The Need For More Worldwide Attention

The Olympic Games of ancient Greece were very different than those we hold today. The games of ancient times were skewed to benefit the powerful and wealthy. Although any male who completed 10 months of prior training could compete in the games (8), it was likely that if an emperor was also competing that no matter the circumstance the emperor would

Ancient Olympics originated in a religious way and influenced modern Olympics greatly in many forms. The Olympics were a very important part of Greek culture because it honored their god, Zeus. Gods played an important role in the ancient Olympics but slowly started focusing more on competition. Like today, participating in the Olympics was a great honor and the winners were well rewarded and respected. The Olympics have brought people together for several years to compete and have fun, at least for the viewers. The Olympics started off from naked Greek men, to all genders and ethnicities competing.

According to Disabled Spots USA, “National Handicapped Sports and Recreation Association renamed Disabled Sports USA in 1994. It has 91 chapters and 36 states in the United States. It gives sports and recreation programs not only the military people who get serious physical disabling because of their mission, but also people who have disability.” There are 303 million people, who have either mental disabilities or physical disabilities, living in the United States. “Disabled Sports USA provided sports and recreation programs to over 60,000 youth and adults who have some disabilities now according to Australian Paralympic Committee. ” Disabled people, who do some physical activity, are possible to spend happy life compare with disabled people, who did not do any activities. According to Disabled USA’ survey said, “The survey found that DSUSA Chapter Participants (CP) are twice as likely to be employed as the general population of adults with disabilities (68% vs. 33%). ”

As a human with no physical or learning disabilities, the culture and lifestyle of those with disabilities is still new to me. After watching Murderball, a documentary that focuses on the U.S. quadriplegic rugby team, I was happy to find out that there are still many opportunities for disabled individuals to participate in sports. Through dedication and training, it seemed that anything was possible for these athletes. Unfortunately, it appears that those with mental/learning disabilities are not presented with as equal opportunities for success in sports. Lauren McKeon’s “Why Won’t You Let Me Play?” focuses on the discrimination that takes place within the Special Olympics. After looking at the Paralympics and Special Olympics through the lenses of Murderball and “Why Won’t You Let Me Play”, it has become clear that people with disabilities do not have equal opportunities in sports, but this issue is not only prevalent in sports. Special Olympic athletes seem to face far greater exclusion compared to Paralympic athletes in athletics, daily life, and American culture.

The olympics were one of the greece favorite things they were celebrating it in honor of there gods like in todays olympics it took place every four years in olympia the first olympics was said to be held in 700 B.C. in honor of zeus and women could not watch the games on only greeks could participate. In 472 B.C. the games went from a one day festival to a five days with many

For a vast number of Greeks and Romans, either taking part in or observing sports was a fundamental part of life. In 776 B.C. the ancient Olympics began and are now viewed as the formal beginning of Greco-Roman sports, the Olympics were the most famous and long-lasting of all ancient games. The athletic contest initially included running, jumping, and throwing. During the first several Olympiads there was not a formal stadium available for the athletes instead, the judges drew a line in the dirt to mark the start and another line to mark the finish. Unlike the Olympics now, the only people that could participate in the ancient Olympics were free white males. Women and slaves could not even watch the games, but by the first century B.C. women were permitted to watch the games and even participate in a few women’s only events. Wrestling and boxing were some other popular sports that became evident in Ancient Rome, wrestling was so important in Greece that by the fifth century, almost every town had a wrestling facility and became the most important component of physical education. Greeks and Romans only practiced who types of wrestling upright and ground. Boxing was the most dangerous of the two sports and the goal was to pound one’s opponent into submission. Lastly, back

The documentary is biased source of information because it only pertains to those who are paraplegic, and not to others who may be quadriplegic. One bias that should be made aware, is that not everyone who has a disability or physical impairment, will be able to engage in athletic events. The documentary may give off the impression that one may still be able to engage in physical activity, yet it may not be applicable to everyone, especially those who are quadriplegic. Another biases that may form, may be that people who are quadriplegic or paraplegic suffer from the same type of health issues. Although both types of people may rely on wheelchairs or a tool to assist in mobility, there is a major difference between the two. First, paraplegic and quadriplegic injuries both affect the spinal cord, yet those who are paraplegic are paralyze mainly from the waist down. Quadriplegics do have the ability to move all four limbs of the body as those who are paraplegic. By understanding these differences, one may be more aware of the different types of disabilities that are prevalent in our

Greeks were the first people to formally introduce athletic contests all the way back in the eighth century B.C., and they actually became more and more popular until they were finally a central part of life in ancient Greece by the time they reached the fifth century A.D. Back then, organized athletic games were part of religious festivals held all over the Greek lands where they worshiped the gods. However, nowadays they are just a way of entertainment for most people. Team games were not very common during the emergence of athletic games because they were of very little interest to the Greeks. They preferred to participate in contests as individuals to demonstrate their own personal excellence. Also, throughout Greek’s history, all contestants were males. This is a very different story in modern society because many women are recognized as some of the best athletes in the world today, and they have become much more athletically involved, driven, and competitive over the years. The only events that were performed during the early age of athletics were what we now know as track and field events. They ran some of the same races as we still do today, and they do some of the same field events as us, too, such as the long jump, the discus throw, and the javelin throw, which is less widely performed today than it once was. Without ancient Greece, we also would not have the Olympic Games. They

The Olympic Games have been going on for centuries. In the past, they had fewer sports than they do today. In the early years of the Olympics only men were able to participate. One important game was the horse races. In the article " A Day at the Races in the Old Olympic Way", explains that horse races were held on a wide, open, flat space. The Chariot races were 12 laps, which is the same distance as nine miles. the Hippodrome horse races lasted six laps, which is about 4.5 miles. Horse races were the most common back then. Women who were married weren't able to attend the games. Just like today, many things were not cheap. People who attended in the games and Olympic horse races, were very wealthy people. They would have to pay expenses

According to the title ‘My Paralympic Blues’ one might think that it is about people with disabilities participating in sports but, that is not only what this article has to offer. It is about something more deep, something like, raising awareness about the feeling of a disabled person. It is about “them” (Black 1). In this article, Emily Black talks about how the lives of disabled people are often misunderstood and, what ways the misunderstandings are wrong.

Around 3,000 years ago in 776 BC the first Olympic games were held. Of course this soon became a popular and well known event that made many people all over Greece want to see and try it. Unfortunately though, not everybody could participate or even watch the competitors strive to win glory. This caused many people to react in different ways, especially if there were rules that differed between the different genders.

With the almost no recognition of classical studies in the last part of the 20th century, most educated individuals know almost nothing about the Ancient Greeks. One exception to this general ignorance, however, is the near worldwide knowledge that the Ancient Greeks had a powerful love of competition and sporting events to test the strength and power of the individual. The Ancient Olympic Games are normally dated to 776 B.C.; but we know that Greek athletic competition had a long history before this recorded date. Homer devoted much of the Book 23 of the Iliad to an account of the games played at funerals, really sporting events that Achilles gave in honor of his dead friend, Patroclus.

Did you know that there is a Paralympic Games! Just like the real Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games are for people who can not walk due to a disability. The only reason the Paralympic Games are possible, is due to the fact that wheelchair technology has advanced. The new technology has enabled physically challenged athletes to participate in sports. The new technology not only allows people to be athletic, but it also has inspired many people around the world. The most important thing it has done, is that it has allowed kids to live their dream.

"A Visitor 's Guide to the Ancient Olympics" Ebrary. March 2012. p. 154, 2, http://site.ebrary.com/lib/alltitles/docDetail.action?docID=10551242&p00=ancientolympics. There was a particular way these Olympic judges were chosen. For instance, the “Elis selections procedure” entirely involved “the election by popular vote of a group of respectable property owners” which caused the “citizens to vote tribe by tribe.” Then, all of the names were “inscribed on potsherds and placed in a large ceramic vessel.” Henceforth caused a decision to be made “of the nine judges". Faulkner, Neil. "A Visitor 's Guide to the Ancient Olympics." p.154, 3. In like manner, the contestants that participated in this events were required to undergo a long period of training, including the judges. Their training varied depending on the contest they decided to enter and one of the requirements was to compete completely nude. Another requirement was that they had to “swear that they were a freeman, of pure Hellenic blood, did not propose to win by any unfair means” and that “neither they nor immediate their immediate relatives had been guilty of any outlaw or sacrilegious act.” Bill Henry, "History of the Olympic Games," p.11, 4. In all, this is the basic history of the Ancient Olympic games.

First day, in the morning, athletes gathered the front of statue of Zeus and swore not to cheat on the game and it followed to running, wrestling and boxing for boys. But, it wasn’t really official events. In the afternoon, some people made some speeches. The men would make offerings to a god Zeus, Hermes, Apollo, or Hercules. They prayed for victory Today’s Olympics also have a ceremony on the first day on Olympics.