by Carolyn Tytler

Created on: April 29, 2008   Last Updated: August 07, 2008

The first Olympic Games were religious festivals. They were held every four years in honor of Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, on the plains of Olympia, a city-state in ancient Greece. Olympia was the well-known site of the temple of Zeus, which housed a twelve-meter-high statue of the god made of gold and ivory. This marvelous edifice was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The ancient Greeks put great emphasis on physical fitness and intellectual ability. Gymnasiums, stadiums and training facilities were built by the city-states and many athletic and musical contests were held where both mind and body would be tested. The most prestigious of these were the Olympic Games. The winning athletes of the various events brought fame and honor to their home city and were sometimes even deified for outstanding athletic accomplishments. They were exempted from taxes and received free meals for the rest of their lives.

The first games were held in 776 B.C. and continued for nearly five centuries. There were strict rules to which entrants had to adhere. The games were open only to free Greek males. Slaves and non-Greeks could not compete, nor could any man who had committed a crime or stolen from a temple. Married women could not enter the Olympic stadium or attend the games, although young girls and the priestess of the goddess Demeter were welcomed.

The punishment for any woman found attending, was to be thrown off Mount Typaeum. Anyone attempting to corrupt a judge or an opponent was punished by whipping.

The Olympic Games were initially a one-day event, but by the fifth century B.C. they had been expanded to five days. The schedule was as follows:

-Day 1: a competition for trumpeters and heralds. The winners had the honor of sounding the start of all events and announcing the names of victors. Athletes and officials made sacrifices to their own particular patron gods.

-Day 2: boys' races, wrestling, boxing matches took place. The pankration, (a sport combining wrestling and boxing skills) for boys was also held.

-Day 3: this day was for
the equestrian events and the pentathlon, a combination of five contests- jumping, running, javelin, discus and wrestling,

-Day 4: the day began with the sacrifice of 100 oxen to Zeus by the athletes, officials, priest and others. The ceremonies were followed by men's wrestling, boxing, running, and pankration events.

-Day 5: on the final day all the victors gathered in the Temple of Zeus wearing red headbands and carrying palm

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>