LONDON SUMMER OLYMPICS 2012 offically called the GAMES OF XXX OLYMPIAD began in London United Kingdom last July 27, 2012 and will end on August 12, 2012.
Around 10,500 athletes from 204 National Olympics Committee (NOCs) are expected to participate the 2012 Summer Olympic programme which features 26 sports and a total of 39 disciplines.
BUT HOW WAS OLYMPIC GAMES DURING THE ANCIENT TIMES?
The ancient Olympic Games
were a series of athletics competitions among represen-tatives of various city- states of Ancient Greece. They were held in honor of Zeus, and the Greeks gave them a mythological origin. Historical records indicate that they began in 776 BC in Olympia. The games were usually held every four years, or olympiad, which became a unit of time in historical chronologies.
(wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Olympic_Games)
During the celebration of the games, an Olym-
pic Truce was enacted so
that athletes could travel from their countries to the games in safety. No one was allowed to carry
weapons into Olympia.The ancient Olympics had fewer events than the modern games, and only free men who spoke Greek could compete. As long as they met the
entrance criteria, athletes from any country or city-state were allowed
to participate. (wikipedia.org/wikiAncient_Olympic_Games)
The Games were held in honour of Zeus,
king of the gods and on the middle day of the games, 100 oxen would be sacrificed to him. Over time Olympia, site of the games, became a central spot for the worship of the head of the Greek Pantheon and a temple, built by the Greek architect Libon was erected on the mountaintop.
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/ancient_greeks/the_olympic_games/)
In 776 BC, There was just one event, a race over a distance called a stade. A
stade was about 180 metres, nearly the length of the stadium at Olympia. The race was won
by a young cook, Coroebus, from Elis.
Over the centuries, new events
were introduced, such as wrestling, the long jump, the discus throw and chariot racing.
the period of competition expanded to five days, and the festivals lasted a month.
(http://library.thinkquest.org/20622/the.htm)
Chariot racing was one of the event. There were both 2-horse chariot and 4-horse chariot races, with separate
races for chariots drawn by foals. Another race was between carts
drawn by a team of 2 mules. The course was 12 laps around the stadium
track (9 miles).
(http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/wrestling.html)
Wrestling like the modern sport, an athlete needed to throw his opponent on the
ground, landing on a hip, shoulder, or back for a fair fall. 3 throws
were necessary to win a match. Biting was not allowed, and genital
holds were also illegal. Attacks such as breaking your opponent's
fingers were permitted.
(http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/wrestling.html)
The winner of an Olympic event was awarded an olive wreath
and often was received with much honour throughout Greece, especially
in his home town, where he was often granted large sums of money (in
Athens, 500 drachma, a small fortune) and prizes including vats of olive oil. Sculptors would create statues of Olympic victors, and poets would sing odes in their praise for money.(wikipedia.org/wikiAncient_Olympic_Games)
They continued to be celebrated when Greece came under Roman rule, until the emperor Theodosius I suppressed them in 394 AD as part of the campaign to impose Christianity as the state religion of Rome. (wikipedia.org/wikiAncient_Olympic_Games)
NOW YOU KNOW...peace..
