The ancient Olympic Games

The Olympic Rings

As an image of Olympism, Coubertin thought the rings had deep significance: that of the union between men. He multiplied the image to create a total of five rings. He designed and commissioned the Olympic flag to mark the 20th anniversary of the IOC's founding, on 23rd June 1914 in Paris.

"These five rings -- blue, yellow, black, green and red -- represent the five parts of the world now encompassed by Olympism and ready to compete against each other. Moreover, the six colours (including the white background) thus combined represent those of all nations, without exception. The blue and yellow of Sweden, the blue and white of Greece, the French, English, American, German, Belgian, Italian and Hungarian tricolours, the yellow and red of Spain are side by side with the new Brazilian and Australian flags, the old Japan and the new China. It is a true international emblem."

Coubertin (Selected Writings II, p. 460, 1913).

As an image of Olympism, Coubertin thought the rings had deep significance: that of the union between men. He multiplied the image to create a total of five rings. He designed and commissioned the Olympic flag to mark the 20th anniversary of the IOC's founding, on 23rd June 1914 in Paris. Coubertin never said nor wrote that he saw a link between the colours of the rings and the continents. For him, the five rings represented the union of the five continents, but the colours were merely those that appeared in all the different national flags at the time.

-- The results of a survey carried out in six countries (Australia, Germany, India, Japan, Great Britain and the USA) in 1995 showed that 92% of those questioned correctly identified the Olympic rings, which made them the most-recognised symbol. They were followed by the McDonald's and Shell emblems (88%), Mercedes (74%) and the United Nations (36%). (SRI Sponsorship Research International).

-- 86% of those questioned associated the Olympic rings with the world's greatest sports event: the Olympic Games. (SRI Sponsorship Research International, 1995).


The history of the Games

The ancient stadium in Olympia could accommodate more than 40,000 spectators, while in the surrounding area there were auxiliary buildings which developed gradually up until the 4th century B.C. and were used as training sites for the athletes or to house the judges of the Games.

Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games, is in the western part of the Peloponnese which, according to Greek mythology, is the island of "Pelops", the founder of the Olympic Games. Imposing temples, votive buildings, elaborate shrines and ancient sporting facilities were combined in a site of unique natural and mystical beauty.

Olympia functioned as a meeting place for worship and other religious and political practices as early as the 10th century B.C. The central part of Olympia was dominated by the majestic temple of Zeus, with the temple of Hera parallel to it. The ancient stadium in Olympia could accommodate more than 40,000 spectators, while in the surrounding area there were auxiliary buildings which developed gradually up until the 4th century B.C. and were used as training sites for the athletes or to house the judges of the Games.

The Games and religion

The Olympic Games were closely linked to the religious festivals of the cult of Zeus, but were not an integral part of a rite. Indeed, they had a secular character and aimed to show the physical qualities and evolution of the performances accomplished by young people, as well as encouraging good relations between the cities of Greece. According to specialists, the Olympic Games owed their purity and importance to religion.

Victory ceremonies

The Olympic victor received his first awards immediately after the competition. Following the announcement of the winner's name by the herald, a Hellanodikis (Greek judge) would place a palm branch in his hands, while the spectators cheered and threw flowers to him. Red ribbons were tied on his head and hands as a mark of victory.

The official award ceremony would take place on the last day of the Games, at the elevated vestibule of the temple of Zeus. In a loud voice, the herald would announce the name of the Olympic winner, his father's name, and his homeland. Then, the Hellanodikis placed the sacred olive tree wreath, or kotinos, on the winner's head.



Mythology

The gods

Zeus

Zeus was considered the most important of all the Olympic gods. He was originally worshipped as a god of meteorological change. He quickly became the god of fertility however, and was worshipped as Zeus the "infernal" (hthonios) or "farmer" (georgos).
As Zeus the possessor (ktisios), he offered a good harvest; as Zeus the father (pater), he protected the family and all who lived nearby. He was thus honoured on the altar in the courtyard. As Zeus the brother (fratius), he protected blood relations and as Zeus the patron saint (poliouhos), the whole town. Before long, Zeus was worshipped as a Supreme Being of prudence and wisdom who determined the fate of man and justly set the moral order of the world.

Hera

Hera was the sister and wife of Zeus and was worshipped all over Greece, but especially in the region of Argos. She was thus also called "Argeia". The epithets "perfect", "balanced", "wedded" were used to describe her because she was considered the protector of marriage and the marital bond. Homer depicts Hera in her dual capacity as the most important female deity, but also the official spouse of the father of the gods.

Athena

The ancient Greeks believed that Athena was miraculously born out of the head of Zeus. She was first worshipped in the palaces of the Achaean rulers in the Pre-Hellenistic period. In Homer's work, she is depicted as a warrior goddess wearing full armour from the prehistoric era. She was as important as Aris, the god of war, and favoured the prudent outcome of confrontations.

Apollo

Apollo was the god of moral order and music, but his main capacity was to protect the art of divination. This is revealed by the plethora of oracles in various regions of Greece, the most famous being the oracle of Delphi, in Fokis. Apollo is also seen as a pastoral god, protecting his flock from the wolves. He was worshipped by the farmers as the god of the harvest. From Antiquity onwards, he had the reputation of a god of healing.




Sports events

The ancient Olympic Games included the following events:

Pentathlon

The Pentathlon became an Olympic sport with the addition of wrestling in 708 B.C. and included the following:

Running

Running contests included:

-- the stade race, which was the pre-eminent test of speed, covering the Olympia track from one end to the other (200m foot race),
-- the diaulos (two stades -- 400m foot race),
-- dolichos (ranging between 7 and 24 stades).

Jumping

Athletes used stone or lead weights called halteres to increase the distance of a jump. They held onto the weights until the end of their flight, and then jettisoned them backwards.

Discus throw

The discus was originally made of stone and later of iron, lead or bronze. The technique was very similar to today's freestyle discus throw.

Wrestling

This was highly valued as a form of military exercise without weapons. It ended only when one of the contestants admitted defeat.

Boxing

Boxers wrapped straps (himantes) around their hands to strengthen their wrists and steady their fingers. Initially, these straps were soft but, as time progressed, boxers started using hard leather straps, often causing disfigurement of their opponent's face.

Pankration

This was a primitive form of martial art combining wrestling and boxing, and was considered to be one of the toughest sports. Greeks believed that it was founded by Theseus when he defeated the fierce Minotaur in the labyrinth.

Equestrian events

These included horse races and chariot races and took place in the Hippodrome, a wide, flat, open space.


Tradition of the Olympic Truce

The tradition of the Olympic Truce dates back to the 9th century BC, in Ancient Greece. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to revive this ancient concept in order to protect the interests of the athletes and sport in general.

Ten year of initiative for peace

In 1992, the first initiatives were launched by the IOC, in collaboration with the United Nations, allowing athletes of the former Republic of Yugoslavia to participate in the Barcelona Games. In 2000, during the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Games, the South and North Korean delegations paraded in the stadium together under the flag of the Korean peninsula.

International Olympic Truce Foundation

In July 2000, the International Olympic Truce Foundation (IOTF) was created with a view to promoting peace through sport and the Olympic ideal.



The year 776 BC: Earliest history of The Olympic games

In 776 BC Koroibos from Elis won the stadion, the only contest on the program of the Olympic games at that period. With this victory the traditional list of Olympic victors begin and also the time-reckoning in Olympiads.

It is not clear, however, if the games of 776 were really the first Olympic games. Already the ancient writers disagreed on this. Some place the first games in 776 BC, others earlier. They do agree, however, on the broad outlines of the earliest history of Olympia. After their example we can divide the early history in three major periods.

In mythical times the games were held irregularly. Every time they were organized by a legendary person, e.g. Herakles, Pelops and Oxylos. These were usually funeral games, like the funeral games for Patroklos in the Iliad.

The second period was a time of decline, in which the games were neglected.

The third period starts with the official reinstitution of the Olympic games. Three political leaders are connected with this reintroduction: Lykourgos of Sparta, Iphitos of Elis and Kleisthenes of Pisa. Their treaty was solemnly inscribed on a bronze discus, which was kept in the temple of Hera at Olympia. Pausanias has seen this discus in the second century AD.

Some authors, among them Pausanias, place the reinstitution in 776 BC. Others consider 776 only as the year when the official list of victors started. The games started a century earlier, but in their first century they had a local character. They were so small-scale that the names of the victors were not recorded.

In the eighth century the games continued to be mainly a local affair. The first victor from outside the Peloponnesos is found in 720 BC, and he comes from nearby Megara.

To discover the historical start of the Olympic games, archaeologist excavated the site of Olympia. They found bronze tripods that are older than 776 BC. It is not clear, however, whether these were prizes for the athletes or votive offerings.