This Awesome Blog

This blog is about the fun and interesting facts about the Ancient Greek Olympics. This is a blog for a Western Civilization project to help our classmates learn about the Greeks and their lives. I hope you enjoy.

Events For The Insane

The Events

The different events of the Ancient Greek Olympics showed speed strength and precision. These events were loved by all the Greeks but, have become way more competitive today as many countries have come to compete, unlike in the Ancient times. These events were held in Olympia and started in 776 B.C.E.

The Event List:

Running- Consisted of different types of events within itself. Many of them were different types of the stadion which was running a 1 stade race (192 m.) 2 stade race (384 m.) and so on. But the most intense event out of them all was a 2-4 stade race, which was run in full armor.  The average weight of a hoplites armor was 50-60 lbs. That is crazy!





Pankration- This event was similar to boxing but was harder. Instead of having gloves to fight with, fighters used their own hands. But, fighters weren't allowed dirty moves like biting or scratching other fighters. This was basically an almost anything goes sort of even where the fighter used his wits and strength to wreck the opponent.






Jumping- Jumping events were revolutionized using jump weights. These weights as shown in the picture propelled jumpers forward as well as help them get fit for training. The weights somewhat look like animal hooves.






Discus- In the Olympics there were 2 different divisions, a boys and men's division. These determined the weight and material used for the discus. One of the cultural aspects of the discus was the skill required to throw the discus. Sometimes the technique could outweigh the sheer power of another thrower. The different types of discus included iron, stone, bronze and lead.

Boxing- Was very different to the boxing that there is today. There

were no rounds just one fight to the end. The weight classes were determined by whether they were "men" or "boys". Opponents were chosen randomly which added a mixture of excitement. Winners were decided by who was knocked out or if a fighter admitted that he was beaten.






Horse Events- The horse riding events consisted of chariot races and regular horse riding. The chariots could have 2-4 horses. The track for this event was very long and players had to make 12 laps around the entire track for a total of 9 miles. This event required a lot of mental work from the riders.






Wrestling- This was very similar to the way wrestling except that the wrestlers were naked and fighters were allowed to break the bones of their opponent. Besides those key changes the basic wrestling had stayed the same.






Javelin- The Javelin event worked the exact same way as it does today where the person throws a long pole called a javelin as far as he can. (Only men from Greece were allowed to participate)










Some of these events were grouped into different categories like the Pentathlon which included discus, javelin, jumping, running and wrestling.



Information Main Source: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/.html

Why? Tradition!

Why were the Olympics made? 

The Olympics were made for many reasons. Greece wanted to increase the happiness and pride of their citizens, and they did just that. When the Olympics were made, the Greek citizens all went out to support their friends and cheer for their idols. If America can show us one thing, its that sports bring money, pride, and joy. In Greece these events helped give pride and joy for the Greeks mainly because only Greeks could play in them. if you think about it no matter what the Greeks won and Zeus was pleased (Because the whole ceremony was dedicated to him)








Because of the Greeks love of tradition it was no wonder that one of the biggest events of every 4 years had a little bit of tradition in it. During the Olympics every single soldier in every part of the army came out to support the athletes. This meant peace for all of Greece for 7 days before the games and 7 days after. The Olympics was mainly for religious purposes which is why all the soldiers went to pay tribute to the gods. This Tradition is still somewhat happening today, everyone puts their differences asides to just have fun and play sports against each other.



Main Source: http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/worldhistory/ancientgreekolympics1.htm

Olympics Now!

NOW!

Today the Olympics are very different but, stay true to the spirit and fun of the likes of the Greeks. New events like Gymnastics are added very frequently and the Olympic stage is for almost everyone in almost every country instead of just Olympus. While the religious views of the event have changed the real star if the show is still the sports. I personally am glad that over all the time that has passed the Olympics have helped all people remember the importance of unity and fun.

Sources

Works Cited

"The Ancient Greek Olympics Part 1: No Fighting Allowed." The Ancient Greek Olympics Part 1: No Fighting Allowed. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

"Ancient Olympic Games, First Olympics in Olympia | Greek History." Ancient Olympic Games, First Olympics in Olympia | Greek History. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.

"Google Images." Google Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.

You made it through all that! How about some Greek music huh?