5 Facts About the Ancient Olympics
Royal Spectator Seating in the Panathenaic Stadium, Athens
The very first Olympics took place in Olympia, Greece, and it stayed there for nearly 1,200 years. From 776 BC to 393 AD, people from across ancient Greece came together every four years in a raucous, religious festival in honor of Zeus, the king of all the gods. With the 2024 Olympic games starting next week, I wanted to dig into a little bit of the tradition’s history.
1. The Olympics was more important than war
Olive trees, the symbol of peace, were abundant around Olympia and wreaths of their branches would adorn victor’s heads. Being such a religious (and fun!) event, the city-states would put down their weapons for the five days. This created an interesting relationship between the Greeks and war. One tale recounts that in 480 BC the Greeks struggled to build an army to fend off the invading Persians because all the soldiers wanted to take part in the games. This ended up delaying military efforts.
2. A competition of words
There were several famous competitions at the ancient Olympics, including boxing, running, wrestling, jumping, discus, javelin, and chariot racing. However, the athletes were not the only ones fighting with each other. Oration, or giving speeches, was a hallmark of the games. Speeches not only built morale, but also challenged the political prowess of competing city-states. Although war might be on hold during the games, commentary was not. Speakers would criticize Sparta’s control over the other Greek city-states and appeal for peaceful resolutions.
3. Sparta introduced nudity
Not long after the games began, the athletes started taking their clothes off. The first person credited with going nude was a Spartan runner by the name of Acanthus. More Spartans are credited with dropping trou to prevent themselves from tripping over their own loincloths or being held back by it creating drag in the wind. The rest of the athletes stripped down to keep up. Only the charioteers remained clothed, wearing long, white tunics.
4. Corporal punishment awaited cheaters
In the modern Olympics, a false start would be met with disqualification, but in ancient Greece, it would frequently be met with a flogging. Corporal punishment was strictly forbidden to free men, and instead reserved for slaves and the education of children (yeah… we don’t have time to unpack that one). Yet, in the ancient Olympics, cheating was not just an insult to the participants, but to the gods.
5. The Romans end the game
Like most things in the Greek empire, the Romans are to blame for putting an end to the Olympics. Specifically, the Christian emperor Theodosius I forbade the event, along with all celebrations tied to pagan deities. It wasn’t until 1894 did a Frenchman named Pierre de Coubertin establish the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Being a devoted historian and sportsman, de Coubertin believed in creating peace and educating young people through sport. Thus, the Olympics returned in 1894 at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece.
In 2017, I visited the Panathenaic Stadium. It’s a beautiful, stone structure with an attached museum display of Olympic history. To read more about it, visit my blog post about ancient Athens.
Winner Pedestals in the Panathenaic Stadium, Athens