Alpakia History

Miller’s purpose for writing the book Ancient Greek Athletics is to teach the audience about ancient Greek Games and how this important subject can teach us more about our own world. He accomplishes this goal by using the artifacts he has studied along with the history itself to guide the audience in their journey toward appreciating Greek heritage. In this book, Miller addresses the Olympic Games that began more than twenty-five hundred years ago. I learned many different things throughout this book including: the participants, all the different athletic

Cahokia is an ancient city established around c. 700-1500. It was a city built along the entire Mississippi River. It was a major city with 20,000-30,000 people and was a major trade center. It had a social structure set up by royalty, a Theocracy. Mesa Verde on the other hand was inhabited by the Anasazi in c.1100-1300. It was built mostly under cliffs and housed thousands. They were both similar in the time periods they inhabited and both had over thousands of people. Both planted corn but the Anasazi planted the three sister crops together while the people of Cahokia main crop was corn. Both societies had taken notice of the ancient supernova of 1054. This let scientist know that both civilization inhabited around such period. Also, showed

All empires sought to foster an imperial identity that transcended more local identities and loyalties.

In 776 B.C a new era began for athletes. The first olympic games were held in Olympia, Greece. “The ancient games were not only an expression and definition of common cultural values, but also an arena for intense competition between Greeks.” (Gold, silver, and bronze) The olympics were an important part of Ancient Greece culture because, it brought their civilization together, kept the greeks fit and ready for war, and the games were used to satisfy their gods.

The Lenca tribe is the largest indigenous group still in Honduras with about a population of 100,000. Much of their culture has been lost, such as their language. But not everything has been lost and something that still thrives today is their pottery. This has survived time by generations of mothers passing down this artistry to their daughters. Although, today the pottery still maintains Lenca tradition, they also incorporate modern style. These vases, bowls, and pots are decorated with geometric designs and the use of spotting . Spotting traditionally is meant to represent the spots on the moon. The usual color combinations are black and white, dark orange and black, or coffee brown and black. The women are able to stay home and make pottery

The Hopewell people were a religious cult like civilization that lasted from 200 BC to 500 AD. Who flourished in Northeastern and Midwestern America around rivers. Some objects we have found from this civilization include a mica hand, pipes, copper spider, pots, copper falcons, and a bird head. They were actually first known as the Adena civilization, but later became the Hopewell.

The Greeks set up athletic events in honor of Zeus for which the Olympics was made.

When did all of this start in America? According to Hilary Friedman of The Atlantic, it started about one hundred years ago in the streets of the big cities. Most of the first participants were poor or immigrant children that were not in school and were simply filling time by starting games and keeping themselves occupied. Those of a more fortunate means were typically engaged in music, dance, or other non-competitive activities. Friedman continues to explain that there began to be a concern for these youth and that they needed good examples to teach them “American” values of cooperation, hard work, and respect for authority. So, in 1903 New York City’s Public School Athletic League for

Today’s sports came from 3,500 years ago. They were influenced from one sport long ago that is still played to this day. The game ulama was the first known team sport and influenced all in today's age. The game was played a millennium before the first Olympic Games. This game was played by the Mesoamerican tribes in Central America. More specifically the Olmec, Mayan, and the Aztec tribes in Central America. The Aztecs called the game Tlachtli and the Mayans called it Pok a Tok. It is believed that this special game spread to Paraguay into present day Arizona. Ulama has very interesting background, religious standings, and incredible game play (Hill).

Following alongside these events was also the creation of the coliseum, which the people in this present day also find to be very important to sports and athletics, obviously with more of them

The ancient Olympic Games started when Koroibos, a cook from the close-by city of Elis, won the 600 feet long foot race in the stadium. This race was the only athletic competition of the Olympics for the initial thirteen Olympic games until 724 BC. The Olympic Games, initially created to respect Zeus, were the most critical national celebration of the ancient Greeks, and a center of competition among the

"The Olympics are a wonderful metaphor for world cooperation, the kind of international competition that's wholesome and healthy, an interplay between countries that represents the best in all of us,” said John Williams, the composer for theme music for the Olympics (8). The Olympic Games are international sports festivals that began in ancient Greece. The first ancient Olympics can be traced back to 776 BC when people held this religious festival to honour Zeus, the father of all the Greek gods and goddesses. The participants were male citizens from Greece, and these athletes participated in only one event — foot race. Unfortunately, this ancient Olympics did not last forever. The first olympic in 776 BC in Olympia was an significant event

Stephen G. Miller, an expert Yale professor in the field of Ancient Greek athletics states that the Olympics were held “in honor of Zeus in the city of Olympia” (Miller). “The element of religion is evident in this historical event. Many people have heard of the concepts of the Greek Gods, but this level of religious involvement is interesting. These games were held “for four days every fourth summer”, a tradition that partially continues to this day (Miller). “Many festivals in ancient Greece were dedicated to the Gods” (Miller). In addition to the Olympic Games, there were also other athletic festivals which included the Pythian Games at Delphi, the Isthmian at Corinth, and the Nemean at Argos (Miller). However, the Olympics at Olympia were “the oldest and most prestigious of the four great ancient Greek athletic festivals.

While there are clear contrasts between the ancient and the modern Olympics there is still the respect for the athlete striving to perform at the highest level. Today, the Olympic Games are the world's largest carnival of athletic skill and competitive spirit. They are displays of nationalism, commerce, and politics. These important elements of the Olympics are not a modern invention, as the first Olympics was in 776 BC in Ancient Greece. After 1503 years, in 1896 the Olympic Games were recreated as what we know today. The Ancient Games were once dedicated to the Olympian God, Zeus Olympios and were staged on the ancient plains of Olympia, which is also how the word ‘Olympics’ originated from. The modern Olympics is the largest international sporting event, which feature both summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of respectable athletes from over 200 different nations compete against one another. There are clear contrast between the modern and ancient forms of the Olympic Games regarding uniforms, participants, religion, events, politics and the concept of amateurism. However both the Ancient Greeks and the people in the modern world still respect and admire the athletics achievements of the participants making the Olympics the most highly regarded contest in sport.

At first thought, it may be difficult to understand any possible connection between sports and politics. The New International Webster's Dictionary of the English Language defines politics as 'the science of government', and sports as 'a particular game or physical activity pursued for diversion'. On the surface the two concepts have very little in common, yet their connection can be traced to antiquity and the first organized sporting events. The first Olympic games took place in Greece in the ninth century, b.c.e. to worship the gods, win personal glory, and, most importantly, unite the Greek city-states. At that time, Greece was made up of many small, isolated communities which, as they flourished, sought to dominate the others.