Games Have Long History

While there are many great sports events, from Major League Baseball’s World Series to the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics is much older than any of these.

The ancient Olympics was held at Olympia, one of the oldest religious spots in Greece. Olympia was a logical site for the games because athletic contests were one way the ancient Greeks honored their gods. Olympia was also convenient to reach by ship, an important consideration for athletes and spectators since the Greek colonies covered a vast area.

There are many different stories about when the Olympics started, but the name of the first winner was recorded in 776 B.C. The games continued for centuries. After the end of the third century, however, there are no more records of Olympic winners.

The first Olympic event was the footrace, which covered a distance of one stade (192 meters). As time went on, the Greeks added more events to the games, including boxing, chariot racing, horse riding, wrestling, the pentathlon and more.

Unlike the modern Olympics, in which athletes from any country can compete, the ancient Olympics were only for free men who could speak Greek.

Like our modern Olympics, the winners became local heroes and drew lots of attention for their hometowns. A winner would be awarded a palm branch, and red ribbons were tied on his head and hands to show that he was victorious. A final awards ceremony was held on the last day of the games. A herald announced the victor’s name, his father’s name and his homeland. Finally, a Greek judge placed a wreath of olive branches on the winner’s head.

One great thing about the ancient games was the truce that was declared among the Greeks a month before the Olympics. The truce was meant to ensure that athletes could travel safely to Olympia. If anyone broke this truce, the judges would fine whole cities and ban their athletes from competing.