The Olympic Games of Antiquity

 

The Olympic Games of Antiquity

/ 26 September 2022 / © International Olympic Committee – All rights reserved Page 1/3

Source Images: Encyclopaedia Wikipedia

History

The ancient Olympic Games, as far as we know today,

have a long history. It all began in Greece, in the

Peloponnese about 3,000 years ago. According to

existing historic manuscripts, the first ancient

Olympic Games were celebrated in 776 BC in

Olympia. They were dedicated to the Greek god Zeus

and took place in the same place every four years.

This four-year period became known as an

“Olympiad”.

Olympia

Olympia is located in the west of the Peloponnese.

Imposing temples, votive monuments and treasures

Stood alongside the palaestra and gymnasium in a site

of unique natural beauty and mystique. From the

beginning of the 10th century BC, Olympia was a

Meeting place for religious and political activities. At

the centre rose the majestic temples of Zeus and

Hera. The Stadium, which one entered through the

Portico of Echo 

could hold thousands of spectators.

Additional constructions were built in the area until

The 4th century BC to serve as premises for training

and accommodation.

Mythology

It is difficult to know the exact reasons behind the

birth of the Games. Mythology gets mixed up with

history and often the events which happened at this

time are explained as consequences of the gods’

intervention. There are many stories that attempt to

explain their origin. According to the oldest myth, the

Olympic Games were the invention of Heracles of Ida

One of the Daktylos. According to other myths, the

Zeus himself instituted games, in memory of

his battle with Kronos. 

Zeus

Others attribute the founding

of the Games to the demigod Heracles, who

Organised them in Olympia to honour Zeus, after his

victorious expedition against Augias, King of Elis. The

ancient Olympic Games were celebrated in honour of

Zeus. They were secular in nature and aimed to

demonstrate the physical qualities and evolution of

performances accomplished by young men, as well as

to make good relations prevail between the Greek

Cities. According to specialists, the ancient Olympic

Games owed their purity and importance to religion.

The Olympic Truce

The tradition of the “Olympic Truce”, or “Ekecheiria”,

was established in Ancient Greece in the 9th century

BC through the signing of a treaty by three kings:

Iphitos of Elis, Cleosthenes of Pisa and Lycurgus of

Sparta. During this Truce period, the athletes, artists

and their families, as well as the ordinary pilgrims,

were able to travel in complete safety to participate in

or attend the ancient Olympic Games, before

returning to their respective countries. Messengers

(spondophores) went from city to city to announce the

date of the competitions. They demanded a halt to

fighting before, during and after the Games.

The athlete

There were originally three main criteria for

Participating in the ancient Olympic Games. The

athlete had to be male, of Greek origin and freeborn.

Women (exceptions were made for owners of

Horses), slaves and foreigners were excluded. After

the conquest of Greece by Rome in 146 BC, the

Romans were able to join the Greek athletes.

Women’s participation in the ancient Olympic Games

is the subject of various debates based on existing

information. Some historians say that no woman had

the right to be present except for the Priestess of

Demeter, goddess of fertility, who took the seat of

Honour near the altar in the stadium. Others claim that

married women did not have the right to compete or

attend the Games, though young virgin girls and the

Priestess of Demeter could be spectators. For the

factsheet

The Olympic Games of Antiquity

26 September 2022

The Olympic Games of the Antiquity / 26 September 2022 / © International Olympic Committee – All rights reserved Page 2/3

Ancient Olympic Games, a city selected the best

athletes from its gymnasium. The athletes picked then

had to train hard for several months. Upon arriving in

Olympia when the Truce had been proclaimed, they

trained even more to attempt to qualify for the Games.

The Olympic Games of Antiquity also had champions.

Thanks to their performances, the names of the

athletes are still known to us. Here is a profile of some

Of them:

Astylos of Kroton

Astylos of Kroton in southern Italy won a total of six

Victory olive wreaths in three Olympiads (488-480

BC) in the stade and the diaulos (twice the stade)

events. In the first Olympiad, he ran for Kroton and his

compatriots honoured and glorified him. In the two

successive Olympiads, however, he took part as a

citizen of Syracuse. The people of Kroton punished

him by demolishing his statue in their city and

Converting his house into a prison.

Greek stadium of Syracuse

Milon of Kroton

Milon, a pupil of the philosopher Pythagoras,

 

was one

of the most famous athletes in Antiquity. He came

from the Greek city of Kroton in southern Italy. He was

six times Olympic wrestling champion. He first won in

540 BC, in the youth wrestling event, and then five

times in men’s wrestling. This is a unique achievement

even in today’s competition context. He also won

seven times in the Pythian Games, nine times in the

Nemean Games, ten times in the Isthmian Games and

innumerable times in small competitions. In the 67th

Olympiad (512 BC), in his seventh attempt for the

championship, he lost to a younger athlete,

Timasitheus. There are many accounts of his

achievements.

Kyniska of Sparta

Kyniska, daughter of King Archidamos of Sparta, was

the first woman to be listed as an Olympic victor in

Antiquity. Her chariot won in the four-horse chariot

race in the 96th and 97th Olympiads, (396 BC and 392

BC respectively). In the Olympic Games, it was

forbidden for women to be present and Kyniska broke

with tradition, since, in the equestrian events, the

victory wreath, or kotinos, was won by the owner, not

the rider, of the horse.

Melankomas of Karia

Melankomas of Karia was crowned Olympic boxing

champion in 49 BC, and was a winner in many other

events. He went down in history for the way in which

he fought. His movements were light, simple and

fascinating. He would defeat his opponents without

ever being hit himself, nor ever dealing a blow. He was

reputed to fight for two days holding his arms out

without ever lowering them. He attained his excellent

competitive form through continuous and strenuous

exercise.

Boxer resting

Leonidas of Rhodes

Leonidas of Rhodes was one of the most famous

runners in Antiquity. His was a unique achievement,

even by today’s standards. For four consecutive

Olympiads (164-152 BC), he won three races, - the

stade race, the diaulos race and the armour race. He

won a total of 12 Olympic victory wreaths. He was

acclaimed as a hero by his compatriots.

The sports

The entrance of athletes to stadium 

The program of the Games included only individual

sports. With the exception of the equestrian events,

which took place in the hippodrome, all the

competitions were held in the stadium. These are the

disciplines on the programm:

Running:

 This was split into three events:

• the stade, the pre-eminent test of speed, was

staged along the length of the stadium

• the diaulos, which was two lengths of the stadium

• the dolichos, which was approximately 20 lengths

of the stadium

Wrestling:

This was highly valued as a form of military

exercise without weapons. It ended only when one of

the contestants admitted defeat.

Boxing:

Boxer at rest

 the hands of the competitors were protected

by long strips of leather. These ancestors of the

boxing glove were subject to many modifications.

Pieces of metal were even added to the hand joints,

thus making the punches more violent.

reece

this was a primitive form of martial art

Combining wrestling and boxing, and was considered

To be one of the toughest sports.

The Olympic Games of the Antiquity / 26 September 2022 / © International Olympic Committee – All rights reserved Page 3/3

 These were very

spectacular chariot or horse races.

The pentathlon

Equestrian

Comprised five events: running,

long jump, discus, javelin and wrestling.

Boys’ events included, among other things, running,

wrestling and boxing.

In the beginning, the ancient Olympic Games were

held over one day. The number of events increased

until the duration of the Games was extended to five

days.

Rewards

Archeptolis introduced by Heracles as a prize for the running race winner to honor his father Zeus.^[6] In the ancient Olympic Games there were no gold, silver, or bronze medals. There was only one winner per event, crowned with an olive wreath made of wild-olive leaves from a sacred tree near the temple of Zeus at Olympia.

In the times of the ancient Olympic Games, there was

only one winner. The Olympionic was immediately

rewarded after the competition. A herald announced

the name of the winner, then a Hellanodikos (judge)

placed a palm leaf in his hands, while the spectators

applauded him and threw him flowers. They tied a

ribbon of red wool, a taenia, around his head and

hands in the sign of victory. The official prize

ceremony took place on the last day of the Games in

the raised hall in the Temple of Zeus. In a loud voice,

the herald announced the name of the Olympic victor,

his father and his city. Then a Hellanodikos placed a

crown made of an olive branch, the kotinos, on the

winner’s head. Returning to his hometown, the athlete

was welcomed as a hero and was given numerous

Advantages for the rest of his life. To show that he had

become famous, the athlete had the right to have his

own statue erected, among other things.

The end of the Games

After the conquest of Greece by Rome in 146 BC, a

period of decline began which ended with the Games

being abolished. In 393 AD, Emperor Theodosius I,

who had converted to Christianity, decided to abolish

all pagan cults and centres. And thus the ancient

Olympic Games were abolished after more than 1,000

years of existence. After the Games were abolished,

Olympia suffered acts of vandalism. The site

disappeared little by little through earthquakes and

floods; it sank into oblivion. In 1766, the site was

rediscovered by Englishman Richard Chandler, but it

was only in 1875 that archaeological digs were carried

out by the Germans (with the approval of the Greek

authorities), thus allowing the ruins of Olympia to be

rediscovered. Later, these discoveries contributed to

inspiring Pierre de Coubertin, who created the Games

of the modern era.

For further information, please contact:

The Olympic Studies Centre

Tel. + 41 21 621 66 11

studies.centre@olympic.org

With affection,

Ruben