Ancient Olympic Games

The legend says that Heracles, the son of Zeus, was the founder of the ancient Olympic Games. Even though the first written records of the ancient Olympic Games go back to 776 BCE, they have started earlier and have been played for at least twelve centuries until the Christian Roman Emperor Theodosius II closed them down in 426 CE because of fear of pagan influences.

The ancient Olympic Games were always held at Olympia, never anywhere else. They began as festivals honoring the dead. They were held every four years for four days. The four-year period was called Olympiad. Among the four ancient Greek athletic festivals, the Olympic Games were the most prominent.

The Greeks named the Games Olympic Games after Olympia, a region of Elis in South of Greece where the Games were always held. Olympia was a site of the sanctuary honoring Zeus. According to the ancient historian Herodotus (484-425 BC), a 42-feet high gold and ivory statue of sitting Zeus by Pheidias in Olympia was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The first athletes competed in nude. They had to have a status of free men and be fluent in Greek. The Olympic champions were crowned with olive wreath and palm branches with their names inscribed in the official Olympic records. They became celebrated heroes, awarded prestigious honors, high-status rights and large sums of money.

Only very young athletes could participate in the Olympic Games. To be able to qualify and participate they had to train for ten months and take an oath in front of the statue of Zeus.

During the Olympic Games, a three-month ceasefire was declared to allow participating athletes and spectators to travel securely to Olympia. Three runners ran to all the Greek cities and states that participated in the Games announcing the ceasefire. During the ceasefire, armies were prohibited to enter Olympia and death penalty and legal disputes were abolished. The truce was very rarely broken.

Women could neither compete nor watch the Olympic Games. They held their own Olympic Games called Heraea. Though Heraea had fewer events than Olympics, they were also held every four years.

At the beginning, the Games lasted only one day but over time they extended up to five days. Originally, there was only one event, the so-called stadion or stade race, a short sprint, the length of the stadium, approximately between 180 and 240 meters. The length is not at all certain since the tracks at Olympia sanctuary do not provide reliable data.

During the 14^th Olympic Games, in 724 BC, the two-stade race, the length of approximately 400 meters, was run for the first time, while the third foot race of approximately 3 miles was introduced in 720 BC. As with other races, this race course would not leave Olympic grounds but would pass by all important shrines and statues in the sanctuary, and the statue of Nike in the temple of Zeus. Later, wrestling, boxing, disc-throwing, broad-jumping, chariot racing and single-horse races were added.

Ancient Greeks celebrated both, the brilliance of the mind and the beauty of the human body. Physical abilities were cherished and admired. The Greek literature glorified the athletes. So did Greek art, sculpture and painting. In the naked body, Greeks saw only splendor and triumph; and hence the nude athletes of the ancient Olympic Games.

Source: Nostos, Helenic Information Society