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Olympics: A Day in the Life of an Ancient Greek

The Olympic Games lasted for five days and were held every four years in August or September at Olympia as part of a festival for the god Zeus. Athletes went to Olympia one month before the festival to train and prepare themselves. The Olympic athletes were all male citizens of Greek city-states from every corner of the Greek world, coming from as far away as Iberia (Spain) in the west and the Black Sea (Turkey) in the east.

Wars were brought to a standstill just so that people could travel to the Games in safety and magnificent temples and stadiums were built for the occasion. Often, as many as 50,000 people came, some from as far away as Spain and Egypt.

Olympic Program of Events

Day 1: Morning: Swearing-in ceremony. Contests for heralds and trumpeters. Boys' running, wresting and boxing contests. Prayers and sacrifices in the Altis; consultation of oracles. Afternoon: Speeches by philosophers, poets and historians. Tours of the Altis. Reunions with old friends.

Day 2: Morning: Procession in the hippodrome of competitors in the equestrian events. Chariot and horse races. Afternoon: The pentathlon. Evening: Funeral rites in honor of the hero Pelops. Parade of victors around the Altis. Singing of victory hymns. Feasting and revelry.

Day 3: Morning: Procession of the judges, ambassadors, competitors, and sacrificial animals to the Great Altar. Afternoon: Running races. Evening: Public banquet in the Prytaneion.

Day 4: Morning: Wrestling event. Midday: Boxing and the pankration. Afternoon: Race in armor.

Day 5: Procession of victors to the Temple of Zeus, to be crowned by the judges with garlands of wild olives. A day of feasting and rejoicing.

The third-day procession and sacrifice were traditions of every Olympic Games. They were a reminder of what the games were really about--the greater glory of Zeus, King of the Gods.

The third-day was chosen for the Olympic procession and sacrifice because it was right in the middle of the Games. The Games were always held during the summer and were arranged so that a full moon lit the celebrations on the third night.

The ancient Greeks believed that the first Olympic Games were held in 776 BC. The first winner was Korebos, a young man from the city of Elis, the capital of the state in which the Games were help. He won a sprint race of about 200 meters. However, several Greek legends tell us different versions of how the Games began.

According to legends and poetry, the Greek hero Heracules was responsible for the foundations of the Games. One of the Hero's twelve tasks (called the Labors of Heracles) was to clean out the massive stables of King Augeas of Elis. Heracles diverted the River Alpheios so that it flowed through the stables. When his task was over, Heracles celebrated by clearing in the sacred grove at Olympia and setting up the Games there to honor Zeus, his father.

King Iphitos of Elis lived around the ninth century BC. Legend says that he was upset that Greece was being destroyed by civil war and plague, so he went to ask the oracle at Delphi what he could do to set things right. The oracle suggested that he should hold the Olympic Games and insist on a truce while they were going on.

Besides the Olympics, there were three other major Greek games: Isthmian Games, held at Corinth in honor of Poseidon, the god of earthquakes and the sea; Pythian Games, held at Delphi in honor of Apollo, son of Zeus, and the Nemean Games, held at Nemea in honor of Zeus, like the Olympics.

The Olympic Truce

Every four years the Greek states obeyed what is known as the Olympic Truce. The truce was written on a bronze discus kept in the Temple of Hera. It said that all the states taking part in the Games were forbidden to go to war, carry on a dispute in the law courts or execute criminals. Truce bearers from the state of Elis traveled to every Greek state and announced the terms of the truce. Originally, the truce lasted for one month. Later this was extended to three months to protect visitors traveling long distances to get to and from the Games. People who broke the truce were fines heavily.

The Main Events

One of the most challenging events was designed to find the best all-around athlete. This was the pentathlon, from the Greek words pente (five) and athlon (contest). There were five events: discus and javelin-throwing, running, jumping and wrestling.

Running

Running was the oldest event and opened the first day of the Games. There were three main races: the stade (one length of the track), diaulos (two lengths), and the dolichos (20 or 24 lengths). The track was about 192 (640 ft) long. There were three lengths of running races at the ancient Olympic games.

The race in armor, or hoplitodromos, was the last race of the Games. Twenty-five runners wearing their helmets and greaves and carrying their shields ran down the stadium to the shouts of the crowd.

Pentathlon

Penta means five in Greek; pentathletes competed in five events. We are not sure how an athlete won. There was no point system as we have in the pentathlon today. If an athlete won the first three events, he was declared the winner, and the last two events were then cancelled. The events were running, wrestling, long jump, discus and javelin throwing.

Wrestling

Greek wrestlers were vicious. Fighters were not allowed to bite or dig their fingers into soft parts of the body, such as the eye or the groin, but they were allowed to do anything else. They could certainly yank opponents hair, which is why some wrestlers shaved their heads.

There were two types of wrestling matches. In one, the aim was to throw an opponent to the ground three times. In the other, the wrestlers fought until one of them surrendered by waving his finger in the air.

Long Jump

The long jump was a competition that was held only as a part of the pentathlon. In many ways, it was completely different from the modern long jump. The athletes carried weights in both hands, each weighing up to 4 kilograms. By swinging their arms, they used the weights the help them jump further. Rhythm and timing were essential, so music was sometimes played as the athletes jumped.

Discus

Greek discusses were made of bronze, lead or marble. As far as we can tell, the Greeks were not as expert as modern discus throwers. This might be because the original Olympic discuses were very heavy. None have survived, but other ancient Greek discuses weigh over 6 kilograms. The heaviest modern discus weighs only 2 kilograms.

Javelin

Ancient Olympic javelin throwing was quite like our modern-day sport. The main difference was in the javelin itself. Greek javelins were made of elderwood, with a leather loop tied around the middle. The thrower held the javelin with the leather loop. The best throws traveled more than 100 meters. The modern-day record for men's javelin throwing is 95.66 meters.

Horse and Chariot Racing

Horse races were run over a distance of about 1200m (nearly a mile). In one race, the rider dismounted and ran the last part of the race beside his horse. Jockeys rode bareback and accidents were common.

Chariot racing was probably the most popular event of all, although it was also the most dangerous one. Chariots, pulled by teams of two or four horses, were raced 12 laps. Up to 40 chariots could take part in one race, so collisions were inevitable.

Wrestling and Boxing

There were three types of wrestling events: upright wrestling, ground wrestling, which lasted longer, and a highly dangerous of wrestling and boxing called the pankration. This could last for several hours and absolutely any tactic, apart from biting and eye-gouging, was allowed. The boxers wore leather straps with metal studs, and they could make a terrible mess of their opponents. Some of them died.

The Winners

After each event, a herald announced the name of the winner, but prizes were not awarded until the last day. The prizes, which were simple laurel wreaths, were only meant to be symbolic. The real prize lay in competing and in the glory of winning. Huge celebrations were held when the winners returned home. A victorious athlete won prestige for his city, and he was often handsomely rewarded by the city itself.

Olympic Victory

At the original Olympics, little attention was paid to those who came in second and third place. The first place winner was the most important person. The prizes for an Olympic victory were woolen ribbons and cloaks, a palm branch, bronze tripods, shields, olive oil, but the most important prize was a symbolic wreath crown. Although athletes were not given cash awards, they were often times rewarded with high government positions in their home city-state.

A series of bronze tripods have been found at Olympia, some of which may date to the 9^th century BC, and it has been suggested that these tripods may in fact be prizes for some of the early events at Olympia.

Although the ancient Games were staged in Olympia, Greece from 776 BC through 393 AD, it took 1503 years for the Olympics to return. The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. The man responsible for its rebirth was a Frenchman named Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who presented the idea in 1894.

Women and the Olympics

We know for certain that women were not allowed to compete at the Olympics, although they were allowed to enter their horses and chariots. Kyniska, a daughter of the King of Sparta, won great fame as the first woman to train horses that won at the Olympic Games.

At every Olympic Games, a special competition was held for unmarried women. It was known as the Heraria, and honored the goddess Hera. The officials and organizers were all women. The Heraia was made up of three sprint races along the stadium track, specially reduced in length by one-sixth. The competitors were divided into age groups beginning with the youngest. Unlike men, women did not compete naked, but wore a short dress hung from one shoulder.

The winners were crowned with garlands of olive leaves and given a share of a cow sacrificed to Hera.

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