How The Olympic Games Changed The Lives Of The Men And Women

The Olympic games originated in Athens in 776 B.C. The more popular modern day Olympic games began nearly 2300 years later in 1896. The games no longer represented a religious festival, but a sports competition instead. The games can be studied via multiple aspects such as political, social, and economic, but this paper will concentrate on the economic aspect of the games and more specifically, the macroeconomic impacts the games possess.

The Olympics have shown over the decades that they can be affected by political conflict. However, it seems that this is the point of the Olympics, to illustrate national pride, by competition. Bloodshed should not be the way for pride of one’s country to be shown, but it should be shown through competition, in the words of the founder of the modern Olympic movement, Pierre de

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

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.

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.

In a nutshell, the Olympics have been massively affected over the time span from 1892 to 2002. Factors that enabled this metamorphosis to take place include: political tensions between countries, economic opportunities that arose, and the social impact through the endorsement of Women’s

In the article “Organized Greek Games “, William J. Baker’s goal is to educate readers on the differences between the ancient Greek Olympic Games, and today’s modern Olympic Games. William Baker not only explains the physical aspects of the games , but the relationship between the Greek religion and the Olympic games as well. William Baker’s article follows his thesis well; which was, “Virtually everyone knows that the modern Olympics are patterned on the Olympic Games of ancient Greece, yet few people have more than a hazy understanding of the original Olympics”.(article,pp58) William Baker wrote the “Organized Greek Games” in chronological order. An example of Baker writing the article chronologically, is when William Baker describes the Greek game 's schedule, and the events that were planned for each day in order. “the duration of the festival was set at five days, with only two and a half days devoted to the games themselves. the first day was given to religious ceremonies.”(article,pp61) In the “Organized Greek Games” William Baker quotes Socrates,“the body must bear its part in whatever man; and in all the services required from the body, it is of the utmost importance to have it in the best possible condition.”(pp.65) Baker got the information from primary sources. Some other primary sources used in the article other than Socrates, are from Milo Crotan, Ancient Philosophers, and Plato. (article,pp.65,66)

There are quite a few factors that shaped the modern-day Olympics from 1892 to 2002. Pierre de Coubertin states that he wanted to create the Olympics to spread world peace. He does this by substituting war for friendly sports competitions (doc 1). Of course, there were some bumps in the road while trying to achieve this utopia. Some factors that have changed the Olympics are the allowing of women being able to compete in the Olympics, women’s suffrage, nationalism, wars, and economic conditions (doc 2-7).

As a sporting mega-event, the Olympic Games have numerous social impacts on the people, not only on those from the host country, but on individuals all over the globe.

"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

Sport plays a huge role in today’s society. It contributes to one’s health and fitness, social interaction, social and motor skills, patriotism, fun and entertainment. It also stimulates the economy and tourism leading to interaction between different cultures, for example the Olympics, and sport role models. Sports clearly are an important part of cultures and societies around the world as such events as the Olympics

The adverse topic of women in sports stems from society's disregard to viewing women as persons. Women were, and in other parts of the world continue to be viewed as property of men and have no significant role in society. Being allowed into the Olympics was a step in the right direction for women across the world, but it was meager attempt equality. Women were still restricted by what events they were allowed to compete in, how they were trained and coached and even limited as to what they could wear. A woman’s femininity played a large role in the way they were perceived by society; weak. Women were seen as incommensurate to men and it was something that has taken us centuries to reverse. Today, women are given the rights we should have

The Olympics have come up with a problem and need a solution fast. The problem is whether the Olympics should have a permanent home or even multiple homes. Or should they stay the same where any country can host the Olympics? Before answering the question think of where and why the Olympics started. Ancient Greece is the birthplace of Olympics about 800 BC and they were later revived in the late 19th century. The first modern Olympics were in 1896 in Athen with 280 participants from 13 nations in 43 events. “The purpose of the modern Olympic Games is to promote peace and unity within the international community through the medium of sports”(reference.com). This quote is exactly right, permanent home deprives countries the chance to show national pride. There are other bonuses to not having permanent homes. It can help a failing country's economy become better and allows them to make history beyond sports. However permanent homes reduce cost of new facilities and it will reduce facilities being abandoned after the games.But in the end hosting the Olympics in different countries allows them to show pride, make history and boost economies, even with the expensive cost.