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)

 

No women were allowed to compete in or even watch the Olympic Games, on pain of death. They had their own festival, in honour of the goddess Hera. it was held every five years, and the chief event was a race for young girls over about 30 metres.  (http://library.thinkquest.org/20622/the.htm)

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..