history of ancient olympics

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Although the ancient olympics games werent originated until 776 BC, they begun at least one century before that and perhaps as early as the 13th century.

One Greek myth once said that the proficient Herakles(Hercules in roman form) achieved a race at Olympia, a very pure in the small state of Elis, and that the race that Herakles raced should be re-enacted once every four years. Another said that the mighty Zeus himself had originated the festival after beating Cronus for the sovereignty of heaven.

The more more believable story is that the olympic festival was a local and religious event until 884 BC, when Iphitus, the king of Elis, decided to turn it into a broader, pan-Hellenic festival. The Greeks based their chronology on a four-year period called an Olympiad, and the grand olympic festival is a sign which means that its the start of a new olympiad. Evidently, the festival was reorganized in 776 BC, which was considered the start of the first Olympiad.

The festival was really only a religious accumulation to celebrate the gods worshipped in general by all Hellenes, primarily Zeus. There were actually another three other major pan-Hellenic festivals, the Pythian, the Nemean, and the Isthmian, all of which included fairs, but the festival at Olympia had become pre-eminent by 572 BC, when Elis and Sparta had entered into an alliance under which Elis was put in charge of the event itself while Sparta enforced the sacred truce.

A single foot race was the only event available until the fifteenth olympiad. the race was approx. 200 yards long which was the length of the stadium.As the time went on the games had been associated with the festival therefore it got important. A 2 stadium length race was added in 724 and a 24 stadium length long-distant race (2.5 miles) was added in 720.

Different types of sports followed quickly: the Pentathlon and Wrestling in 708, Boxing in 688, Chariot Racing in 680, and the Pancratium, a combination of Boxing and Wrestling, in 748. there were 23 olympic sport events from time to time, except they werent ever held at the same carnival.

An Olympic winner won only an official prize which was a bunch of wild olives, but usually there were sometimes unofficial prizes rewarded by his city state. Winners from Other city-states are exempted from taxes for an Olympiad, and in some cases citizens contributed to a cash award.

Atheletes had to arrive in Elis 1 month before the games to undergo spiritual, moral, and physical training under the supervision of the judges, who then had to choose wisely who was qualified to compete in the games. Each competitorhad to swear an oath that he was a free-born Greek who had committed no sacrilege against the gods.

Athletes normally competed in the nude. the competitors originally wore shorts but according to one ancient writer, Pausanias, a competitor has lost his shorts on purpose so that he could run in the race more freely in 720BC, and clothing was then abolished.

Women were not allowed to see the games, but that had absolutely nothing to do with the nudity of the male athletes. It was because Olympia was dedicated to Zeus and was therefore a sacred area for men. The chariot races, which were held outside the sacred precinct, were open to women spectators. (Women had their own sacred festivals from which men were banned, most notably the Heraean festival at Argos, which included a javelin throwing competition.