The Origin of the Olympic Games
According to tradition the first Olympics took place in 776 BC. While one legends claims the games were established by Heracles (Hercules), who brought a sacred olive tree to Olympia, an alternative myth has the hero Pelops (from which the name of the Peloponnese region of Greece originates) establish the festival after defeating King Oenomaus in a chariot race.
Whatever the precise origin of the games, they became a central aspect of Greek culture very early on and in many ways were the most important factor uniting the Greeks, except for their language and mythology.
Over time the site of Olympia, in southern Greece, became famous for its temples and monuments. The gold and ivory Statue of Zeus that sat upon his throne in the high temple was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The games were held every fourth year, with the four year span being called an Olympiad. From what we know of them they were brutal spectacles, with few rules and a strong emphasis on proving the participants' masculinity. Women were not even allowed to be spectators, and the penalty if they were caught was to be thrown off a nearby cliff!
Athletes competed in the games as individuals, not as members of a national or city-state team, and evidence suggests that the highly individualistic and heroic ethos of Greek culture encouraged a sizeable number of the participants to cheat. Those competitors or event officials who were caught cheating or accepting bribes were heavily fined and the money was used to build statues of Zeus, called the Zanes (eventually there was a row of 16 of them).
At first most competitors were drawn from the wealthiest, aristocratic class of Greeks since the time required for training precluded participation in everyday work. As time went on the Olympics became less exclusive, and poorer athletes were able to find 'sponsorship' in order that they might also compete.
Boxing was fought without rounds until one side was either knocked out or admitted defeat. There were no weight divisions, and opponents were selected by random lot. Boxers did not wear gloves, but instead wore himantes, pieces of leather tied around the hands and wrists leaving the fingers free.
Chariot racing was a sport that only the wealthiest contestants could take part in since the cost of maintaining a chariot was prohibitively expensive. Chariot racers competed in various courses, some of which involved potentially lethal obstacles.
Horse racing was divided into separate competitions for adult horses and foals. They took place away from the athletic stadium in a large arena called the hippodrome. Stirrups were not used and the usual distance run was 1200 meters.
Pankration was a form of single combat that combined boxing, wrestling and judo. The only banned moves were biting and gouging the eyes, nose or mouth with fingernails.
Running was organised into several events. Chief among them was the stadion, which was a 192 metre sprint the length of the stadium, though there were also distance running competitions.
The hoplite race was originally conducted in full hoplite armour weighing 50-60 lbs, but by the 5th century BC competitors wore only a symbolic helmet and shield.
Wrestling required three throws of one's opponent. Biting was not allowed and neither were genital holds, but breaking an opponents' fingers was acceptable.
The pentathlon was the event from which the modern Olympics derives many of its events, including the discus, javelin, long jump, running and wrestling. Aristotle said of it "a body capable of enduring all efforts, either of the racecourse or of bodily strength... This is why the athletes in the pentathlon are most beautiful."
From
http://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/background/2a.html
