The Olympics To Return: A Rich History Of Ancient Greece

The Olympic games began in 776 B.C, as a ceremonial series of events to honor the Greek King of the gods, Zeus. It included sports such as wrestling, chariot races, discus throwing, and javelin. The Olympics in these ancient times, were regarded as extremely important and anyone who had lost had to face severe repercussions from their own countrymen when they went back. However, victors were held in high esteem and were honored greatly when they returned home.

“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.

The Olympics took place in Olympia, which is an ancient Greek sanctuary in the Peloponnese region in Southern Greece. It was located between two rivers, the Alpheus and the Kladeos, Olympia had a mix of religious and athletic facilities. It had the first ever constructed stadium which can hold up to 40,000 people and it also had a hippodrome where great chariot races took place. It is home to one of the seven wonders: The statue of Zeus (Jarus, Owen "Olympia: site of ancient Olympics". The Olympics took place to honor their Greek god Zeus but later started becoming more secular because of new beliefs and because it was adopted by the Romans too.

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.

during a religious festival honoring Zeus. The Olympics were named after the venue Olympia is

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.

The olympics have been around for ages and almost a thousand years in ancient times. According to many people the olympic of ancient times can be traced back to 776 b.c and goes all the way to 393 A.D. The records state that the games were played in the island of pelops. The Games were dominated by the cult followers of zeus. Religion and the games were also stated to be very close in relation.

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.

The purpose of the ancient Greek Olympic Games was not to boost the status of your country like it is today, but to honor the Greek Gods. More specifically to honor the God Zeus, who was also known as “Father of Gods and men. The son of Cronus and Rhea was a wise and fair God who ruled both Heaven and Earth. His official title was King of Mount Olympus which is also the home of the Greek Gods. People worshiped Zeus due to his high authority, and because he controlled lightening and thunder which he used as weapons. Zeus held many titles such as patron of hospitality, keeper of oaths, and God of crops and harvest. The Greeks wanted to insure that they would have good fortune. To do so they went to Greek temples and prayed. Greek Gods were a

"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.

The Olympics today and the ancient Olympics are similar and different in some ways. The celebration of the modern Olympics and the ancient Olympics are the same as they take place after every four years and the competitions are still the same. The same competitions that were there in the past such as javelin, long jump and sprinting among others are still done today.

A quote once said “ You only get one life. It’s actually your duty to live as fully as possible.” ~ Unknown. Ancient Greece is important to learn about because ancient Greece changed their lifestyle to what we use today so we have gotten almost all of our things from ancient Greece. Ancient Greece created the Olympic games. Greek´s started doing the Olympic games because they knew that the Minoans had only done sports like that but Greekś created the Olympics. The first games started in mid-July 776 B.C. In the games they had to compete naked! The Olympicś were held in Olympia in honor of the Greek god Zeus. Every fourth year after that athletes and spectators gathered from across the Greekś place to preform.

In this time, war and arguments were set aside in order to put full focus on the athletes who desperately wanted to prove them selves to their Empire. These Olympics would take place every four years. Originally, the Olympic games were created as a religious festival. In other words they were used to celebrate their god Zeus, who was the father of the Greek gods and goddesses.