The program of the first Olympic Games of ancient Greece. Modern pentathlon: what sports are included? Differences between modern Games and ancient Greek

Feb 11 2014

I have already written about the history and traditions of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece. Today I would like to tell you about the sports that ancient Greek athletes competed in, as well as tell some interesting stories about the failures and achievements of athletes of the distant past.

Run

1st to 13th Olympic Games in ancient Greece there was only one type of competition: running 192 meters, that is, from one end of the stadium to the other. A distance of 192 meters was considered one Olympic stage. Then they introduced running competitions to the double Olympic stage. One of the greatest runners antiquity, whose name history has preserved, was Leonidas of Rhodes. In the II century BC, he took part in 4 Olympiads and came to the finish line first 12 times.

Running on a double stage, that is, 384 meters, was introduced in 724 BC and ran like this. Athletes had to run to the opposite end of the stadium, go around the pole and return to the starting line
In 720 BC, the so-called long run was introduced. The distance was 7 stages, 1344 meters. Sometimes it was further increased, bringing it up to 24 stages (4608 meters).

Another running discipline is hoplite running. In other sports (except for this and horse racing), including running, athletes competed completely naked. In the hoplite run, the athlete had to overcome 384 meters as quickly as possible in a helmet, greaves and with a shield in hand. Later, only the shield was left. This species was added in 520 BC at the 65th Olympic Games of Ancient Greece. Usually the hoplite run was final part throughout the Olympics.

martial arts

Starting from 688 BC (the 23rd ancient Olympic Games), fisticuffs were introduced into the Olympics program. Most often, the victory was won by those fighters who managed to defeat the enemy without receiving a single blow. According to the rules, it was impossible to trip up an opponent, kick him, bite him, scratch out his eyes. The fighters put on protective leather straps on their hands. Athletes came out of the fight with broken teeth, broken noses, numerous bruises and fractures. Death from injuries was quite rare, although it did happen. However, a dead athlete could still be named the winner.

Important!

Doctors believed that fisticuffs were an excellent remedy for chronic headaches.

At the 72nd Olympiad in Ancient Greece, which was held in 492 BC, Cleomedes of Astypalea killed Ikkas of Epidaurus in a fistfight. The fighter was stripped of the title of winner. One of the first boxers whose name is remembered in the history of sports was Tisander from Naxos, who defeated all opponents during 4 Olympiads.

The second type of martial arts was introduced in 648 BC for men and in 200 BC for boys - pankration. In this form hand-to-hand combat blows were allowed not only with hands, but also with legs, as well as all kinds of seizures. The name "pankration" consists of two words: "pan" and "kratos", which means "with all my strength." It was impossible to bite an opponent, but it was possible to choke. Participating in the third battle of the pankration, Arichion from Figalea was strangled by the enemy and died. The judges still recognized him as the winner, because the opponent agreed to defeat, because the pain from Arichion's broken toe was unbearable. A laurel wreath was put on the lifeless body in honor of the victory. Sostratus from Sicyon became famous for holding the opponent's hands in battle and breaking the phalanxes of his fingers. At the 212th Olympiad, a certain Artemidorus of Thrall, who was supposed to fight alongside the youths, was insulted by an older participant. The guy could not bear it and went out to fight in pankration against the offender. He not only took revenge, but also became the most strong fighter among men.

In 708 BC wrestling appeared among the competitions. In it, only pushes were allowed, but any blows were forbidden. They fought both on earthen and sandy surfaces. Milon from Croton became the winner among the youths at one of the Olympics. It is curious that the wrestler was only 14, and some other opponents in his age category were 18-19 years old. The guy was so strong that he could break the rope tied around his head, bringing himself to the point where his veins bulged.

Pentathlon

Pentathlon is the first pentathlon in the program of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece. Athletes competed in wrestling, stage running, long jump, discus throw and javelin throw. This type of competition was added in 708 BC.

All disciplines of the pentathlon were held on the same day. Athletes were divided into pairs and competed with each other. If someone defeated an opponent in 3 out of 5 disciplines, he was considered the winner. The winners competed among themselves until the final winner was determined. Aristotle believed that the pentathlon best view sports for the harmonious development of the body.

During long jump competitions, athletes held dumbbells in their hands to jump further.

horse racing

Horse racing is the only sport where a woman could be declared the winner. No, they themselves did not ride or ride in a chariot. It was just that the owner of the horse and chariot was recognized as the champion, and not the one who controlled them.

Warning!

The first female Olympic champion is the sister of the King of Sparta Kiniska

In 680 BC, races called "quadrig" were introduced into the program of the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece, in 648 BC. horse racing was added, in 408 BC. - racing chariots drawn by two horses. There were two age categories among the athletes: boys and men. Among the horses there are also two: horses and stallions.

The quadriga consisted of overcoming 12 laps on the hippodrome. Very often the chariots turned over, and the drivers remained crippled. Not everyone could take part in the races, but only royalty and very rich citizens. At the 68th Olympiad, which took place in 508 BC, at the very beginning of the race, one of the horses threw off the rider. Nevertheless, she ran the whole distance, turned where she was supposed to and crossed the finish line first. The victory was awarded to the owner of the horse, and the jockey was sent in disgrace to heal his wounds.

Creative competitions

In 396 BC, special disciplines were introduced: competitions of trumpeters and heralds. The Greeks and Romans were sure that for harmony a person must be developed not only physically, but spiritually. The Hellenes received great aesthetic pleasure from music. During the Olympic Games, poets read their poems, artists organized exhibitions of their paintings. At the end of the games, sculptors were asked to make statues of the winners, and poets were asked to compose songs of praise.

Everyone has heard that the birthplace of the Olympics is ancient Hellas, but few people know how they actually took place. sport competitions in Greek Olympia. In the first part of the material on the history of the Olympic Games, we talked about their origin and the rules of the competition. Now let's stop at certain types antique Olympic program.

Athletes ran in a helmet, leggings and with a shield

Initially, there was only one type of competition in the program - running one stage, 192 meters. In Olympia, the stadium (the word itself comes from a measure of length) is superbly preserved, where this took place. Athletes ran naked, however, as in all competitions. Clothes weren't meant to hide beauty. human body, otherwise the aesthetic component was lost. Twelve people ran for elimination, that is, the winner had to participate in several races per day.

A little later, competitions in diaulos began to be held - double running. At the same stadium, the athletes ran the stages, turned around the post and ran back. Thus the distance doubled. The third type of program was the pentathlon - pentathlon. Wrestling was added to the four athletics events - running, long jump, javelin and discus throwing. This sport was the most beloved and spectacular. The Greeks believed that he most harmoniously develops athletes.

All-rounders competed in pairs, successively going through all types. Who won in three - accordingly competed with the next opponent, the loser went to the stands.

If everything is more or less clear with running, throwing and wrestling, then the jumps were not at all the way they are now. Athletes jumped from a place, holding special weights in their hands. By the way, a couple of these are exhibited in the museum in Olympia: they are somewhat similar to a cast-iron iron, only made of stone. The jumper swung the weights back and forth, and then threw them and this, as it were, strengthened the push. Helped or not - we do not know, but the traditions were not violated. Nowadays, attempts were made to reconstruct this jumping technique, but nothing really happened.

Significantly later, one more, last type was added to the athletics program - the hoplite run. We can say the first applied paramilitary type of competition. Athletes ran two stages in a helmet, leggings and with a shield, that is, in the protective weapons of a hoplite warrior. Offensive weapons - spears and swords - could not be used according to the rules of the Olympics. Later, the applied character became symbolic, and only a large round shield was left from the armor.

Do not poke in the eyes, do not grab the genitals and do not bite

The martial arts program included three types: classic wrestling, fisticuffs and pankration. Wrestling was the least bloodthirsty kind of competition. Athletes fought on the sand, trying to put the opponent on the shoulder blades. Apparently, there was also a separate fight on the ground. This species was loved and revered, in one form or another, almost all Greeks were engaged in it.

Another thing is a fist fight. It was forbidden to kick an opponent, grab and trip, it was forbidden to strike in the groin and poke fingers in the eyes. Everything else was allowed. If the opponents did not identify the winner, then the judges instructed them to beat each other in turn without resistance. Whoever falls first is the one who loses. It is clear why fights often ended in the death or injury of one of the fighters.

Apparently, the technique of the boxers was pretty decent. In any case, protection was not neglected. It was considered the highest chic to defeat the enemy without missing a single blow. In general, as it is now: after all, boxing is, first of all, the art of defense.

Pankration was a synthetic type that combined the techniques of wrestling and fisticuffs. "Pan" means general, "kratos" - strength, something like "with all the strength."

As Philostratus aptly pointed out, the ideal pankration fighter fights better than a boxer and boxes better than a wrestler. The judges carefully monitored that the opponents did not poke each other in the eyes, did not grab the genitals and did not bite. The violator was considered a loser and expelled in disgrace. But, say, breaking fingers or hitting an opponent with your head was allowed.

By the way, the Greeks came up with this competition in honor of Hercules - to commemorate his victory over the Nemean lion. The skin of the enchanted animal was invulnerable to any weapon, so the hero had to engage in hand-to-hand combat with him and strangle him.

Image: Globallookpress.com

Horse racing and trumpet competitions

The most controversial type was horse racing, first played at the 25th Olympiad. Especially for them, an arena was built - a hippodrome (actually, a hippodrome is more correct), which, unfortunately, has not been preserved. The ambiguity lies in the fact that it was not the driver of the quadriga who was considered the winner, but its owner, who could not attend the competition at all. Thus, even women became Olympionists, not to mention the Macedonian king Philip II (father of the famous Alexander), the Roman emperor Nero and other respected persons who could afford expensive stables. It is clear that there were no such super-rich in the democratic polis world, but later everything came down to a banal vanity fair, far from Olympic principles.

In addition to quadriga racing, there were competitions in chariots with a pair of horses and just horseback riding. The distance was the same - 12 laps of the hippodrome. Unfortunately, we do not have the opportunity to accurately measure it, but we know that this type of competition survived the longest and was the favorite entertainment of the Byzantine public (as the successor to the Greek tradition) until the very death of the empire in the 15th century.

The last kind of the Olympic program was the competition of trumpeters and heralds. This is not an entirely accurate translation, but the Europeanized term has already taken root. It's about musicians and poets. Competitions appeared rather late, in the 4th century BC, already at the end of classical Greece. We don't have an exact idea of the program, but in general the competitions of musicians and poets logically fit into the ideology of the games. Most likely, it was a kind of transformation of cultural events, in which some kind of competitive principle was introduced. Perhaps as a tribute to the god Apollo, the patron of the muses. Here it is appropriate to recall that at the 1912 Olympics, on the initiative of Baron de Coubertin, this tradition was revived, but then it was World War, a break in the games and gradually forgot about this beautiful idea. It's a pity.

Image: Mary Evans Picture Library / Globallookpress.com

The Olympic Games of antiquity were not just a sporting event. It was a symbol of Hellas, a unifying principle, the basis of civilization. They allowed the Hellenes, who were always at war with each other, to feel like a single people, to be proud of their traditions and their athletes. The sports component was secondary in relation to the religious, moral, ethical idea. Victory at any cost has never been held in high esteem - on the contrary, beautiful gestures towards rivals were valued above achievements. Unfortunately, not all the Olympic commandments of the Hellenes have survived to this day.

At first, there was only a stadium in the program of the Olympic Games - running for one stage (192.27 m), then the number Olympic disciplines has grown. 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 jump in length 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 according to weight categories, and the boxing match continued until one of the opponents recognized himself 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.

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 14th Olympic Games (724 BC), diaulos was included in the program;
running for stage 2, and 4 years later (720 BC) dolichodrome or dolichos (endurance run), the distance of which ranged from 7 to 24 stages (4.6 km).

However, some theorists, such as the philosopher Socrates, believed that "long running" is harmful, as it spoils the figure and interferes with the harmonious development of the human body. And harmony bodily and spiritual - kalokagafiya - was a universally recognized ideal for the ancient Greeks.

The runners competed not for time, as they do today, but for speed. Since, in addition to speed, dexterity and hand strength were also valued, starting from the 18th Olympiad, the “pentathlon” appeared in the program: competitions in running, long jump, discus throwing, javelin throwing, and also wrestling. It was believed that these exercises have the most beneficial effect on harmonious development human body.

They jumped in length, holding dumbbells in their hands for a more confident arm swing and leaving clear footprints at the landing site. The disk was bronze, 24-36 cm in diameter, weighing 4-6 kg (the diameter of the current disk is 21.9-22.1 cm and weighs 2 kg).

A spear 120-150 cm long had a leather loop on the shaft - a belt that helped the athlete increase the flight speed in the right direction.

The wrestlers competed on a platform covered with a half-meter layer of sand to prevent injury to athletes. In competitions, dexterity was more valued than brute strength.

- at the 23rd Olympic Games (688 BC), fisticuffs were included in the competition program;
– at the 25th Olympic Games (680 BC) chariot races (drawn by four adult horses) were added. Over time, this type of program expanded, in the 5th-4th centuries. BC. races of chariots harnessed by a pair of adult horses, young horses or mules began to be held;
- at the 33rd Olympic Games (648 BC), horse racing appeared in the program of the Games.

In the middle of the III century. BC. foal races also began to be held, as well as pankration - martial arts that combined elements of wrestling and fisticuffs with minimal restrictions on "forbidden tricks" and in many ways reminiscent of modern fights without rules.

Young fans of pentathlon and fisticuffs had to wait, respectively, for the 38th and 41st Olympiads.

At the 65th Olympiad, a "combat run" (hopliten) was introduced in full armor - with a shield, sword and helmet.

In addition to athletic competitions, an art competition was also held at the Olympic Games, from the 84th Games (444 BC), which became an official part of the program.

Starting from the 96th Olympiad, in addition to athletes, trumpeters and heralds began to perform at the stadium - challenging the honorable right to call participants to the start and announce the names of the winners.

Returning to the sports side of the Olympic Games - let's call the toughest type of competition - pankration, in which freestyle wrestling was combined with fistfight, and allowed any tricks possible in the rivalry of unarmed men. It was introduced at the 33rd Olympiad.

"Athletics" in ancient Greece was called professional sports, fashionable between the 40th and 90th Olympiads, but not related to Olympic competitions lovers.

Ancient athletes simply performed for money in front of the public, who especially loved the cruel pankration, which sometimes led to the death of participants who wrapped their hands with belts with metal plaques.

Little is known about the sports results of ancient Olympionists. The famous discus thrower Feilos, who threw a projectile at 29.3 m. It was reported about the winner of the 28th and 31st Olympiads, the Spartan Khionis, who jumped 16.7 m in length, if we translate the then measures of length into modern ones.

By the way, trouble happened to one countryman of the Olympionika jumper. He was fined a large sum of money for absent-mindedly taking a sword to Olympia. It was strictly forbidden to carry weapons within the holy city of the world.

The right to participate in the Olympics was the privilege of every free Greek. Foreigners and slaves were not allowed to compete, but they were sometimes allowed to be present at the stadium as spectators.

Tsar Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, was proud that his subjects received the right to participate in the Olympics and thus were recognized as true Hellenes. During the period of Roman rule over Greece, judges allowed the emperors Tiberius and Nero to participate in the Games. Speaking in competitions of charioteers and poet-artists, Nero was declared the winner. They say he was "played along". Well, times have changed for the principled Greeks - not to fat, to be alive.

And before, all violations of the rules of the Olympic Games were strictly punished, and often in a purely ancient Greek style. The Temple of the Mother of the Gods in Olympia had a special terrace for the so-called "penalty statues".

They were supposed to be put by the states whose representatives violated the rules of the competition. After the scandal at the 112th Olympiad, Athens was forced to put them - six, as a citizen of the republic, Calippus, tried to bribe his pentathlon rivals.

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.

Modern pentathlon is a unique, diverse and harmonious sport so that its origin from the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece is beyond doubt. Modern pentathlon is called "real olympic view sports” in the first place, meaning its exceptional compliance with the ideals of Olympism.

Ancient pentathlon (pentathlon)

Whoever has faster and more enduring legs is the runner.
Whoever has the strength to squeeze an opponent in a vice is that wrestler.
And who can hit the opponent powerful blow- that fist fighter.
Well, if someone is a master in everything, he participates in PENTATHOLE.
This is how Aristotle wrote about the athletes created by the pentacle. After all, the pentathlon is a true Greek passion, the creator of beauty. The Greeks invented pentathlon competitions to show the whole of Ancient Hellas the best and most versatile athletes. The ancient pentathlon consisted of overcoming five trials in turn during one day: running for 1 stages (192m, 25cm), long jumps with halters, javelin throwing, discus throwing and wrestling. It was first included in the program of the ancient Olympics in 708 BC. e. The first winner in this sport is Lampis of Sparta.

Types of competitions in the ancient pentathlon

Run
An ordinary run, in which it was necessary to run 1 stage in a race. The length of the stage was 600 feet, and because of different size the measuring step varied from 175 to 192.27 cm. It is noteworthy that the largest stage was just the same in Olympia - 192m 27cm. This can be partly explained by the fact that, according to legend, he measured it himself Hercules For jogging, young men who were engaged in hunting or were shepherds were most often chosen, since their lifestyle developed the qualities necessary for runners. The lord of poets and the poet of lords Pindar sang about the progenitor of all athletics:

“Do not look in the half-day desert ether
The stars are brighter than the shining sun
Do not look for competition, worthy of a song,
Than the Olympic run.

Long jump
The jumps of the ancient Greeks were not like the modern flying of athletes. Usually they jumped from a hill into the distance without a run, but only waved their arms with lead weights (halters) before jumping in order to give the body acceleration. The weight of the halter was from 1.6 to 4.6 kg, depending on body weight. Several of these weights have survived to our times and are an undoubted find.

Javelin-throwing
As for javelin throwing, this art was studied mainly for military purposes. Usually throwing included two types: at a distance and at a target. The pentathlon program included throwing at a distance. The spear was wooden, as long as a man, pointed in front with an iron tip to shift the center of gravity and increase flight speed, but lighter than a warrior's spear.

Discus throw
The discus throwing technique was not much different from the modern one. A disk was a metal (at first stone) circle, flattened along the edges in the form of lentils, solid or drilled in the middle with a diameter of 17 to 32 cm and a mass of 1.3 to 6.6 kg. The surviving ancient statues of discus throwers acquaint us with the position of the body taken when throwing and the method of swing. Obviously, the most famous in this series is the statue of Myron - "Discobolus". This statue, which has come down to us only in a Roman copy, strikes, first of all, with the harmonious position of the athlete's tense body. Myron was the first to depict the body of a young man captured at the moment of movement. His Disco Thrower swung a heavy disk, his body bent, tense, like a spring ready to straighten.

Struggle
Greek wrestling practically did not differ from modern Greco-Roman wrestling, although it had some of its own characteristics. Distinguished between the fight "standing" and "lower fight". In the “standing” fight, the one who knocked the opponent to the ground three times took the upper hand, and in the “lower fight”, the opponent himself recognized himself as defeated. To increase the difficulty of the struggle, the naked bodies of the wrestlers were smeared with oil and sprinkled with fine sand.

Undoubtedly, in order to become a winner in the pentathlon, one had to skillfully master such a variety of exercises that a victory won in the pentathle was valued to a greater extent than in other types of competitions. The winner of this competition received the title "Victor Ludorum". And it is not surprising that the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle himself wrote about the athletes created by the pentacle: “The most perfect athletes, of course, are engaged in pentathlon, since in their body strength and speed are combined in perfect harmony.”

Two types of all-around events were born from pentathlon - track and field and modern pentathlon, including shooting, fencing, swimming, horseback riding and running. And it was the second that retained the character that was inherent in the ancient pentathlon - the idea of a pentathlete as a perfect athlete. If the pentathlon of the Hellenes included competitions in which they could show all their superiority, then the modern pentathlon began to include disciplines that, in their unity, contribute to the development of a harmonious personality. Shooting develops mental stability. Fencing is a reaction, which means the ability to make the only important and right decision out of many options in a matter of seconds and implement it. Swimming and running are developed by many physical qualities and build character. Not to mention equestrian sport, which remains the only thin thread connecting with nature, which is increasingly moving away from man.

“Pentathlon is not just a sport,” said the Honored Master of Sports and Olympic champion Pavel Lednev. – great art to be on top in five disciplines. A pentathlete must look elegant on a horse, have excellent reaction in fencing, composure in shooting, speed endurance in swimming, and the ability to endure and endure everything in cross-country running.”

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