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Origins Another tradition states that after the Greek hero Pelops won a chariot race against King Oenomaus to marry Oenomaus's daughter Hippodamia, he established the Games. Others believed that when the Greek hero Pelpos won a chariot race against King Oenomaus, he established the games to celebrate his prize-King Oenmaus’s daughter, Hippodamia. Athletes Milo of Kroton: Wrestler; Six-time Olympic victor; Liked showing off his unrivaled strength He would clasp a pomegranate in his hand and have others try to take it away from He would stand on a greased iron disk and challenge others to push him off of it Another of his favorite exhibitions was tying a cord around his forehead, holding his breath, and breaking the cord with his bulging forehead veins. Hercules obsession-dressed like Hercules when Kroton was attacked (he excelled in warfare) Death: Testing his strength in the forest when he found an old tree with wedges in it; he tried to split the wood apart and when the wedged fell out his hands became trapped in the tree-killed by beasts Theagenes of Thasos: Boxer, Pankratiast & Runner; two-time Olympic winner Famous since the age of 9, when he was walking home from school and he noticed a bronze statue of a god in a marketplace. He took the statue home, which outraged the citizens of Thasos, and he was almost executed. Ultimately, he returned the statue to its place, was forgiven and became famous. Allegedly, a man who never won a match against Theagenes came every night to the statue and beat it. One night, the statue came loose, fell on the angry opponent, and killed him. The statue was punished by being dropped in the ocean. Diagoras of Rhodes: Boxer; Victor in the 79th Olympiad, 464 BCE The boxer Diagoras of Rhodes embodied every quality of the noble ancient athlete. Immortalized in one of the most famous odes of the poet Pindar, Diagoras was victorious in not only the Olympic games, but in every other major Greek athletic festival as well. The extent and number of his triumphs certainly contributed to his fame, but the virtuous character of Diagoras was as important to the ancient Greeks as his success as a boxer. We know that Diagoras' family was of the noble, ruling class on Rhodes, and the Rhodians claimed that the boxer himself was the son of the god Hermes. Such legends were a common means of explaining how mortal men could perform "super-human" athletic achievements. Events Boxing Equestrian events Chariot racing Riding Pankration Pentathlon Discus Javelin Jump Running Wrestling Traditions/Symbols The Torch The Rings Prizes Women a separate festival in honor of Hera (the wife of Zeus) included foot races for unmarried girls not known how old the festival was; may have been almost as old as the festival for boys and men UNMARRIED WOMEN Pausanias (traveler) the Temple of Hera in the Sanctuary of Zeus;organized and supervised by a committee of 16 women from the cities of Elis; took place every four years, when a new peplos (robe) was woven and presented to Hera inside her temple; the girls wore their hair free down their back and a tunic hanging almost as low as the knees covering only the left shoulder and breast; were allowed to watch the men's and boys' contests of the festival of Zeus MARRIED WOMEN not allowed to participate in the athletic contests of the Hera festival barred on penalty of death from the Sanctuary of Zeus on the days of the athletic competition for boys and men Training for the Olympics Prizes, Judges, and Cheating Politics of the Olympic Games an occasion for citizens of scattered Greek city-states to assemble discussed important political issues celebrated common military victories and even formed political and military alliances also the cause of political conflict Control of the Sanctuary and the Games brought with it prestige, economic advantages and, most importantly, political influence The Truce instituted by the city-state of Elis to protect against military incursions which interrupted the Games every four years the special heralds from Elis sent out all over Greek to announce the approaching games; along with that they announced the Truce-protected athletes, visitors, spectators and official embassies from becoming involved in local conflicts Differences between now and then The following did not exist in ancient olympics Women: The women were forbidden to participate in or even observe the games. Any woman discovered there could be thrown off a cliff! The women (young, unmarried ones) competed in a separate series of foot races called the Heraea, named in honor of Hera, the queen of the gods. Water Sports: Despite miles and miles of beautiful coastline, water sports such as swimming were never a part of the ancient Olympic Games. Team Games: In ancient Greece, each athlete competed on his own. No World Records: No measurements were recorded of the length of a jump or javelin throw. Likewise, no times were kept for the running events. Winners' names might be recorded, however. The Ancient Olympics only lasted 5 days
