History of the Ancient Olympic Games Essay Sample

Ancient Greece has given the modern world many things. These include developments in geometry, astronomy, and government. One of the most well-known results of Ancient Greece is the Olympic Games. Starting in roughly 776 BC to 393 AD, and having a resurgence in the 1890s, the Olympic Games are a competitive sporting event that occurs once every four years. Today’s modern Olympics showcase various athletes from all over the world participating in many sports. The ancient Olympic Games were a large part of Greek antiquity and are responsible for creating the foundation for a popular tradition around the world.

Beginnings

Not much is known about the very beginning of the ancient Olympic Games. Even historians all over the world cannot say when exactly the Games began, opting to pin the year at 776 BC. According to Thomas J. Sienkewicz in his Olympic Games in the Ancient World article, the Olympic Games was hosted in honor of Zeus, the supreme god of Greek religion. These Games were held in Olympia, Greece, specifically in a location called the Altis. While the Games were created to honor Zeus, it is speculated that there was fierce competition for the glory of representing city-states. 

Rules and Preparations

For the Olympics of the time, there was a strict set of rules when it came to the festivities. Those who wanted to participate in the games had to be freeborn men of Greek origin. This meant that no woman or foreign individual could participate in the Games. Even spectators had stipulations; women could not watch the contests -- although some historians say that virgins were not refused entry and that the rule only applied to married women (Swaddling, 1999). This is speculated due to the fact that the Olympic Games were part of a fertility ritual. 

Another rule that came into effect during this time was the Olympic Truce. Enacted under the reign of King Iphitos of Elis, the Olympic Truce protected participating athletes from coming under any harm or death threat while they were making the pilgrimage from Elis to Olympia. The truce’s purpose was to temporarily halt any and all hostilities between city-states in the duration of the festivities. This allowed for the unity of city-states surrounding the Games.

In preparation for the games, athletes underwent months of training to get ready for the games. Ten months before the festivities, competitors would have to swear an oath to go under strict training in their home towns. In the one month before the games, the athletes participating in the Games were required to reside at Elis, and continue their training under one of the judges. In The Ancient Olympic Games by Judith Swaddling, the training was known to be harsh. It was compulsory, a strict diet was to be followed, and athletes had to obey every word of the judges. Two days before the games, the entire company including the competing athletes, judges, and the trainers embark on a 36 mile journey from Elis to Olympia. 

With these stipulations and extensive training sessions, the participating athletes were ready to begin the week-long series of contests.

Days of the Games

Beginning after the first full moon following the summer solstice, the Games lasted a total of five days, with something new and incredible happening on each day. Since there are no true records of the programs of the Games, the following descriptions of each day are deemed hypothetical.

On the morning of the first day, competitors and judges were sworn in the Council House at the altar before Zeus, taking an oath to respect the rules. Following that, the competitions immediately began. In the evenings, there were celebrations, feasting, orations, and general revelry. For the next three days this process repeated, with competitions changing each day. These competitions included pentathlons, discus throwing, javelin throwing, foot-races, and wrestling. The third day presented a large sacrifice of 100 cows or oxen to honor Zeus. On the fifth and final day of the Olympics, a procession of victorious athletes to the Temple of Zeus was conducted. Here they were crowned with wild olive wreathes and are showered with leaves. The last day of the Olympics consisted of nothing but large feasts and banquets. 

Throughout the many ancient Olympic games conducted, several notable athletes have come out of the competition. The first is Koroibos of Elis, who is recorded as the very first Olympic champion. Another notable competitor is Orsippus, who was the first athlete to participate completely nude. This set off the precedent of ancient Olympians competing in the nude. Cynisca of Sparta is famous for competing in the chariot races and winning, becoming the first woman to win at the Olympic Games. 

The ancient Games proved to be a time of perseverance and festivities. The week-long event was anxiously awaited every fourth year by athletes and spectators alike. People from around the immediate area would flock to the sanctuary of Olympia to watch these sporting contests despite the blistering heat of the Greek summer. The Games were to last a little over a thousand years, providing a source of entertainment and unity for the Hellenic city-states. 

Decline and Resurgence

The Olympic Games were known to have lasted at least a thousand years, according to Ethel Dilouambaka’s The Origins of the Olympic Games. The decline of the festivities began under the reign of Emporer Theodosius I. Around 393 AD, the Emporer shut down any pagan celebrations, the Olympic Games included. He did this in order to establish Christianity as the empire’s main religion. The Ancient Olympic Games ceased to exist and were not heard of until some 1,500 years later. 

The revival of the Olympic Games began in 1821 after the Greek War of Independence.  35 years later, Evangelos Zappas, a wealthy Greek-Romanian philanthropist, wrote to the King of Greece and offered funds for the resurgence of the Olympics. Known as the Zappas Olympics, the sponsored games were held in Athens City Square. This tiny version of the Olympic Games were a catalyst that leads to the full revival of the Modern Games. These contests reoccured three times, in 1870, 1875, and 1888 respectively. 

Following these games, Pierre de Coubertin found himself inspired to establish the International Olympic Committee (also known as IOC)  in 1894. In page 8 of the Official Report of the 1896 Olympic Games, Coubertin builds on the works of Zappas and presented to the first Olympic Congress the idea that the Games should be internationally rotated every four years. This idea was received positively among the committee and the Congress effectively decided that the first Modern Olympic Games would take place in Athens, Greece. 

In 1896, 14 nations and 240 collective athletes came together to participate in the first Modern Olympic Games. The Greek government and a trust provided by Evangelos Kappas helped to finance the festivities. The first Olympics were met with success with the excitement of Greece officials and citizens being able to host this event. Many of the athletes participated were claimed to have petitioned for Athens to be the permanent Olympic host city; however, the IOC stuck with their original plan of host city rotations. The next Olympic Game host city was announced to be Paris.

Cultural Impact

Despite the decline and disappearance of the Ancient Olympic Games, they proved to have a large impact on the country and eventually, the world. The Ancient Olympics are responsible for the expansion of Greek culture around the Hellenic countries. In HistoryBits’ article on the Olympic Games, it allowed Greece to show off their religious, artistic, architectual, and ritualistic culture. The resurgence of the modern Olympics is noted for allowing people of all backgrounds to showcase their athletic abilities to the world. Both ancient and modern Games are responsible for creating a tradition where every four years there is a sense of unity and patriotism within participating countries.

Conclusion

Overall, the Ancient Olympic Games were a time of competition and celebration. At the time, Greek men were able to show off their athletic skill to tens of thousands of spectators who flocked from all over the Hellenistic countries to watch this week-long event. Even though there was a time where the Olympics ceased to exist, it eventually came back and was built on the foundation that sparked a tradition that people of all kinds look forward to every four years. The Ancient Olympics provided the groundwork for a sense of unification, national pride, cultural impact, and the creation of a worldly custom.

Works Cited

Cartwright, Mark. “Ancient Olympic Games.” World History Encyclopedia, World History Encyclopedia, 26 Nov. 2021, www.worldhistory.org/Olympic_Games/.

Dilouambaka, Ethel. “The Origins of the Olympic Games.” Culture Trip, The Culture Trip, 22 Mar. 2018, theculturetrip.com/europe/greece/athens/articles/the-origins-of-the-olympic-games/.

Finley, M. I., and H. W. Pleket. The Olympic Games: the First Thousand Years. Viking Press, 1976.

Moore, Shotaro Honda. “History of the Ancient Olympic Games.” Medium, Medium, 29 May 2021, shotarohondamoore.medium.com/history-of-the-ancient-olympic-games-cabaebfd1b0a.

“Official Report 1896 Page 8.” CONTENTdm, digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll8/id/6169/rec/2.

“The Olympic Games.” The Olympic Games | Ancient Greece, www.historybits.com/olympic-games.htm.

“Olympic History - from the Home of Zeus in Olympia to the Modern Games.” International Olympic Committee, 27 July 2021, olympics.com/ioc/ancient-olympic-games/history.

Swaddling, Judith. The Ancient Olympic Games. British Museum, 1999.