Olympics in Greece

1
Olympics in Greece

• Produced by
• Jason Arnauckas

2
Olympic Facts

• The Olympics began in 776 BC
• The games were originally held in Olympia, Greece
  until 393 AD
• During the ancient games, only young men were
  able to participate
• The competitors were usually naked because the
  games were, in part, a celebration of the human
  body.

3
How did the Olympics get started?

• There are different ideas of how the Olympics
  began.
• One myth is that the Greek God Zeus started the
  games to celebrate his victory over his father
  Cronus for control of the world.
• Another tradition states that the games began
  after Greek hero Pelops won a chariot race
  against King Oenomaus to marry the Kings
  daughter.

The Olympic Flame
4
The Games
Olympia Stadium

• Athletic games were an important part of
  religious festivals from early on in Greek
  Culture.
• The first 13 Olympiads sole event was the
  footrace.
• Over time, the Greeks added longer footraces and
  different events.
• The pentathlon and wrestling were the first new
  sports added in the 18th Olympiad.
• Today, there are 52 different events between the
  summer and winter Olympic games.

5
The Games Continued

• The ancient Olympics were very different from the
  modern games.
• There were fewer games and only free men who
  could speak Greek, were allowed to compete.
• The games were always held at Olympia Stadium
  instead of moving around to different cities.
• One common link between ancient Olympics and the
  modern games is that the athletes were heroes to
  their home towns, as our athletes are celebrities
  today.

6
Training

• Athletics were a key part of education in ancient
  Greece.
• Greeks believed that developing the body was
  equally important as improving the mind for
  overall health.
• Young Greek men trained to flute music to make
  the bodies harmonious.
• The Palaestra was the place that the men trained
  and socialized in ancient Greece.

The Palaestra
NYCs Proposed Olympic Stadium
7
Athletes

• Ancient athletes competed as individuals, not for
  national teams, as they do now.
• Athletes that won public competitions won
  permanent glory and fame.
• Winning athletes made their town look wealthy and
  powerful.
• In ancient Olympic games women were not allowed
  to compete.

8
Winning the Gold!

• In todays Olympics the top three finishers will
  receive Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for each
  event.
• In ancient Olympics, the winner would receive a
  crown made of olive leaves and was entitled to a
  statue of himself at Olympia.

1948 Gold Medal
Olive leaf Crown
9
Competitive Spirit

• In ancient Olympic games the athletes that were
  found cheating would be fined and the money was
  used to make statues of the Greek God, Zeus.
• The first known cheater was Eupolus of Thessaly,
  who bribed boxers in the 98th Olympiad.
• Today, some athletes use illegal performance
  enhancing drugs.

Ben Johnson Olympic sprinter accused of using
steroids
10
Famous Ancient Olympic Athletes

• Read about some of the more interesting athletes
  from the ancient Olympics.

Theagenes of Thasos winner in 75th and 76th
Olympiads
Milo of Kroton 6 time Olympic winner
Diagoras of Rhodes won in Olympics and every
other major Greek festival