In Hellas (Ancient Greece) they were one of the most revered holidays, and later not only Hellas, but the entire ancient world. Well, today you can hardly meet a person who has not heard at least something about these games. In this article, we will look at the history of the Olympic Games briefly but to the point. According to Greek mythology, the no less famous hero Hercules became the founder of these games. The first reliable sources about games include records of the names of the winners of games that took place in 776 BC. The games were held in the district of Altis, which was sacred to the ancient Greeks, also called Olympia. Games were held every four years, and they lasted five days. According to tradition, they began with a pompous procession, as well as a sacrifice for the god Zeus. And finally, on a measured field (“stadium” in Greek), where 40,000 spectators could fit, sports competitions began.
The competition program included: fisticuffs, running, running with weapons, javelin throwing, discus throwing and competitions in chariots drawn by four horses. Later, from the 4th century BC, not only athletes began to participate in the games, but also speakers, historians, poets, musicians, playwrights and actors. Not everyone could attend the games, let alone participate in them. Slaves, women and persons who were tried for certain crimes could not take part in the games, even as spectators. Once it turned out that the famous fist fighter was trained by his mother, wearing men's clothes, since then, athletes and coaches have been required to appear completely naked for competitions.
Great respect and honor were received by those who won the Olympic Games. Monuments were erected to the winners, poets composed laudatory odes in their honor, they were pompously met at home and awarded with wreaths made from olive branches. But the privileges did not end there, they were provided with food for life at the expense of the state, exempted from taxes and issued large financial sums. During the games, any hostilities between the warring Greek powers ceased. These were considered a real holiday of peace and served to strengthen cultural ties among the Greek states.
The Olympic Games continued until 394 AD, and were banned as a pagan holiday by the Roman emperor Theodosius I, at the urging of the Christian clergy.
However, in 1894, the rebirth of the Olympic Games takes place, it was then that the International Sports Congress took place in Paris. 34 countries were represented in the congress (including Russia). At the congress, it was decided to resume the Olympic Games. As a result, on April 5, 1896, the new Olympic Games opened in Athens, which have been held every 4 years since then. However, due to the wars, some of them did not take place: in 1916, 1940, 1944.
The Olympic Games of the modern type are the largest complex in our days. There is no permanent game program as it changes regularly. As a rule, the program contains more than 20 summer varieties of sports. For example, the program of the XVI Games for men included: gymnastics, athletics, freestyle and classical wrestling, diving, weightlifting, swimming, boxing, rowing, modern pentathlon, rowing and canoeing, trap and bullet shooting, equestrian sports, water polo, cycling, fencing, sailing, basketball, football, grass hockey. And the women came together in fencing, kayaking, swimming, diving, gymnastics, athletics.
This is the history of the Olympic Games summarized in this article. It should also be noted that in these games no official team championship is established, but only. The winner in any sport becomes the owner of a gold medal, the one who takes second place receives a silver medal, and for the third they give a bronze medal.
» History of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece
History of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece
The history of the ancient Olympic Games is extraordinarily rich. The Olympic Games appeared in the ninth century. BC e. In those days, the Greek states ruined each other in endless wars. Ifit, the king of Elis, arrived in Delphi to learn from the oracle how he, the ruler of a small country, should protect his people from wars and robberies. The Delphic oracle - his predictions and advice were considered absolutely correct - answered Ifit:
“I need you to found Games that please the gods!”
Ifit immediately went to meet with the king of neighboring Sparta, the powerful Lycurgus. Obviously, Ifit was a good diplomat, since Lycurgus decided (and all the other rulers agreed with him) that from now on Elis is a neutral state. Immediately, Ifit, in order to prove peaceful aspirations and thank the gods, established the athletic Games: they were to be held in Olympia every four years. Hence their name - Olympic. It was 884 BC. e.
At first, athletes from two cities of Elis, Elis and Pisa, participated in the Games. The first to enter the annals of the Games was 776 BC. e. - the year of the first all-Greek Games. Only thanks to the ancient Greek tradition of carving the names of Olympionists on marble columns installed along the banks of the Alpheus River, the name of the first winner, Koreb, a cook from Elis, has come down to us.
With the approach of the Olympic Games, messengers (feors) dispersed from Elis in all directions, who announced the day of festivities and announced a "holy truce". They were met with triumph not only in Hellas itself, but everywhere where the Greeks settled. The warriors put aside their weapons and went to Olympia. When the envoys of all the Greek states gathered together, they certainly felt their national community.
Then a unified calendar of the Olympic Games was established, which decided to be held regularly every four years "between the harvest and the grape harvest." The festival of athletes, which consisted of numerous religious ceremonies and sports competitions, lasted first one day, then five days, and later for a whole month. In order to participate in the Games, it was supposed "to be neither a slave nor a barbarian, not to commit a crime, nor blasphemy, nor sacrilege." (Barbarians were those who were not citizens of the Greek states.)
The history of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece - the emergence of new spectacular competitions
At the first 13 Games, they competed only in the stadiodromos - running a distance of 1 stage. In 724 BC. e. a double run was added - diaulos (at a distance of 384.54 m). 
Then, in 720 BC. e., at the 15th Olympiad, the pentathlon appeared, or, as the Greeks called it, the pentathlon, which consisted of a simple run, long jump, discus and javelin throw, wrestling. After another seven Olympiads, in 688 BC. e., the program was enriched with a fistfight, 12 years later - a chariot race and, finally, at the 33rd Olympiad, in 648 BC. e., pankration, the most difficult and cruel type of competition.
When going to a fistfight, the participants put on a special bronze cap on their heads, and wrapped their fists in leather belts with metal bumps. When preparing to strike, the fighter took precautions: he protected his head with his hand; he tried to stand up so that the sun blinded the enemy, and then with all his might he beat with his fist, actually encased in iron, on his ribs, face and torso. The fight continued until one of the two pleaded defeated. Usually athletes left the battlefield disfigured, crippled, bleeding. Often they were carried out of the stadium half dead.
Pankration combined wrestling and fisticuffs. It was forbidden to use teeth and twist or break the fingers of the enemy, to put on metal armlets on the hands. But any blows, grabs, kicks, painful techniques were allowed, it was possible to overturn the opponent to the ground and squeeze his throat.
Later, armed running was included in the program of the Games; the run of trumpeters and heralds; mule-drawn chariot races; competitions for children in wrestling, horse racing, pentathlon), and in 200 BC. e., at the 145th Olympiad, even a children's pankration appeared.
On the eve of the opening of the Olympics, the audience admired the marble statues of the winners of the previous Games, located between the stadium and the river Alpheus. The statues were made and installed at the expense of the cities where the new “demigods” came from: the first Olympionist Ko-reb from Elis; "the strongest among the strong" Milo of Croton; Polites from Korina, the fastest athlete at the 212th Olympiad; Lasfen from Te-bei, who ran 156 stadia, competing with a horse; Nikola from Akria, who won five race victories in two Olympics, and many other glorious athletes.
The young men were also shown the statues of Zeus, towering near the Krona hill. Each of these statues was ordered and placed on the penalties imposed on those participants in the Games who cheated, tried to bribe the enemy or injured him during the competition.
The Olympic festivities began with the rising of the full moon. The solemn procession was heading to the golden statue of Zeus. The Hellanodiki in purple robes led the procession, followed by athletes and eminent citizens. Two huge bulls were sacrificed to Zeus, and the judges and contestants took a solemn oath to be worthy of being awarded a laurel wreath and a palm branch. In the evening, after the drawing of lots, a festival of arts was held. Long before its end, the athletes went to bed - half-starved, having eaten a piece of cheese and drinking cold water.
So the big day arrived. Between 40,000 and 60,000 spectators took their seats on the embankment around the stadium. Trumpets greeted the approaching Hellanodics and guests of honor. Athletes took turns going to the middle of the arena to introduce themselves to the audience. The herald loudly announced the name and homeland of each and asked three times: “Do all of you, the happy guests of Olympia, agree that this athlete is a free and worthy citizen?” Then the competition began.
On the first day, competitions were held in all types of running, on the second - in pentathlon, and on the third - in wrestling, fisticuffs and pankration. The fourth day was completely given to the children. Running distances for them were two times shorter than for adults. On the fifth day, chariot races drawn by four horses were arranged, as well as horse racing in a circle at stages 8 and 73 (1538 and 14000 m).
The history of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece is very rich in intense and spectacular sports competitions.
The content of the article
OLYMPIC GAMES OF ANCIENT GREECE- the largest sports competitions of antiquity. They originated as part of a religious cult and were held from 776 BC. to 394 AD (a total of 293 Olympiads were held) in Olympia, which was considered a sacred place by the Greeks. The name of the Games comes from Olympia. The Olympic Games were a significant event for the whole of Ancient Greece, which went beyond the scope of a purely sporting event. The victory at the Olympics was considered extremely honorable both for the athlete and for the policy he represented.
From the 6th c. BC. Following the example of the Olympic Games, other all-Greek competitions of athletes began to be held: the Pythian Games, the Isthmian Games and the Nemean Games, also dedicated to various ancient Greek gods. But the Olympics were the most prestigious among these competitions. The Olympic Games are mentioned in the works of Plutarch, Herodotus, Pindar, Lucian, Pausanias, Simonides and other ancient authors.
At the end of the 19th century The Olympic Games were revived at the initiative of Pierre de Coubertin.
The Olympic Games from inception to decline.
There are many legends about the origin of the Olympic Games. All of them are associated with the ancient Greek gods and heroes.
The most famous legend tells how the king of Elis Ifit, seeing that his people were tired of endless wars, went to Delphi, where the priestess of Apollo conveyed to him the command of the gods: to arrange pan-Greek athletic festivals pleasing to them. After that, Iphitus, the Spartan legislator Lycurgus and the Athenian legislator and reformer Cliosthenes established the procedure for holding such games and entered into a sacred alliance. Olympia, where this festival was to be held, was declared a sacred place, and anyone who enters its borders armed is a criminal.
According to another myth, Zeus' son Heracles brought the sacred olive branch to Olympia and instituted the Games of Athletes to commemorate Zeus' victory over his ferocious father Cronus.
There is also a legend that Hercules, having organized the Olympic Games, perpetuated the memory of Pelops (Pelops), who won the chariot race of the cruel king Enomai. And the name Pelops was given to the Peloponnese region, where the "capital" of the ancient Olympic Games was located.
Religious ceremonies were an obligatory part of the ancient Olympic Games. According to the established custom, the first day of the Games was set aside for sacrifices: athletes spent this day at the altars and altars of their patron gods. A similar ceremony was repeated on the final day of the Olympic Games, when awards were presented to the winners.
At the time of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece, wars stopped and a truce was concluded - ekecheria, and representatives of the warring policies held peace negotiations in Olympia in order to resolve conflicts. On the bronze disk of Ifit with the rules of the Olympic Games, which was stored in Olympia in the temple of Hera, the corresponding paragraph was recorded. “On the disk of Ifit is written the text of the truce that the Eleans declare for the duration of the Olympic Games; it is not written in straight lines, but the words go around the disk in the form of a circle ”(Pausanias, Description of Hellas).
From the Olympic Games 776 BC (the earliest Games that have come down to us - according to some experts, the Olympic Games began to be held more than 100 years earlier) the Greeks had a special "Olympic chronology" introduced by the historian Timaeus. The Olympic holiday was celebrated in the "holy month", beginning with the first full moon after the summer solstice. It was to be repeated every 1417 days that made up the Olympiad - the Greek "Olympic" year.
Starting as a competition of local importance, the Olympic Games eventually became an event of a pan-Greek scale. Many people came to the Games not only from Greece itself, but also from its colonial cities from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.
The games continued even when Hellas fell under the control of Rome (in the middle of the 2nd century BC), as a result of which one of the fundamental Olympic principles was violated, which allowed only Greek citizens to participate in the Olympic Games, and even some were among the winners. Roman emperors (including Nero, who “won” a race in chariots drawn by ten horses). It affected the Olympic Games and began in the 4th century BC. the general decline of Greek culture: they gradually lost their former meaning and essence, turning from a sporting event and a significant social event into a purely entertainment event, in which mainly professional athletes participated.
And in 394 AD. The Olympic Games were banned - as a "remnant of paganism" - by the Roman emperor Theodosius I, who forcibly propagated Christianity.
Olympia.
It is located in the northwestern part of the Peloponnesian Peninsula. Here was Altis (Altis) - the legendary sacred grove of Zeus and the temple and cult complex, finally formed around the 6th century BC. BC. On the territory of the sanctuary there were religious buildings, monuments, sports facilities and houses where athletes and guests lived during the competition. The Olympic sanctuary remained the center of Greek art until the 4th century BC. BC.
Shortly after the ban on the Olympic Games, all these structures were burned by order of Emperor Theodosius II (in 426 AD), and a century later they were finally destroyed and buried by strong earthquakes and river floods.
As a result of those held in Olympia at the end of the 19th century. archaeological excavations have been able to unearth the ruins of some buildings, including sports facilities, such as the palaestra, the gymnasium and the stadium. Built in the 3rd c. BC. palestra - a platform surrounded by a portico where wrestlers, boxers and jumpers trained. Gymnasium, built in the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC, - the largest building in Olympia, it was used for training sprinters. The gymnasium also kept a list of winners and a list of the Olympics, there were statues of athletes. The stadium (212.5 m long and 28.5 m wide) with stands and seats for judges was built in 330–320 BC. It could accommodate about 45,000 spectators.
Organization of the Games.
All free-born Greek citizens (according to some sources, men who could speak Greek) were allowed to participate in the Olympic Games. Slaves and barbarians, i.e. persons of non-Greek origin could not participate in the Olympic Games. “When Alexander wished to take part in the competition and for this he arrived in Olympia, the Hellenes, the participants in the competition, demanded his exclusion. These contests, they said, were for the Hellenes, not for the barbarians. Alexander, on the other hand, proved that he was an Argive, and the judges recognized his Hellenic origin. He took part in the running competition and reached the goal at the same time as the winner” (Herodotus. Story).
The organization of the ancient Olympic Games included control not only over the course of the Games themselves, but also over the preparation of athletes for them. Control was exercised by the Hellanodics, or Hellanodics, the most authoritative citizens. For 10-12 months before the start of the Games, the athletes underwent intensive training, after which they passed a kind of examination by the Hellanodic commission. After fulfilling the "Olympic standard", the future participants of the Olympic Games prepared for another month according to a special program - already under the guidance of the Hellanodics.
The fundamental principle of the competition was the honesty of the participants. Before the start of the competition, they swore an oath to abide by the rules. The Hellanodics had the right to deprive the champion of the title if he won by fraudulent means, the offending athlete was also subject to a fine and corporal punishment. In front of the entrance to the stadium in Olympia, there were zanas as a warning to the participants - copper statues of Zeus, cast with money received in the form of fines from athletes who violated the rules of the competition (the ancient Greek writer Pausanias indicates that the first six such statues were erected in the 98th Olympiad, when Evpolus the Thessalian bribed three wrestlers who fought with him). In addition, persons convicted of a crime or sacrilege were not allowed to participate in the Games.
Entry to the competition was free. But only men could visit them, women, under pain of death, were forbidden to appear in Olympia during the entire festival (according to some sources, this ban only applied to married women). An exception was made only for the priestess of the goddess Demeter: for her in the stadium, in the most honorable place, a special marble throne was built.
Program of the Ancient Olympic Games.
At first, there was only a stadium in the program of the Olympic Games - running for one stage (192.27 m), then the number of Olympic disciplines increased. Let's note some cardinal changes in the program:
- at the 14 Olympic Games (724 BC), the program included diaulos - a run for the 2nd stage, and 4 years later - a dolichodrome (run for endurance), the distance of which ranged from 7 to 24 stages;
- at the 18 Olympic Games (708 BC), wrestling and pentathlon (pentathlon) competitions were held for the first time, which included, in addition to wrestling and the stadium, jumping, as well as javelin and discus throwing;
- at the 23 Olympic Games (688 BC), fisticuffs were included in the competition program,
- at the 25th Olympic Games (680 BC), chariot races were added (drawn by four adult horses, over time this type of program expanded, in the 5th–4th centuries BC, chariot races pulled by a pair of adult horses began to be held , young horses or mules);
- at the 33rd Olympic Games (648 BC), horse racing appeared in the program of the Games (in the middle of the 3rd century BC horse racing began to be held) and pankration - martial arts that combined elements of wrestling and boxing with minimal restrictions on "forbidden techniques" and in many ways reminiscent of modern fighting without rules.
Greek gods and mythological heroes are involved in the emergence of not only the Olympic Games as a whole, but also their individual disciplines. For example, it was believed that Hercules himself introduced the run for one stage, personally measuring this distance in Olympia (1 stage was equal to the length of 600 feet of the priest of Zeus), and pankration goes back to the legendary fight between Theseus and the Minotaur.
Some of the disciplines of the ancient Olympic Games, familiar to us from modern competitions, differ markedly from their current counterparts. Greek athletes did not long jump from a run, but from a place - moreover, with stones (later with dumbbells) in their hands. At the end of the jump, the athlete threw the stones sharply back: it was believed that this allows him to jump further. This jumping technique required good coordination. Javelin and discus throwing (over time, instead of a stone one, athletes began to throw an iron disc) was carried out from a small elevation. At the same time, the spear was thrown not for distance, but for accuracy: the athlete had to hit a special target. In wrestling and boxing, there was no division of participants into weight categories, and the boxing match continued until one of the opponents recognized himself as defeated or was unable to continue the fight. There were also very peculiar varieties of running disciplines: running in full armor (i.e., in a helmet, with a shield and weapons), running of heralds and trumpeters, alternating running and chariot racing.
From the 37th Games (632 BC), young men under the age of 20 began to participate in competitions. At first, competitions in this age category included only running and wrestling, over time, pentathlon, fisticuffs and pankration were added to them.
In addition to athletic competitions, an art competition was also held at the Olympic Games, which has become an official part of the program since the 84th Games (444 BC).
Initially, the Olympic Games took one day, then (with the expansion of the program) - five days (this is how long the Games lasted during their heyday in the 6th-4th centuries BC) and, in the end, "stretched out" for a whole month.
Olympionics.
The winner of the Olympic Games received universal recognition along with an olive wreath (this tradition went from 752 BC) and purple ribbons. He became one of the most respected people in his city (for the inhabitants of which the victory of a fellow countryman at the Olympics was also a great honor), he was often released from state duties and given other privileges. Olympionics were given posthumous honors in their homeland. And according to the introduction in the 6th c. BC. In practice, the three-time winner of the Games could put his statue in Altis.
The first Olympian known to us was Koreb from Elis, who won the race for one stadia in 776 BC.
The most famous - and the only athlete in the history of the ancient Olympic Games who won 6 Olympiads - was "the strongest among the strong", the wrestler Milo from Croton. A native of the Greek city-colony of Croton (south of modern Italy) and, according to some sources, a student of Pythagoras, he won his first victory at the 60th Olympiad (540 BC) in competitions among young men. From 532 BC by 516 BC he won 5 more Olympic titles - already among adult athletes. In 512 BC Milon, who was already over 40 years old, tried to win his seventh title, but lost to a younger opponent. Olympionic Milo was also a repeated winner of the Pythian, Isthmian, Nemean Games and many local competitions. Mentions of him can be found in the works of Pausanias, Cicero and other authors.
Another outstanding athlete - Leonidas from Rhodes - at four Olympiads in a row (164 BC - 152 BC) won in three "running" disciplines: in running for one and two stages, as well as in running with weapons.
Astil from Croton entered the history of the ancient Olympic Games not only as one of the champions in the number of victories (6 - in the race for one and two stages at the Games from 488 BC to 480 BC). If at his first Olympics Astil played for Croton, then at the next two - for Syracuse. Former countrymen took revenge on him for betrayal: the statue of the champion in Croton was demolished, and his former house was turned into a prison.
In the history of the ancient Greek Olympic Games, there are entire Olympic dynasties. So, the grandfather of the fisticuff champion Poseidor from Rhodes Diagoras, as well as his uncles Akusilai and Damaget were also Olympionists. Diagoras, whose exceptional steadfastness and honesty in boxing matches won him great respect from the audience and were sung in the odes of Pindar, witnessed his sons' Olympic victories in boxing and pankration, respectively. (According to legend, when the grateful sons put their champion wreaths on their father’s head and lifted him on their shoulders, one of the clapping spectators exclaimed: “Die, Diagoras, die! Die, because you have nothing more to wish from life!” And the excited Diagoras died immediately in the arms of his sons.)
Many olympians were distinguished by exceptional physical data. For example, the champion in the race for two stages (404 BC), Lasfen of Thebea, is credited with winning an unusual horse race, and Aegeus of Argos, who won the long-distance race (328 BC), after that with a run , without making a single stop along the way, he covered the distance from Olympia to his hometown in order to quickly bring good news to his countrymen. Victories were also achieved due to a kind of technique. So, the extremely hardy and agile boxer Melancom from Caria, the winner of the Olympic Games of 49 AD, during the fight constantly kept his arms outstretched forward, due to which he avoided the opponent’s blows, and at the same time he himself very rarely delivered retaliatory blows, - in in the end, the physically and emotionally exhausted opponent admitted defeat. And about the winner of the Olympic Games 460 BC. in the dolichodrome of Ladas of Argos, it was said that he ran so lightly that he did not even leave footprints on the ground.
Among the participants and winners of the Olympic Games were such famous scientists and thinkers as Demosthenes, Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Pythagoras, Hippocrates. And they competed not only in the fine arts. For example, Pythagoras was a champion in fisticuffs, and Plato was in pankration.
Maria Ischenko
“There is nothing nobler than the sun,
giving so much light and warmth. So
and people glorify those contests
there is nothing greater than the Olympic Games.”
Pindar
These words of the ancient Greek poet Pindar, written two thousand years ago, have not been forgotten to this day. Not forgotten because the Olympic competitions, held at the dawn of civilization, continue to live in the memory of mankind.
There are no number of myths - one is more beautiful than the other! about the origin of the Olympic Games. Gods, kings, rulers and heroes are considered their most honorable ancestors. One thing has been established with obvious indisputability: the first Olympiad known to us from antiquity took place in 776 BC.
Each Olympic Games turned into a holiday for the people, a kind of congress for rulers and philosophers, a competition for sculptors and poets.
The days of the Olympic celebrations are the days of universal peace. For the ancient Hellenes, games were an instrument of peace, facilitating negotiations between cities, promoting mutual understanding and communication between states.
The Olympics glorified man, for the Olympics reflected a worldview, the cornerstone of which was the cult of the perfection of the spirit and body, the idealization of a harmoniously developed person - a thinker and an athlete. Olympionics - the winner of the games - were paid honors by their compatriots, which were awarded to the gods, monuments were created in their honor during their lifetime, laudatory odes were composed, feasts were arranged. The Olympic hero entered his native city in a chariot, dressed in purple, crowned with a wreath, he entered not through the usual gate, but through a hole in the wall, which was sealed up on the same day so that the Olympic victory would enter the city and never leave it.
The center of the Olympic world of antiquity was the sacred district of Zeus in Olympia - a grove along the Alpheus River at the confluence of the Kladei stream into it. In this beautiful town of Hellas, traditional all-Greek competitions in honor of the god of thunder were held almost three hundred times. The winds of the Ionian sea disturbed the mighty pines and oaks on the top of Kronos Hill. At its foot there is a protected area, the silence of which was broken every four years by the Olympic celebration.
Such is Olympia, the cradle of games. Its former greatness is now reminded of by no means silent ruins. The testimony of ancient authors, statues and images on vases and coins recreate the picture of the Olympic spectacle.
Near the sacred Olympia, the town of the same name subsequently grew up, surrounded by orange and olive groves.
Now Olympia is a typical provincial town, living with tourists who flock to the Olympic ruins from all over the world. Everything is absolutely Olympic in it: from the names of streets and hotels to dishes in taverns and souvenirs in countless shops. It is noteworthy for its museums - archaeological and Olympic.
Olympia owes its surviving glory entirely to the Olympic Games, although they were held there only once every four years and lasted a few days. In the intervals between games, a huge stadium was empty, located nearby, in a hollow near the hill of Kronos. The running track of the stadium and the slopes of the hill and embankments that bordered the arena, which served as a platform for spectators, were overgrown with grass. There was no clatter of hooves or the rumble of horse-drawn chariots at the nearby hippodrome. There were no training athletes in the spacious gymnasium surrounded by stands and in the monumental building of the palestra. Voices were not heard in the leonidaion - a hotel for honored guests.
But during the Olympic Games, life was seething here. Tens of thousands of arriving athletes and guests filled the grandiose sports facilities for those times to capacity. In terms of their composition, their ensemble basically differed little from modern sports complexes. In those distant times, only the winner in certain types of competitions, the Olympionik, was revealed at the Olympics. In modern terms, no one recorded the absolute achievements of athletes. Therefore, few people were interested in the perfection of the competition sites. Everyone was more interested in the ritual side of the holiday dedicated to Zeus.
As you know, ancient Greek history with a certain degree of reliability reflects mythology. One of the poetic myths of ancient Greece tells how the Olympic Stadium came into being. If you listen to this legend, then Hercules from Crete was its founder. Approximately in the 17th century. BC e. He and his four brothers landed on the Peloponnesian peninsula. There, at the hill with the tomb of the titan Kronos, according to legend, defeated in the fight by the son of Zeus, Hercules, in honor of the victory of his father over his grandfather, organized a competition with his brothers on the run. To do this, on the site at the foot of the hill, he measured the distance of 11 stages, which corresponded to 600 of his feet. an impromptu running track 192 m 27 cm long and served as the basis for the future Olympic Stadium. For three centuries, it was in this primitive arena that the games, later called the Olympic Games, were far from regularly held.
Gradually, the Olympics won the recognition of all the states located on the Peloponnesian Peninsula, and by 776 BC. e. acquired a general character. It was from this date that the tradition began to perpetuate the names of the winners.
On the eve of the grand opening of the Games, an ancient tent city was spread out near the stadium on the banks of the Alfei River. In addition to many sports fans, merchants of various goods and owners of entertainment establishments rushed here. So even in ancient times, the care of preparing for the games involved the most diverse social strata of the Greek population in organizational matters. The Greek festival officially lasted five days, dedicated to the glorification of the physical strength and unity of the nation, worshiping the deified beauty of man. The Olympic Games, as their popularity grew, influenced the center of Olympia - Altis. For more than 11 centuries, pan-Greek games have been held in Olympia. Similar games were held in other centers of the country, but none of them could be compared with the Olympic ones.
One of the most beautiful legends of the past tells of Prometheus, the God-fighter and protector of people, who stole fire from Olympus and brought it in a reed and taught mortals how to use it. As the myths say, Zeus ordered Hephaestus to chain Prometheus to the Caucasian rock, pierced his chest with a spear, and a huge eagle flew every morning to peck the liver of a titan, he was saved by Hercules. And not a legend, but history testifies that in other cities of Hellas there was a cult of Prometheus, and in his honor Prometheus was held - competitions of runners with burning torches.
The figure of this titan remains today one of the most striking images in Greek mythology. The expression "Promethean fire" means striving for high goals in the fight against evil. Didn't the ancients put the same meaning when they lit the Olympic flame in the Altis grove about three thousand years ago?
During the summer solstice, competitors and organizers, pilgrims and fans paid homage to the gods by lighting a fire on the altars of Olympia. The winner of the running competition was honored to light the fire for the sacrifice. In the reflections of this fire, the rivalry of athletes took place, the competition of artists, an agreement on peace was concluded by messengers from cities and peoples.
That is why the tradition of lighting a fire, and later delivering it to the venue of the competition, was renewed.
Among the Olympic rituals, the ceremony of lighting a fire in Olympia and delivering it to the main arena of the games is especially emotional. This is one of the traditions of the modern Olympic movement. Millions of people can watch the exciting journey of fire through countries, and sometimes even continents, with the help of television.
The Olympic flame first flared up at the Amsterdam Stadium on the first day of the 1928 Games. This is an indisputable fact. However, until recently, most researchers in the field of Olympic history have not found confirmation that this fire was delivered, as tradition dictates, by relay from Olympia.
The beginning of the torch relay races, which brought fire from Olympia to the city of the Summer Olympics, was laid in 1936. Since then, the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games have been enriched by the exciting spectacle of lighting the fire from the torch carried by the relay race in the main Olympic stadium. The Torchbearer Run has been the solemn prologue of the Games for more than four decades. On June 20, 1936, a fire was lit in Olympia, which then made a 3075 km journey along the road of Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Germany. And in 1948, the torch made its first sea voyage.
In 394 AD e. The Roman emperor Theodosius 1 issued a decree prohibiting the further holding of the Olympic Games. The emperor converted to Christianity and decided to eradicate anti-Christian games glorifying pagan gods. And one and a half thousand years the games were not played. In the following centuries, sport lost the democratic significance that was attached to it in ancient Greece. For a long time it became the privilege of the "chosen" fraud, ceased to play the role of the most accessible means of communication between peoples.
Ancient Greek athletes competed naked. From the word "naked" ("gymnos") comes the word "gymnastics". The naked body was not considered something shameful - on the contrary, it showed how hard the athlete trained. It was shameful to have an unsportsmanlike, untrained body. Women were forbidden not only to participate, but also to observe the course of the Games. If a woman was found in the stadium, she was legally to be thrown into the abyss. Only once this rule was violated - when a woman, whose father, brother and husband were Olympic champions, trained her son herself and, driven by the desire to see him as a champion, went with him to the Games. Coaches stood separately on the field, watching their wards. Our heroine changed into men's clothes and stood next to them, looking at her son with excitement. And now... he is declared the champion! Mother could not stand it and ran across the whole field to be the first to congratulate him. On the way, her clothes fell off her, and everyone saw that there was a woman in the stadium. The judges were in a difficult position. By law, the violator must be killed, but she is a daughter, sister and wife, and now also the mother of Olympic champions! She was spared, but from that day on a new rule was introduced - now not only athletes, but also coaches must stand completely naked on the field to prevent such situations.
One of the types of competitions was chariot racing - an unusually dangerous sport, horses were often frightened, chariots collided, jockeys fell under the wheels ... Sometimes only two out of ten chariots reached the start. But all the same, no matter what strength and dexterity the jockey showed, it was not he who received the wreath of the winner, but the owner of the horses!
Women had their own Games - they were dedicated to the goddess Hera. They took place a month before the men's or, conversely, a month after them, at the same stadium where women competed in running.
With the advent of the Renaissance, which restored interest in the art of Ancient Greece, they remembered the Olympic Games. At the beginning of the 19th century Sport has received universal recognition in Europe and there was a desire to organize something similar to the Olympic Games. Local games organized in Greece in 1859, 1870, 1875 and 1879 left some trace in history. Although they did not give tangible practical results in the development of the international Olympic movement, they served as an impetus for the formation of the Olympic Games of our time, which owe their revival to the French public figure, teacher, historian Pierre De Coubertin. The growth of economic and cultural communication between states that arose at the end of the 18th century, the emergence of modern modes of transport, paved the way for the revival of the Olympic Games on an international scale. That is why the call of Pierre de Coubertin: “We need to make sport international, we need to revive the Olympic Games!” found a proper response in many countries.
On June 23, 1894, in Paris, in the Great Hall of the Sorbonne, a commission for the revival of the Olympic Games met. Pierre de Coubertin became its general secretary. Then the International Olympic Committee (IOC) took shape, which included the most authoritative and independent citizens of different countries.
By decision of the IOC, the games of the first Olympiad were held in April 1896 in the Greek capital at the Panathini Stadium. The energy of Coubertin and the enthusiasm of the Greeks overcame many obstacles and made it possible to carry out the planned program of the first games of our time. Spectators enthusiastically accepted the colorful opening and closing ceremonies of the revived sports festival, awarding the winners of the competitions. The interest in the competition was so great that 80 thousand spectators could fit in the marble stands of the Panathini Stadium, designed for 70,000 seats. The success of the revival of the Olympic Games was confirmed by the public and the press of many countries, who welcomed the initiative.
Legends related to the origin of the Olympic Games:
* One of the oldest is the legend of Pelops, which is mentioned by the ancient Roman poet Ovid in his "Metamorphoses" and the ancient Greek poet Pindar. Pelops, the son of Tantalus, is told in this legend, after the king of Troy, Il, conquered his hometown of Sipil, left his homeland, and went to the shores of Greece. In the very south of Greece, he found a peninsula and settled on it. Since then, this peninsula has been called the Peloponnese. Once Pelops saw the beautiful Hypodamia, the daughter of Enomai. Oenomaus was the king of Pisa, a city located in the northwest of the Peloponnese, in the valley of the river Alpheus. Pelops fell in love with the beautiful daughter of Enomai and decided to ask the king for her hand.
But it turned out to be not so easy. The fact is that the oracle predicted Enomai's death at the hands of his daughter's husband. To prevent such a fate, Enomai decided not to marry his daughter at all. But how to do that? How to refuse all applicants for the hand of Hypodamia? Many worthy suitors wooed the beautiful princess. Enomai could not refuse everyone for no reason and came up with a cruel condition: he would give Hypodamia as a wife only to the one who defeated him in a chariot contest, but if he turned out to be the winner, then the bewitched must pay with his life. Enomai had no equal in the whole of Greece in the art of driving a chariot, and his horses were faster than the wind.
One after another, young people came to the palace of Enomai, who were not afraid to lose their lives, if only to get the beautiful Hypodamia as a wife. And Enomai killed all of them, and so that it would be discourteous for others to come to woo, he nailed the heads of the dead to the doors of the palace. But this did not stop Pelops. He decided to outsmart the cruel ruler of Pisa. Pelops secretly agreed with the charioteer of Oenomaus Myrtilus that he would not insert a pin holding the wheel on the axle.
Before the start of the competition, Enomai, confident, as always, in success, suggested that Pelops start the race alone. The groom's chariot takes off, and Enomai slowly sacrifices to the great Thunderer Zeus, and only after that he rushes after him.
The chariot of Oenomaus has already reached Pelops, the son of Tantalus already feels the hot breath of the horses of King Pisa, he turns around and sees how the king swings his spear with a triumphant laugh. But at that moment, the wheels from the axles of the chariot of Oenomaus jump off, the chariot overturns, and the cruel king falls dead to the ground.
Pelops returned triumphantly to Pisa, took the beautiful Hippodamia as his wife, took possession of the whole kingdom of Enomai, and in honor of his victory held a sports festival in Olympia, which he decided to repeat every four years.
* Other legends say that in Olympia, near the tomb of Cronus, the father of Zeus, a running competition took place. And as if they were organized by Zeus himself, who thus celebrated the victory over his father, which made him the ruler of the world.
* But perhaps the most popular in ancient times was the legend that Pindar mentions in his songs in honor of the winners of the Olympic Games. According to this legend, the Games were founded by Hercules after completing his sixth feat - cleansing the barnyard of Avgius, king of Elis. Augeas possessed incalculable riches. His herds were especially numerous. Heracles suggested that Augeas cleanse his entire vast courtyard in one day if he agreed to give him a tenth of his herds. Augeas agreed, believing that it was simply impossible to complete such work in one day. Hercules broke the wall that surrounded the barnyard from two opposite sides, and diverted the water of the Alpheus River into it. The water in one day carried away all the manure from the barnyard, and Hercules again laid down the walls. When Hercules came to Avgiy to demand a reward, the king did not give him anything, and even kicked him out.
Hercules took terrible revenge on the king of Elis. With a large army, he invaded Elis, defeated Augeas in a bloody battle and killed him with a deadly arrow. After the victory, Hercules gathered troops and all the booty near the city of Pisa, made sacrifices to the Olympic gods and established the Olympic Games, which have been held since then every four years on the sacred plain planted by Hercules himself with olive trees dedicated to the goddess Pallas Athena.
There are many other versions of the appearance and creation of the Olympic Games, but all these versions, most often of mythological origin, remain versions.
* According to undeniable signs, the appearance of the Olympic Games dates back to the 9th century BC. e. In those days, heavy wars ravaged the Greek states. Ifit - the king of Elis, a small Greek state, on whose territory Olympia is located - goes to Delphi to consult with the oracle, how he, the king of a small country, can protect his people from war and robbery. The Delphic oracle, whose predictions and advice were considered infallible, advised Ifit:
"I need you to found the Games Pleased by the Gods!"
Ifit immediately goes to meet his powerful neighbor - the king of Sparta, Lycurgus. Obviously, Ifit was a good diplomat, since Lycurgus decides that from now on Elis should be recognized as a neutral state. And all the small fragmented states, endlessly at war with each other, agree with this decision. Immediately Ifit, in order to prove his peace-loving aspirations and thank the gods, establishes "the athletic Games, which will be held in Olympia every four years." Hence their name - the Olympic Games. This happened in 884 BC. e.
Thus a custom was established in Greece, according to which, once every four years, in the midst of internecine wars, everyone put aside their weapons and went to Olympia to admire the harmoniously developed athletes and praise the gods.
The Olympic Games became a national event that united the whole of Greece, while before and after them, Greece was a multitude of disparate, warring states.
* After some time, the Greeks came up with the idea to establish a single calendar of the Olympic Games. It was decided to hold the Games regularly every four goals "between harvest and grape harvest". The Olympic holiday, which consisted of numerous religious ceremonies and sports competitions, was held first for one day, then for five days, and later the duration of the holiday reached a whole month.
When the feast lasted only one day, it was usually held on the eighteenth day of the "holy month" beginning on the first full moon after the summer solstice. The holiday was repeated every four years, which constituted the "Olympiad" - the Greek Olympic year.
But it is not all that bad. Some buildings of that time, statues, sculptures, household items have been preserved. Their scientists have been slowly and confidently digging up for almost two centuries. There is also documentary evidence. With their help, historians managed to recreate a completely objective picture.
It should also be understood that the period of the ancient Olympic movement covers more than a thousand and a hundred years. This is a huge number of generations of the best of the best athletes. These are almost 300 Olympiads, which were held constantly, continuously, every four years, twelve centuries in a row.
How it all began
If we fast forward to the thousandth year of the ancient era, we will find ourselves in an era when Olympia became a real temple of the god Zeus - the lord of the sky, thunder and lightning. This supreme god had a long mythical history before his localization on Mount Olympus and won great love and worship of ordinary people.
And this is the goddess Nike, the goddess of victory. She symbolized a winged spirit, thirsting for superiority.
So, observing numerous religious rituals, competitions began to emerge. The first is running. Men made a ritual run to the altar of Zeus, giving their energy. It happened in 776 BC. e. Athletes consider this year the birthday of athletics.
It must be understood that religious rites were held before, just from 776 BC. e. started documenting. There are references to the Olympics in fiction as well. For example, the poet Homer, in his work The Iliad, notes the Olympic competitions.
Many scholars believe that records began to be kept because writing appeared. In the non-literate era, this was simply impossible.
nudity
Nudity is perhaps the most surprising and amusing aspect of the ancient games. After all, all competition athletes were without clothes.
It is believed that this tradition was picked up by athletes, after in 720 BC. e. an interesting incident happened. It happened that during the competition, one athlete named Arsip, who came to the finish line first, was completely naked. He lost his armband due to fast running. All athletes decided to continue to compete naked. Very quickly, this custom spread, it was picked up by athletes in all forms.
This transition was natural. In ancient Greece, the cult of the perfect body was very great. The Greeks admired the ideal forms and the strength that constant training gave.
In addition, many scientists believe that nudity is the result of the behavior that was common in a society where homosexuality was not something shameful.
Not everyone knows that the very word gymnasium "gymnasion" - where the Greeks studied, denotes a place for exercises, and the word "gymnos" - naked, naked.
Gymnasiums just appeared during the development of the Olympic movement, in the 600s BC. e. Gymnasiums were originally used as a place for training.
Although there is no direct link between competitive nudity and homosexuality, both of these phenomena influenced each other.
Who can participate and who can't
Only local residents of Olympia took part in the very first games. This went on for more than a hundred years, until all Greek citizens were allowed to participate in the competition. Even later, residents of the Greek colonies were allowed to compete.
There were other restrictions as well. The athlete had to have an impeccable reputation. Offenders, slaves, foreigners were not allowed to play.
There were no age restrictions. If the young man felt the strength in himself, desired fame and met the above requirements, he could compete on an equal footing with adult men. However, gradually, various distinctions were introduced.
Although the primary goal was the Olympics, the people gathered in pursuit of secondary goals. It was a meeting place for prominent figures of that time.
Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, Herodotus - they had the opportunity to announce their works to a large number of those gathered. 
Since the position of a woman in ancient Greek society was much lower in status than that of a man, they had no right to either take part in competitions or be present as a spectator. Even approaching a sacred place, crossing the Altis River, was strictly forbidden for a woman. The violator was punishable by death - she was thrown into the abyss.
True, there were exceptions.
➤ There is evidence that priestesses could get to the festival. This is a separate part of the female population, worshiping the goddess Aphrodite. In fact, priestesses are prostitutes hiding behind religious canons.
➤ Oddly enough, a woman of high class could set her quadriga, and was allowed to enter the hippodrome.
➤ Scientists have information that virgins of rich and noble parents could watch the brutal games of naked men. Such an introductory foreplay prepared them for the idea of marriage and allowed them to look at the best of the best representatives of the opposite sex.
Organization of games
The month of August was chosen as the time for the games, during the period of the full moon. Athletes arrived thirty days before the opening and they began training under the supervision of judges (ellanodics). These members of the Ancient Greek Committee could remove an athlete from the competition if he violated the generally accepted rules.
Here is the tunnel, which heard the steps of brave athletes and the numerous cries of the crowd that greeted them.
Long before the opening, a large public also gathered. A huge tent city was formed around the stadium in fields and olive groves - the progenitor of our Olympic villages.
The Games were of such great importance and such respect among many neighboring countries that representatives of states that were currently at war gathered here. That is why the truce was signed. For this, a sacred disk was used. All arriving guests were protected by a truce.
The wars that this region has always been rich in were stopped. True, there is evidence that these truces were repeatedly violated.
After the first Olympiads, the Hellanodics decided to divide the sports in such a way that there would be some kind of competition for each year. If an athlete won in a row in all four games, he received the title - periodonik. For the entire centuries-old period of periodonics, there are forty-six people.
First day
There were no competitions on this day. This day was dedicated to religious cleansing. Athletes visited the sanctuary in which they sacrificed. More often than others, there is information that the genitals of a bull were to become a victim.
After the sacrifice, the athletes vowed to compete fairly. The oath was very serious, and the violator was severely punished.
He was not easily removed from the competition, but he was subjected to a huge fine. And the lack of money could lead to slavery.
Types of Olympic Games
There is something to tell about each type of sports games. All these types of competitions are the progenitors of today's sports.
Run
The very first view, from which it all began, was of particular importance. After all, each subsequent Olympics was given the name of an olympionist who won in running.Athletes ran along paths that differed little from modern ones. There were even notches at the start, for emphasis with toes.
Sprinters ran a distance of approximately 180 meters. 20 runners could run at the same time. Starting positions for complete honesty were played by lot.
False starts were strictly forbidden. Those who broke from the start, before the allotted time, were beaten with sticks. In the IV century BC. e. this problem was solved - they invented a fair start mechanism.
It is not known what results the Greeks showed in the races. No one recorded the results and did not compare with the previous ones. Nevertheless, there are various data that there were athletes who overtook hares, did not leave marks in the sand, and came to the finish line with a large lead over their opponents.
There were other types of races: a double-distance race, competitions in dolichos (long run), in combat uniforms, which were about 20 kilograms.
Of the most famous runners of that time, Leonid of Rhodes is considered the most famous. He won four Olympiads in 164-152 BC. e. In races at various distances, including with equipment. He received 12 Olympic wreaths. In his homeland, the island of Rhodes, a monument was erected to Leonid of Rhodes with the inscription: "He ran like a god."
Struggle
Although the fighters fought according to certain rules - it was a desperate and tough competition. Cases when athletes gave their lives in the ring were not uncommon. For the sake of glory, athletes were ready for a lot. They were extolled for courage, heroism, courage and the will to win.
From 688 B.C. e. The Hellanodics decided to include fisticuffs in the program. A little later, wrestling was added, and in 648 the most cruel kind, pankration, entered the Olympics program.
Paekration is a fight without limits and rules. Everything is allowed. Unless there is a ban on biting and eye gouging. In such competitions, the risk of injury and even being killed was very high, which was especially liked by the bloodthirsty public.
Archaeologists have found information about the magnificent hero Milo of Croton, who lived around 520 BC. e., who became the winner of six Olympiads in a row. He possessed inhuman strength.
From 146 BC. e., the Olympics had new owners - the Romans. Apparently, it seemed to them that there was not enough blood. And the rivals began to insert spikes into their leather belts to wrap their hands. Fisticuffs have become like knife fights. Many dropped out of the competition after the first blow.
The draw was not recognized. If the opponents showed the same preparation, the judges announced the climax. The fighters began an exchange of open blows.
The fight could go on for several hours. Athletes fought to the death, as in a war, on the battlefield and were ready to die, trying to snatch victory at any cost.
Chariots
This is real recklessness and risk. Here, too, not everyone reached the finish line. Nobility was not thought of in these competitions. Everyone fought desperately and hard.
It was a test of skill. After all, the charioteer was not cleaned in any way. 44 chariots could participate in the race at the same time. Each quadriga was harnessed by the four best horses.
Women could also exhibit their quadrigas. And the winner was not a desperate charioteer, but the owner of the quadriga. In the entire centuries-old history of the Olympic Games, one woman received the winner's wreath. It was the daughter of the reigning emperor at that time.
The greatest number of accidents happened on U-turns. This is the place where the athletes were simply thrown from the chariots. Collisions of several quadrigas led to the overturning of the "vehicles", to knocking the horses off their feet, to the collapse and the formation of congestion for other rushing and unable to slow down crews. The degree of danger was absurd. The described case is known when 43 out of 44 chariots crashed in the race.
After the chariot races, horse races were held. These were no less difficult competitions, where jockeys on bareback horses controlled them only with their own knees and a whip.
Pentathlon
In the pentathlon, various qualities were valued, but balance and grace were extolled. Here it was possible to consider the proportions of the human body. These athletes served as a model. From their ideal bodies, the sculptors depicted the gods.The winner of the pentathlon was recognized as the main athlete of the games!
It was necessary to participate in the race, then in the jumps, to throw the discus and the spear perfectly, and also to prove myself in the fight. Ancient competitions were very different from modern ones. On the mines there was a special loop that increased the flight range. The discus for throwing was 6 kilograms 800 grams - three times heavier than what is thrown now.
An intriguing difference is seen in the long jumps, which were performed with weights in hand to increase the momentum and length of the jump. The weight of the cargo ranged from 2 to 7 kilograms. Indeed, if the inertial force is skillfully used during the jump, the load will literally drag the jumper forward.
It is not known how true the information that has survived to this day is that the jumper Fail, who participated in the 110th Olympiad, jumped over the jumping pit. It was a standard pit for those times - 15 meters.
Rewarding
The judges announced the official winner. It could be a participant who died during the competition. Then the joy was overshadowed.
Alive and healthy, the winner received an olive wreath, ascended a bronze tripod and greeted numerous fans from the pedestal. The bust was installed for the most capable athletes who were able to win the competition three or more times.
The athlete was immediately included in the circle of the elite!
Returning home, the Olympian was considered a hero and received numerous gifts. The heroes of the games were worshiped as gods, believing that since the gods were merciful to the champion and allowed him to surpass his rivals, he was endowed with some kind of higher power.
The sweat of such an athlete became an expensive commodity. It was collected from the athlete's body along with dust, placed in small containers and sold. Sweat was used as a magical potion.
Honored only the winner. There were no silver or bronze winners.
Interruption of the Olympic Games
The ancient games disappeared when Olympia itself disappeared.
Historians have established that the last Olympiad of antiquity took place in 394 AD. Emperor Theodosius I banned it by his decree. He was a deeply religious peasant, and considered games as a manifestation of paganism.
Theodosius I's son, Theodosius II completed the work begun by his father. With the help of fire, he dealt with the sanctuary and the temple of Zeus.
The cessation of the Olympic Games was the result of a change in religion!
But more recently, archaeologists have found marble tablets with inscriptions left by fourteen different athletes who have been Olympic winners since 394. The inscriptions are made one after another in different handwriting, the last one at the end of the 4th century AD. It turns out that history did not take into account 120 years.
True, such evidence to the scientific world was not enough. In addition, they do not fit well with the reality of the historical events of that time. Supporters of this version will have to sweat a lot, looking for additional information.
The final correction of the place, so glorified by the ancient Greeks, was made by nature itself. At the beginning of the fifth century, two earthquakes took place here, thoroughly destroying the remaining buildings. Toward the sixth century, these places suffered from extensive floods that destroyed the remains of ancient Olympia. For a long thirteen centuries, the ruins of ancient civilization were hidden under an eight-meter layer of dirt and earth.
The excavations began in 1829 and do not stop to this day, enabling us to form an objective picture of the past.
But that is another story...