been express to give us life. The Earth, with the help of Mother Nature, contains e reallything that people need to live. The overlord force of Mother Nature created the idea of rebirth. Soon the religious cults were formed and competition became an master(prenominal) ritual (Papantoniou). The purpose of the Olympic events was to adjoin bodily strength and vigor (Papantoniou).According to Findling, once the first replete(p) moon came out the games were able to begin. At the beginning, the games only lasted a sidereal mean solar day entirely soon the games became so popular new sports were added. Soon, the games lasted a climb five days. The first day of the festival was meant for sacrifices for the Gods. Some athletes liked to require alone and give birth sacrifices themselves.Most Greek athletics were for one or soone to grapple with another as opposed to playing on teams. The athletes took com workforcece in running, wrestle, disc-throwing, boxing, javelin-hurling and many other sports. The second day of the games was the day of the foot-race. thither was not merely one type of race that the athletes took part in. there were four different kinds. The fir st and oldest was stadion, where runners sprinted for 1 stade, which was the length of the stadium. The other races were a 2-stade and long-distance races. The fourth type of race involved runners wearing full armor. This race was good for preparing men for the military. It increased strength and stability for the men competing to get them ready for war.The other events besides the races were held after the second day of the Games. Pancratium, which was a mix of wrestling and boxing, got kind of intense. To break through in wrestling the player was to heave the other wrestler on the ground ternary times. It was not that simple, however. The opponent couldnt just undercoat any such way. They were to land on their hip, back or shoulder. To avoid any serious dent, ancient Greece had specific rules that were to be followed. Biting your opponent and grabbing their genitals was frowned upon during wrestling or the pancratium.When the games had first begun, boxing was not very violent. Although boxing was not too intense, protection was very cardinal. The Greeks were always looking for ways to avoid injury in games like this. In this case, the boxers put flog on their fingers, much like a modern day boxing glove. These leather straps helped with the distressingness of being hit. However, as time went on, the players came up with more than and more violent strategies to make their way to the top. afterward this more protection was unavoidable and new finger straps were created. The intensity of boxing was nothing compared to that of the pancratium. It was so uncivilised that it was not declared over until one of the players accepted defeat.The people who had decent money to own horses were able to train their horses to compete in races. there were races where the horse wore a saddle to make riding easier scarce in other races the horse had to be bareback. Bareback riding is riding without a saddle which was very difficult because the riders had nothing t o hold onto. Much like when a man wins a competition he receives an chromatic branch, so does the benignant horse. The person who trained and rode the horse to victory receives no credit. In the Olympics there were in like manner Chariot races. These races included small chariots led by 2 horses and larger ones led by 4 horses.The pentathlon came after the day of the horse races. The pentathlon included five sports for the athletes to con part in. The events were all very different from one another. Sprinting and wrestling were two of the five events. It was tough since all of the events were so different. If an athlete succeeded at one event he great power fail at another. Many of the athletes had to throw javelins and discuses as part of their competition. The lowest event in the pentathlon was the long jump. Not only was strength important just also stamina and precision (Findling). In order to succeed at jumping the farthest many men would use weights to make them jump fu rther.Many people from out of the area would come to Olympia for their religious festivals. These popular festivals brought many more athletes to the area looking to play in the Games. Gymnasiums were built in Greece for people to practice and play slight serious games. The gymnasiums were not only a place to practice but also a place to get protection from the sun. Each gymnasium contained a bath for men to not only clean but also to cover themselves. Athletes often covered themselves in oil in the beginning competing in the hot sun for protection (Findling).These competitive games were taken very seriously and they symbolized many things. According to Papantoniou, if you win a game, instead of acquiring a medal or a trophy, you were crowned with a screwball olive branch. The olive branch symbolizes God so if you are crowned, the olive branch promises godliness and that you will live forever. According to Findling, after winning a competition, the winners would return home onl y to be escorted to their own town. According to Papantoniou, if you won a competition you would therefore have a divine presence and just the thought of you would bring up the word fertility. After these competitions were made-up, fertility of nature became associated with these human activities. A triumph in any one of these games was seen as a direct effect of divine will. The winners were looked upon as heroes or even gods to everyone. These physical activities both influenced the ritual process and were influenced by it in turn (Papantoniou). According to Fling, rewards were given to the winners of certain events such as wrestling and boxing from the pain that one must endure.According to Findling, Greek literature and art all included athletics in some way shape or form. Physical ability was extremely important to the Greeks. Not only physical strength was important but also strength of the mind.According to Papantoniou, some people believed that the Olympic Games were a imag inative way to select their king. When the King competed in the games, if he was not the winner, everyone would know that he was not a worthy leader. He cannot continue to be King if his power and vigor begin to decline. For this reason the Olympics was to be held so that the Kings strength could be put to the test. In the mythical era, everyone believed that if the King won it was because he was chosen by God. If the King lost, God has chosen somebody else to take over. Cronus, Zeus, Apollo, Hermes and Ares were the first to participate in the games, followed by Idaean Heracles, Pelops, Oenomaeus, Heracles, the Dioscouri and a undivided host of kings and rulers (Papantoniou).According to Papantoniou, the Olympic Games were mostly for men to watch. Unmarried women were allowed to ascertain to find a husband. However, married women were not allowed to watch on pain of death (Papantoniou). According to Fling, although unmarried women were allowed to attend the Olympic Games, there w ere only certain days on which they were able to. If any woman was to be caught at the Olympic Games on a day that they were not suppose to be, they were to be pushed down Mount Typaeum. Mount Typaeum was a tall passel that expanded from Scillus to Olympia and it would be torture for anyone who fell down it. The only woman who has ever been caught at the Games when she wasnt supposed to be was Callipateria. Her son was to compete in the Olympics so she disguised herself as a trainer. Her son, Peisirodus was victorious. Soon Callipaterias personal identity had become known. She was scared for her life. Her father, brother and son all competed in the Olympic Games and all were victorious. Because of this, there was an exception to the rule and she was left unpunished. Because of her mistakes there has been a new law put in place for trainers to show themselves out front coming into the area with the players (Fling).According to Durrant, The real question here is not who can attend the Olympics but who can compete. Of course not all people who want to participate can participate. Like many things in life there were restrictions for the Olympic Games. Only free-born Greek citizens were allowed to participate in the Olympic Games (Durrant). Boys competed with boys. Men competed with men of the same age. Only at Sparta, did girls take part in the contest. To be eligible for participation in the Olympic Games, a competitor must observe the traditional Olympic tone and ethic and have always participated in sport as an alligator pear without having received any remuneration for his participation (Durrant). According to Durrant, Amateurs are frowned upon during the Olympics. An recreational is anyone who decides to participate in the games merely for their own benefits. These benefits may include brotherly benefits, physical or mental benefits. Its better to see a man take on a task just to test himself. thither is not a problem as long as the competition is const rained to a distinct population. There will be a problem when a competitor moves to a different population that has more rigid rules and standards. Professionalism began in the sixth century B.C. when Solon determined that anyone who won in the Olympic Games would be given 500 drachmae. Soon after the invention of professionalism, athletic games became a full time job for some. Plato said that the athlete who ends by becoming a hater of philosophy, uncivilized, never using weapons of persuasion,he is like a wild beast, all violence and fierceness, and knows no other way of dealing and he lives in all ignorance and evil conditions, and has no sense of propriety and grace (Durrant).You may be wondering what the ripe attire for the Olympic Games were in ancient times. According to Fling, The Lacedaemonians were the first players who decided that being naked during the games were easier. They also are the ones who discovered the protection that oil gave their bodies. Before nudity, th e competitors wore nothing but loin cloths (Fling).According to Fling, the ancient Olympic Games ended 393 AC. The modern Olympics began at the end of the XIX century. Baron capital of South Dakota de Coubertin brough back the Olympics with his impressive proposal. Everyone was so excited about the return of the Olympics that the first Modern Olympic Games were to take place in Athens in 1896. Before Baron, other people had tried to bring the Olympics back but no one was successful. So as we can see much about the Olympics has changed. Although the Olympics were invented in ancient times, they still live on today. plant CitedDurrant, Sue M. And Who May Compete?. Quest (00336297) 22.(1974) 104-110. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 4 Feb. 2010.Findling, J. E., Pelle, K. D. (1996). diachronic Dictionary of the Modern Olympic Movement. Westport Greenwood Press.Fling, Fred Morrow. A Source Book of Greek History. 1907. 04 February 2010 .Papantoniou, G. Religiosity as a main eleme nt in the ancient Olympic Games. Sport in Society 11.1 (2008) 32-43. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 2 Feb. 2010.