Acient Greece

Olympia

In ancient Greece the Olympic games were held in honour of Zeus, King of the Gods. The games were part of a great five day festival held every four years at Olympia, a valley near a city called Elis.
It was an opportunity for individual cities to get together and people came in large numbers from all over the Greek world.

At Olympia today you can still see remains of some of the buildings. Roll your mouse over the photo to see how he may have looked.
Can you guess what these stones used to be?
Each of the cities of ancient Greece had its own government, and there were often wars between them. Messengers sent out from Elis announced a sacred truce of one month before the festival began.
The truce meant that people could travel to Olympia in safety. The Olympic games were more important than wars because they were a religious festival.

The ancient Greek world was spread around the edges of the Mediterranean sea.
The earliest Olympic Games were held in about 776BC. In those days the only event was a short sprint, from one end of the stadium to the other. Gradually over the years more were added until there were four days of many different competitions
The running track was much wider than a modern one. Twenty people could run at once.
Most spectators had to find somewhere to pitch their tents or sleep rough, but important visitors and athletes had special accommodation. It would have been very hot and overcrowded, and the water supply was poor. It didn't stop people coming though!
Only men, boys and unmarried girls were allowed to attend the Olympic Games. Women caught sneaking in faced a severe punishment!
This pottery painting shows the crowd watching a chariot race.

Spectators in the stadium were not allowed to wear hats to keep cool, as it might block somebody else's view!
Pankration wrestling was one of the contests held on the fourth day. It may seem very violent to us, but it was very popular among the ancient Greeks. It was a kind of wrestling with hardly any rules. Biting and eye gouging were officially banned, though some competitors tried to get away with it.

One of the pankration fighters in the middle is about to be stopped by the trainer on the right. Why do you think this?
(Clue - remember the rules)
This wine cup was made in Athens between 500-475 BC. It's decorated with scenes of athletes training.
Women were not allowed to go to the Olympic games, but they did have their own festival at Olympia once every four years. It was called the Heraia and was held in honour of Hera, wife of Zeus.
The events there were all running races, and unmarried girls took part. Winners were awarded crowns of sacred olive branches, the same as men.

There were other religious athletics festivals, held in other parts of Greece. These were important occasions for people from different cities to get together.
Roll your mouse over the pictures of these prizes to find out which Games festival they come from. Which would you most like to win?

Sacred apples from the Pythian games at Delphi.
Pine branch crown from the Isthmian games at Corinth.
Parsley crown from the Nemean games in southern Greece.
Olive crown from the Olympic Games at Olympia.
Successful athletes enjoyed great benefits from their home city for the rest of their lives. They received free meals, invitations to banquets, and specially reserved places in the theatre.
Source: BBC Schools - Ancient Greece
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The ancient Olympic games
People travelled for great distances to go to the festival at Olympia. This was a religious festival for the ancient Greeks. At the festival there were sports events in which the best athletes from all around the Greek world took part. At the beginning of the festival all the athletes had to swear an oath. The oaths were made in front of the organisers of the games, in a building called the Bouleuterion. In that building there was a large statue of Zeus, the king of the Greek gods. The athletes swore that they had been in training for ten months.
The festival lasted for five days. During the first day there were events in which boys took part.The second day began with horse and chariot races. Women were allowed to own teams of horses. So although they were not allowed to be at Olympics sometimes they were the winners in these events!In the afternoon of the second day came the pentathlon. It was similar to the modern pentathlon, with five separate events. In the ancient Olympics these were the discus, the javelin, running, long jumping and wrestling. (Do you know which of those is not in the modern pentathlon? What is there instead?)
The Olympic games were part of a religious festival. On the third day there was an important ceremony. Oxen were sacrificed, and parts of them burned on top of a large altar. The rest of the meat was then shared out amongst the crowd. Every one of the thousands of spectators was given some to eat. On day three there were running races. The short sprint is the oldest Olympic event. In fact it was the only event at the first Olympic games, in the year 776BC.
On day four there was boxing, wrestling and an event called the pankration. This was a form of wrestling with hardly any rules. There was also a running race in which the runners wore soldier's armour and carried shields. Many of the events at the ancient Olympics were about being a successful soldier.
On day five the events were all over, and the prizes were given out. Like the modern Olympics there were no money prizes. Instead the winners were given a crown made from olive branches. These were special olive branches, from the sacred olive tree near the temple of Zeus.At the end of the fifth day the festival ended. There were celebrations and feasting!
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