History of ancient Olympic Games
From 776 BC to 394 AD, the ancient Olympic Games lasted for 1168 years and was held for 293 times. According to its origin and rise and fall, it can be roughly divided into three periods:
(1) From 776 BC to 388 BC, in 776 BC, Evy Tus, the ruler of the Peloponnesus, tried to integrate religion with sports. It not only innovates religious ceremonies, but also organizes large-scale sports competitions and activities, and decides to hold them every four years. The time is set after the summer solstice of leap year. Therefore, the ancient Olympic Games in 776 BC officially went down in history and became the first session of the ancient Olympic Games. There was only one event. Site run, with a distance of 192.27 meters.
Although there were disputes among the city-states in this period, Greece was an independent country with developed politics, economy and culture, which was the golden age of the Games. Especially in 490 BC, after Athens, Greece, defeated the Persian army in the Marathon Valley, the people’s feelings were vigorous, and the national prestige was greatly enhanced. Many sports facilities and temples were built, and the contestants spread all over the Greek city-States. The Olympic Games was at its peak and became the biggest festival in Greece.
(2) From 388 BC to 146 BC, it began to decline. Due to the long Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens (from 431 BC to 404 BC), Greece’s national strength was greatly reduced, and Macedonia gradually annexed Greece. Philip, the king of Macedonia, also took part in horse racing by himself. Later, Alexander the Great actively supported the Olympic Games, although he didn’t like sports activities, and regarded it as the highest opening ceremony of sports activities in ancient Greece, adding facilities for it. However, during this period, the spirit of the ancient Olympic Games has greatly faded, and professional athletes began to appear.
(3) From 146 BC to 394 AD, the ancient Olympic Games went from decline to destruction. After the Roman Empire ruled Greece, Olympic Games were still held at first, but Olympia was not the only place to compete. For example, in the 175th Olympic Games in 80 BC, Rome’s economic laws called excellent athletes to compete in Rome, while Olympia only held junior competitions. At this time, professional athletes began to appear in large numbers, and the Olympic Games became a competition for professional athletes, and the Greeks lost interest in it. After the 2nd century A.D., Christianity ruled the whole of Europe, including Greece, advocating asceticism, advocating the separation of soul and body, and opposing sports, which made Europe in a dark age, and the Olympic Games declined even more, until it existed in name only. In 393 AD, the Roman emperor Theodosius I declared Christianity as the state religion, and thought that the ancient Olympic Games were against the purpose of Christianity and were pagan activities. The following year, he announced the abolition of the ancient Olympic Games. In 895 AD, the Byzantines fought fiercely with the Goethe’s Alphonse River, which destroyed all the facilities in Olympia. In 426 AD, Theodosius II burned the remnants of the Olympia building. In 522 and 511, two strong earthquakes occurred one after another, which completely destroyed Olympia. In this way, the ancient Olympic Games, which has been postponed for more than 1000 years, no longer exists, and the prosperous Olympia has become a ruin.
Competition schedule and events of ancient Olympic Games
From the 1st session, the ancient Olympic Games decided to be held once every four years, and each session lasted only one day. With the increasing number of events, since the 22nd ancient Olympic Games, the organizers decided to change the competition time to 3 days, and the whole duration will be 5 days with the opening ceremony, closing ceremony and celebration activities. The number of events increased as pentathlon (discus, javelin, long jump, wrestling and running), boxing, wrestling, chariot racing and horse racing.
The ancient Olympic Games were held in 293 sessions from the first session in 776 BC to 394 BC, all of which were held in the Olympia Stadium in ancient Greece. The playing field is built next to the hill in the north of the Alphonse Valley. After renovation, the hill became a stand, which could initially accommodate 20,000 spectators, and then expanded to 45,000 people, with 160 VIP seats. The playing field is 212 meters long and 32 meters wide, and the runway is 192.25 meters long. The surface has not been specially treated, and the starting place is paved with marble. There is a driving range in the southwest of the stadium, which is surrounded by stone pillars to form a courtyard. A conference hall, dressing room and bathroom are built on one side. There is also a 770m× 320m racecourse for horse racing and carriage racing.
Punishment rules of ancient Olympic Games
The rules of the ancient Olympic Games were very strict, and offenders were severely punished. This shows their sense of honor and disgrace. The ancient Greeks believed that the Olympic Games were sacred, and winning aboveboard was the most glorious. On the contrary, it is a blasphemy against the sacred cause.
The ancient Olympic Games hated cheaters. At the 90th ancient Olympic Games, a player named Lihas won the championship. He claimed to be a Spartan, but after verification, he was from another city-state, so he was ranked. In the ancient Olympic Games, hell to pay was the one who paid bribes. Not only should he be deprived of the title of champion, but he should also be fined heavily to warn people, and the fine was used to carve the statue of Zeus. At the 98th ancient Olympic Games, a boxer won by bribing three other opponents, and all four were fined heavily. The organizers of the ancient Olympic Games carved four statues of Zeus with the fines of these four people, and one of them was engraved with the following warning: Olympic victory cannot be bought with money, but depends on fast feet and strong body.
Characteristics of ancient Olympic Games
The ancient Olympic Games had three characteristics. First, the ancient Olympic Games was an all-Greek comprehensive event with rich and colorful contents. Including offering sacrifices to Zeus, worshipping and celebrating the birthday of gods, poets reciting works, speakers delivering speeches, and developing market trade, sports competition is only one of them. The Second Ancient Olympic Games is a part of Greek national culture, which has played a positive role in uniting people of all ethnic groups, safeguarding national unity, reducing and stopping wars, and has a very close relationship with politics. Thirdly, determined by the ancient Greek customs, artistic style, geographical environment and material production, "naked sports" is a major feature of it. During the competition, naked athletes are required to be covered with olive oil, so that their bodies will shine under the sunlight, their muscles will be more elastic, and their bodybuilding posture will be more displayed, so that people can enjoy beauty from it.
In addition, the rules of the ancient Greek Olympic Games stipulated that women were forbidden to participate in and visit the games, and violators were subject to capital punishment. There are two reasons: First, in most events of the ancient Olympic Games, athletes were required to compete naked for a long time, and it was indecent for women to be present. Second, sports competitions in ancient Greece were one of the contents of religious celebrations, and women were not allowed to attend. It is said that the original athletes in the ancient Olympic Games competed in animal skins. In a competition, a player wearing a lion’s skin accidentally dropped the lion’s skin to the ground, and he suddenly became naked, but he did not affect his competition. Finally, he defeated his opponent and won the olive crown. In this unexpected "accident", people found that nudity can better reflect muscle fitness and appreciate a special charm, so it is stipulated that all naked competitions will be held in the future.
Naked sports is a unique feature of ancient Greek culture and art, with a long history. The "era of power" in ancient Greek history refers to this period. This is reflected in the works of ancient Greek sculptors and artists, whose works depict naked people. At that time, muscular and strong, it was recognized as a symbol of beauty.
Award ceremony of ancient Olympic Games
The awarding ceremony of the ancient Olympic Games was solemn and grand. The awarding platform is located in front of the statue of Zeus, and the olive crown is placed on a special tripod. When awarding prizes, the reporter first announces the athletes’ names, competition results, the city-state to which they belong and the names of the athletes’ parents. Then the emcee led the winner to the host, who got up, took the olive crown off the tripod and put it on the winner. At this time, the audience sang, recited poems, played music, cheered and threw flowers at the athletes. Although the rewards for winning athletes in the ancient Olympic Games have been changed many times, the principles are all focused on spiritual rewards. There are also material rewards, but they are quite meager.
Taking the olive branch as the spirit of the ancient Olympic Games and as a symbol of the Olympic spirit has profound implications and far-reaching influence. The ancient Greeks believed that the olive tree was brought to the world by Athena, the patron saint of Athens, and it was a symbol of peace and happiness given to mankind by God. Therefore, the olive crown woven with olive branches is the most sacred prize, and it is the highest honor to get it. It is said that the olive branch used to weave the laurel must be cut from the sacred tree by a 12-year-old child whose parents are still alive, and then carefully compiled.
After the awarding ceremony in Olympia, the winners can return home one after another. At this time, the city-states will also organize grand celebrations for the triumphant return of their winners. Later, Greece also stipulated that the winning athletes should be exempted from their obligations to the country, and honorary seats should be set up for them in theaters or festivals. Individual city-states also gave lifetime allowances to meritorious athletes.
The flame of the ancient Olympic Games
Before the ancient Olympic Games, according to religious regulations, people gathered in front of temple of olympian zeus, held a solemn ceremony, lit the torch from the altar, and then went to Greek city-states. Torchbearers held the torch high and ran, shouting: stop all wars and take part in the sports meeting! The torch, like a strict command, has supreme power. Wherever the torch goes, the war goes out. Even in the fierce fighting, the city-states laid down their weapons one after another, and the holy truce began. Greece resumed a peaceful life, and people forgot their hatred and war, and all rushed to Olympia to participate in the Olympic Games.
Editing and proofreading: ceshi1
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