The Ancient lympics By Briana

 The  The Olympics happen every four years.  Usually  Usually on July or August, depending on the date of the second full moon after the summer solstice.  It  It was always hot while competing in the Olympics.  They  They were held near Pisa.  It  It lasted 5 days.

 The ancient Olympic prizes were much different than those of today.  The Olympics of today would give out many medals.  The ancient Olympics would only crown first place winners.  Ancient Olympians would gain fame and treasure.  The would receive annual stipends, along with the best oils, free meals, theater seats hometown parades, and statues.  Also got to go down in history as champions.

 Both athletes and coaches had the goal to win.  Coaches trained the athletes very hard for a very long time.  Coaches could accompany their athletes to the stage, but not naked.  That changed because of Pherenike.  She had succeeded in passing herself as her son’s male trainer.  While jumping the gate, her identity was discovered.  Because her son was victorious, she was not sentenced to death.

 First, competitors had to go to the city of Elis a month before the games  Once they were there, they had to go through a tough training regiment specially designed to pick out those who weren’t worthy of Olympic standards.  No shame was brought upon you if you decided to drop out before the games.  Dropping out during the live games meant you were humiliated for life.

 Athletes wanted to have all the chances of winning.  So they even made special diets.  Traditional diets were: olives, bread, feta cheese, and a reasonable amount of meat.  Some doctors would even say not to eat pork that had been raised from certain barriers.  Magic was also a choice, eating lizards in a certain way(supposable) would give off magical effects.

 Most athletes would compete totally naked.  This started because of one single runner.  This runner lost his race because of his loincloth.  While he was running, he tripped on it.  So other athletes would just take theirs off and compete totally naked.  This was so the same mistake wouldn’t happen again.  Boys would walk around naked when entering manhood.

 Although the Olympics was very famous, it did not make any profits.  Local farmers and producers made tons of cash.  There was no entrance fee.  The organizers were not in it for the money but for making an important event in the ancient Greek world.

 Other less active games were also played.  They included dice, marbles, knucklebones, and checkers.  These games were also taken very seriously, but they were not as famous.

 The Olympics were open to any free born in the Greek World.  The men's division and the boys division were separated by their sizes.  After the games, they would clean themselves up by rubbing oils over their bodies and scraping the mix of oil, sweat and dirt with a strigil.

Women  Of course women were not allowed to compete in any of the events.  Married women were not even allowed to be there.  If a married women was found watching, then they would be killed.  Fathers would bring their daughters to the competitions so they could marry a champion.

Women Competing  Some women wanted to do more than watch the games; some wanted to compete.  Sports for women were held in Olympia, just like the Olympics.  These were played in honor of Hera, Zeus's wife.  They wore short tunics to run.  Women competing was getting so popular that boxing for women was not uncommon in Sparta.

Aside from the constant battles, the Olympics was a time when the Greeks could come together without fighting and just compete. It was and is a very important part of our culture. Since it only comes once every four years, we have to appreciate it more and thank the people who though of it…the Greeks.

The Events Pentathlon The Pentathlon became an Olympic sport with the addition of wrestling in 708 B.C., and included the following: Running / Jumping / Discus Throw Running Running contests included: the stade race, which was the pre-eminent test of speed, covering the Olympia track from one end to the other (200m foot race), the diaulos (two stades - 400m foot race), dolichos (ranging between 7 and 24 stades). Jumping Athletes used stone or lead weights called halteres to increase the distance of a jump. They held onto the weights until the end of their flight, and then jettisoned them backwards. Discus throw The discus was originally made of stone and later of iron, lead or bronze. The technique was very similar to today's freestyle discus throw.

The Events Wrestling This was highly valued as a form of military exercise without weapons. It ended only when one of the contestants admitted defeat. Boxing Boxers wrapped straps (himantes) around their hands to strengthen their wrists and steady their fingers. Initially, these straps were soft but, as time progressed, boxers started using hard leather straps, often causing disfigurement of their opponent's face. Pankration This was a primitive form of martial art combining wrestling and boxing, and was considered to be one of the toughest sports. Greeks believed that it was founded by Theseus when he defeated the fierce Minotaur in the labyrinth. Equestrian events These included horse races and chariot races and took place in the Hippodrome, a wide, flat, open space.