Olympics: In The Beginning

It is thought that as Greece became more settled, and the warrior life declined, that exercise was introduced simply for the sake of fitness; gymnasiums, stadiums, and training facilities were built.  During the period of 750 to 550 BC, the grandiose ideals of physical fitness and intellectual prowess were adopted by all classes.  This period was the beginning of a season of organized, all-inclusive athletic and musical competitions in which both mind and body were tested.  Those who could not afford training for these competitions would look to their city-state to sponsor them.  The idea was to showcase your hometown by winning the glory on their behalf.  There were local music and athletic festivals in honor of a patron god or goddess which provided many opportunities for athletes or musicians to prove their mastery and bring honor to their hometown.

Despite our knowledge of these competitions, not much is really known about the origins of the Olympic games or why they were the most prestigious.  There are many myths about how the Olympics started or why they are still around today.  One of the myths dated back to when Cronos wrestled Zeus at Olympia.  Another myth is that Pelops founded the Olympics to purify himself for killing Oenomaos.  Several myths tell of the founding of the games by ancient heroes. Contrary evidence, both literary and archaeological, suggests that the games may have existed at Olympia much earlier than reported, perhaps as early as the 10th or 9th century BC.  A series of bronze tripods have been found at Olympia, some of which may date to the 9th century BC, and it has been suggested that these tripods may in fact be prizes for some of the early events at Olympia.

What is widely believed as the beginning of the Ancient Olympic Games is that they began in 776 BC, in Olympia, Greece – a district of Elis.  These Olympic games were held every four years.  The athletes were all free male citizens (women were forbidden to participate) of the 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.

In the beginning, the Olympics took place over three days.  On the opening day, the athletes did not participate initially.  The trumpeters and heralds competed and the winner of the competition became the announcer of the events.  Over the next two days, the events took place.  For the first 13 Olympic games, the stadion (a 200 yard foot race) was the only event.  Other foot races and events were eventually added.

Boxing was said to be invented by Apollo and was introduced in 688 BC as an Olympic event.  The javelin was another sport played in the early Olympics.  Many of the early events originated from motions of war, and the javelin was one of them.  The pentathlon became an Olympic event in 708 BC and according to myth was invented by Jason, the leader of Argonauts.  The pentathlon is made up of jumping, running, discus, javelin, and wrestling.  Running’s origin is not known but was a huge part of all ancient sports.  The pankration became an event in 648 BCE and combines boxing and wrestling.  Wrestling became an Olympic event in 708 BCE.  Jumping was an event that was included in the pentathlon.  The equestrian events started early in the Olympic history.  The supposed founder of the Olympics, Pelops, was the first to compete in the Chariot race.

It was in 393 AD that the games were abolished by Christian Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I.  It took 1503 years for the Olympics to return.  The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896.  Who was responsible for this renaissance?  Sources differ.  Some say it was a Frenchman named Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who presented the idea in 1894.  They say his original thought was to unveil the modern games in 1900 in his native Paris, but delegates from 34 countries were so enthralled with the concept that they convinced him to move the Games up to 1896 and have Athens serve as the first host.  Others say it was in 1833, that Panagiotis Soutsos showed interest in reviving the Olympic Games.  Then, in 1859, Evangelos Zappas sponsored the first modern international Olympic Games.  We know that in 1894 the International Olympic Committee was founded and the first Summer Olympics were held that year in Athens, Greece.

The Modern Olympic flag of five linked rings, each with a primary color used in the flags of the nations competing in the games, was introduced in 1908.  There is no ancient basis for this modern symbol.  The Olympic Oath was introduced in 1920.  The first Modern Winter Olympic games were held in 1924 in Chamonix, France.  Interestingly, there were no winter Olympic festivals in ancient times.
The idea of the Olympic torch or Olympic Flame was first inaugurated in the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.  The design of the Los Angeles coliseum included a facility for a large flame.  There was no torch relay in the ancient Olympic Games.  There were known, however, torch relays in other ancient Greek athletic festivals including those held at Athens.  The modern Olympic torch relay was first instituted at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.