Greek Informative Speech

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

“Although the ancient Games were staged … from 776 BC through 393 AD, it took 1503 years for the Olympics to return” (The Games). The Olympic Games were very important to the Greeks just like the Games are a huge spectacle for the world now. The Games were always important to the Greeks because the Olympics tied into their religion. The Greeks used the Olympics to worship their gods by showing their strength and gifts that the gods had given them. Once the Greeks lost their empire, the Olympics died off. Modern day people did not warm up to the idea of the Olympics until the 1900s. Once they warmed up to the idea of the Olympics, they took off with it, and it is now a global spectacle. The Olympics has a rich history, significant purpose,

The Ancient Olympic Games took place during a time of prosperity for the nation of Greece. In fact, they contributed to the success of the Greek Empire. The Olympic Games reinforced the power of ancient rulers, brought peace with the surrounding nations, and created a reliable way to track time. These ancient games have had such an influence, that they are still continued in our modern society.

Competition is healthy and athletes train to prepare for the ultimate goal, victory. Today’s athletes have diverse backgrounds, and only need to demonstrate a talent before perfecting their skill. Sports have been around from ancient times to present day, and are an integral part of our society. If modern day athletes knew the outcome of a sporting event could be influenced by the gods, would they still compete? Homer’s epic narratives, Iliad 23 and Odyssey 8, describe athletic contests that occurred in the ancient world (Kyle 53). Homer’s heroes were the athletes, and were held to certain Greek values, they had to be an agathos and have arête in order to compete in sporting events

The olympic games were held every four years and lasted for five days. The first day was for sacrifices and the festivals, while the judges and competitors took oaths of fair dealing. The next three days were competition days, men competed in running, jumping, wrestling, horse and chariot, and pankration. The final day was for sacrifices, and a banquet was held for the winners. The winners received a crown of wild olive. Days before the Olympics people from all over Greece traveled to Olympia and camped on the plains. During this time wars were stopped or postponed three months in advance so everyone could travel to the games safely. The entertainment of the Olympics games brought Ancient Greek civilization together.

The Olympic games were an athletic competition help in Greece around every four years from 776 B.C.E. In 776 B.C.E, the first olympics were held in Athens where many competitors clashed during the sporting events. The olympics then stopped in 393 C.E. due to Theodosius I’s orders on stopping the olympic events. Later during 1896, the modern olympics began to take place. The olympics were different from the ancient olympics in that the competition was shaped due to social, political, and economic reasons.

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

The Olympics is one of the few activities that brings the world together. The Olympics first started in the ancient times, dating back to 776 BC. They were first dedicated to Olympian gods, but modern games are to give athletes an opportunity to show their skill, and for others to enjoy watching them (“History”). The first modern world wide olympics was held in Athens, Greece in 1896, having 14 countries participate, with over 200 total athletes.

warfare, to the styles of art and government. In Ancient Greece, every four years rival city-states would set aside their differences and participate in what we call today The Olympic Games. Even though in present time we don't use the original traditions of Ancient Greece, the very idea of The Olympics Games came from Ancient Greece. The impact of The Olympic Games has made on American history is tremendous. An ancient Greek poet once wrote, “As in the daytime there is no star in the sky warmer and brighter than the sun, likewise there is no competition greater than the Olympic Games.” What the poet is believed to be trying to say is that The Olympic Games is very important for the city-states and always resorts in a positive outcome. Just as present day Olympics, it's a time where countries come together to compete in friendly sports like soccer, basketball, swimming, etc. It's a time of fun and competition between countries. If

At the end of the dark ages in ancient Greece, nothing was more important to Greek men, than reaching their divine potential. At a young age Greek males were taught many legends, such as the Odyssey, which gave them a desire to accomplish their own heroic journey. The importance to be recognized and remembered as a hero surprisingly led to the creation of a religious festival called, the Olympic Games. The Olympic Games created an opportunity for all free men to discover their divine role in society, by letting them present their skills in athletic competitions, which often led to the victors gaining a sense of immortality. The Olympics provided what was needed in the Greek society to continue the teachings of having a sound body and mind in order to fulfill ones divine purpose.

Third, Greece valued competition and because of their desire for the perfect body and their intense passion for competition, they founded the Olympic Games. Modern day society continues to celebrate the Olympic Games, and the games still bring nations together, to converse and share ideas. Additionally, three things remain constant from the original Greek Olympic Games; they are held every four years; they have opening and closing ceremonies, and the winning athletes are still treated with abundant importance. (“The Ancient Olympics.”)

Although the original ancient Olympic Games can be traced back to 776 B.C, Homer’s Iliad indicates they may have existed as early as the twelfth century BC. The Games were then continued for twelve centuries and were devoted to Olympian deities. Olympia turned into the site of these memorable ancient Olympic games that scattered the seeds for the largest global sporting events of current times, the Modern Olympics. The location of the Ancient Olympics is situated in the western part of Peloponnese. The Ancient Olympic Games continued until 393 A.D when Emperor Theodosius I of Rome discontinued them. There were not any more Olympic games for fifteen hundred years before they were resurrected in 1896 in the city of Athens. The man in charge of the recreation of the Olympic games was a Frenchman named Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who introduced the thought in 1894. He proposed to stage the games in Paris in 1900 but representatives, from thirty-four nations were so captivated with the idea that they persuaded him to move the Games up to 1896 and have Athens serve as the host.

"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

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.

One exceptionally significant custom of the Greeks still observed today is the Olympics. These ancient games incorporated a concept of free athletic competition without bloodshed. If the Greeks