Ancient Olympic Games. How were the Olympic Games held in ancient times? Why did ancient people hold competitions?

Contents of the article about the ancient Olympic Games in Greece:

1. Beginning of the Olympic Games
2. Participants in the Olympic Games in ancient Greece
3. Dawn of the Olympic Games
4. Sunset of the Olympic Games

• The tradition of holding the Olympic Games has now been revived. The first Olympic Games of our time were held in the 19th century, and at the moment they are considered the most prestigious world sports competitions.

Beginning of the Olympic Games

The first Olympic Games in ancient Greece

The very first Olympic Games in ancient Greece were held in 776 BC. All subsequent games were held once every four years. From that moment on, records of the winners of the games began and the order of their conduct was established. The Olympics began every leap year, in the month of the ceremony, corresponding to the modern period of time from late June to mid-July.

History has preserved a large number of versions that justify the origin of the tradition of holding these sports competitions. Most of these versions take the form of legends, one way or another connected with the gods and heroes of Ancient Hellas. For example, the first place in the list is occupied by the legend according to which the king of Elis named Iphitus went to Delphi, where he received a message from a priestess of Apollo. The people of Elis by this time were exhausted by the constant armed rivalry of the Greek city-states, and therefore the gods ordered sports and athletic festivals.

The participants of the Olympic Games lived on the outskirts of Altis, where a month before the opening of the competition they trained in the palaestra and gymnastics. This tradition became the prototype Olympic Village, taking place in modern games. The costs of accommodation for athletes in Olympia, preparation of competitions and various religious ceremonies were borne either by the athletes themselves - participants in the games, or by the city from which they competed.

Dawn of the Olympic Games

There is a reliable historical fact that during the Olympic Games any military operations ceased. This tradition was called ekeheriya, according to which the warring parties were obliged to lay down their arms. It was also forbidden to carry out court cases, and executions were postponed until later. Violators of the ekeheria rules were punished with a fine.

Types of Olympic Games in Ancient Greece

The most important, and apparently the most popular view The sport included in the program of the ancient Olympic Games was running. There is even information that an ancient king named Endymion arranged a running competition among his sons, and the winner received a kingdom as a reward.
There were several types of running competitions. First of all, it was an analogue of a modern sprint, a short distance run - actually from one end of the stadium to the other. The distance was 192 meters and was called the “Olympic stage”. Athletes competed completely naked in these competitions. Distance running was the very first and only competition in the history of the Olympic Games and remained so until the thirteenth Olympics. Starting from the fourteenth, the so-called “double run” was added to the competition. The athletes had to run from one end of the stadium to the other, then run around a pole and return to the starting point. Long running was added to the program of the fifteenth Olympic Games in addition to the above running competitions. Initially it included seven stages, but in subsequent years the length of the distances changed. Runners would run a stage, run around a pole, return to the start, and turn back around another pole.

In 520 BC, during the 65th Olympiad, another type of running competition appeared - the “hoplite race”. The athletes ran two distances in full armor - they wore a helmet, leggings and a shield. In later Olympics, only the shield was left among the weapons.
Also among the types of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece were martial arts. It should be noted that the death of an athlete during fights was not something special, and even a dead fighter could be declared the winner.
Starting from the 18th Olympics, wrestling was included in the program of the games. It was forbidden to strike; fighting could only be done by pushing. There were two main positions - standing and on the ground. In Greek there were many names for various techniques.

After five Olympics, fist fighting appeared among martial arts. It was forbidden to kick the enemy, make grabs or trip him. Hands were wrapped with special straps, making this type of competition one of the most dangerous. Sources that have survived to this day vividly describe the damage caused by such blows. The fighter who won without receiving a single blow from the enemy deserved special respect. If the wrestlers were tired, they were given a break to rest. If there was no way to identify the winner, then a specific number of blows was assigned, which the opponents would inflict on each other in turn, and it was impossible to defend themselves. The loser was the one who voluntarily gave up by raising his hand.
In 648 BC, during the 33rd Olympiad, the so-called “pankration” appeared. This type of martial arts included kicking and punching. Chokeholds were allowed, but eye gouging and biting were prohibited. At first it was a competition only for adult men, and then, starting from the 145th Olympics, pankration was introduced for young men.

Later, pentathlon was added to the games program. In ancient Greece, this sport was called "pentathlon". From the name you can guess that this type of sports consisted of five various types sports - they began with the long jump, then there was one-distance running, discus throwing, and javelin throwing. The fifth sport was wrestling. To date, no exact information has been preserved about how the winner was determined. It is believed that all participants were divided into pairs and competed with each other. In the end, there was only one, the last couple left. He was distinguished by his special long jump technique. The athletes jumped straight from the spot without running up, and dumbbells were used to increase the distance of the jump.
Horse racing also took place among the Olympic competitions. It is noteworthy that women participated in them, since the winner was not the riders, but the owners of animals and chariots. Over the years of the existence of the Olympic Games, horse racing has changed. At first it was quadriga racing, then, starting from the 33rd Olympics, horse racing was added to it. In 1993, two-horse chariot racing appeared. The competitions were divided into two categories - young stallions competed in one, and adult horses in the other.

How were the Olympic Games held in ancient Greece?

The start date of the event was set by a commission specially created for this purpose, which was then announced by special people called spondophores to residents of other Greek states. Athletes arrived in Olympia a month before the start of the games, during which time they had to train under the guidance of experienced coaches.
The competition was observed by Helladonic judges. In addition to the judicial function, the duties of the Helladonians included the organization of the entire Olympic festival.

Before performing in front of the people, each athlete had to prove to the judges that during the ten months before the start of the games, he had been intensively preparing for the competition. The oath was taken near the statue of Zeus.
Initially, the duration of the Olympic Games was 5 days, but later it reached a month. The first and last days of the games were dedicated to religious rituals and ceremonies.
The public learned about the sequence of a certain type of competition using a special sign. Those wishing to take part in it had to determine their order by drawing lots.

Winners of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece

The winners of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece were called Olympians. They became famous throughout Greece, they were greeted with honor in their homeland, since the athletes represented not only themselves at the games, but also the city-state from which they came. In the event of a three-time victory at the games, a bust was erected in Olympia in honor of such an athlete. The winner was rewarded with an olive wreath, and he also stood on a pedestal, the function of which was performed by a bronze tripod, and took palm branches in his hands. They also gave a small cash bonus as a reward, but he received the real benefits upon returning home. At home, he received many different privileges.
Milo of Croton is considered one of the most famous Olympians. He won his very first victory in wrestling in 540 BC, during the 60th Olympiad. Later, between 532 and 516, he won five times, and only at the age of 40 he lost to a younger athlete, failing to receive Olympian status for the seventh time.

A wrestler named Sostratus, originally from Sicyon, won the pankration three times. His secret was that he broke the fingers of his opponents, for which he received the nickname Thumb.
There are known cases when deceased participants became winners. For example, Arichion of Philageia was strangled during a duel, but his opponent declared defeat because he could not bear the pain of a broken toe. To the applause of the audience, the corpse of Arikhion was awarded the winner's olive wreath.
Artemidor, who arrived from Thrall, is famous for the fact that he was supposed to participate in the competitions of the youth group, but could not tolerate the insult of an adult pankrationist wrestler. After which Artemidor moved to the adult group and became a champion.

Among the famous runners we can mention the Rhodes athlete Leonidas. Over the course of four Olympics, he became a leader in various running competitions.
Astil from Crotona became a six-time Olympic champion. He is also famous for the fact that at the first competitions he represented Croton, and at the next two another city - Syracuse. In retaliation, the residents of Croton turned his home into a prison and destroyed the memorial statue.
In the history of the Olympic Games there have been entire dynasties of winners. For example, Poseidor’s grandfather named Diagoras and his uncles also became champions - Olympians.

In addition, many ancient thinkers known in our time were not hindered by their mental activity from participating in various sports competitions. For example, the famous Pythagoras was not only strong in mathematics, but in his time was better known as a champion in boxing, that is, fist fighting, and the thinker Plato broke the foundations not only in philosophy, but also in the arena, becoming a champion in pankration.

Sunset of the Olympic Games

In the second century BC. The Olympic Games began to lose their great significance, turning into competitions on a local scale. This is due to the conquest of ancient Greece by the Romans. Several factors are considered to be the reasons for the loss of former popularity. One of them is the professionalism of athletes, when the games have essentially become a collection of victories on the part of Olympians. The Romans, under whose rule Greece came, perceived sports solely as a spectacle; they were not interested in the competitive spirit of the Olympics.

Who banned the Olympic Games in ancient Greece

The end of the thousand-year history of the Olympic Games was a consequence of a change in religion. They were closely intertwined with the Greek pagan gods, so their implementation became impossible after the adoption of the Christian faith.
Researchers associate the ban on the Olympic Games with a certain Roman emperor, Theodosius. It is he who publishes in 393 AD. a set of laws prohibiting paganism, and the Olympic Games in accordance with these new legislative acts become completely prohibited. Only centuries later, in 1896, the tradition of holding Olympic sports games was revived.

The emergence of the first sports competitions

There is no need to say a lot and complicated things here.

Briefly, you can tell something like this (stopping at important points):

Competitions appeared so long ago that even such a word as “sport” did not yet exist. In those distant times, people learned to communicate, had already acquired fire, but still used stone weapons. The first competitions appeared as the beginnings of military education, therefore they were held according to types related to war or hunting. Ancient people competed in archery, wrestling, throwing various objects, and even went hunting and fishing, which they later boasted to each other about. And in Australia already at that time it was completely known sport game, reminiscent of football. There they even played one clan (and tribe) against another clan.

This was one of the options for a story in which you can add colorful examples or something fun, at the discretion of the teacher or parent.

You can tell it a little differently, going into more detail on Ancient Greece:

Already 2.5 thousand years ago the first official competitions. The Hellenes, as the Greeks were called in ancient times, loved to compete and in their myths even challenged the gods to competitions. They believed that people should be perfect, both physically and spiritually. One of the ancient thinkers, whose name was Plato, called “lame” everyone whose body and mind were not equally developed. But still, the basis of all competitions was the Olympic Games, during which all hostilities even ceased, but we will talk about them another time.

2nd grade theory. The history of the appearance of the ball, exercises and games with the ball

You can talk about two theories, the first is that the idea of ​​the ball was taken from the Scarab beetle, which rolled balls in Egypt. After looking at it, people began to make their own balls, rag, leather, stuffed with wool or grass, for elasticity. Of course, these were not the modern balls that are familiar to all of us, but this was their beginning. The closest version of the modern ball was invented by a Roman gymnastics teacher, and it happened by accident, like all inventions. This was just a couple of thousand years ago. He saw a large bull's bladder, which was inflated and tied with a rope, making a kind of ball. Such a ball could be hit, and it would jump and bounce off both the floor and the walls. And as soon as the ball appeared, people immediately found a use for it, because with the ball you can come up with such a huge number of games and exercises that if you wrote them all down, not even a thick book would be enough. But it is difficult to say which theory is correct, since balls appeared in many countries and at about the same time, so the ball turned out to be an equipment without which humanity could not see its further full development.

The next Olympics, held this time in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, has ended. And where did it begin? olympic movement, and how the Olympics took place in Ancient Greece.

1. Origins of the Olympics

First running competition.

Nobody really knows where the origins of the very first games come from. One myth says that Hercules (son of Zeus) once held a running competition at Olympia and decreed that it would be repeated every four years.

2. Olympic Games and Eleusinian Mysteries

Eleusinian Mysteries.

The Olympic Games were one of the two main rituals in Ancient Greece. Another was the Eleusinian Mysteries - initiation rites for people joining the cults of Demeter and Persephone.

3. Temple at Olympia

Statue of Zeus.

The statue of Zeus was one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. It was placed in the temple at Olympia, the site where the ancient Olympics were held.

4. Time confusion

City-states of Ancient Greece.

The 4-year interval between the Olympics was used by the ancient Greeks as a measure of time. This idea was developed by the historian Ephorus. Previously, each Greek state used its own different method of measuring time, which led to much confusion.

Running 190 meters.

The only competition at the first Olympic Games was the “stadium” - the 190-meter race. The competition was named after the building in which it was held (it was this that became the ancestor of the word “stadium”).

6. Start with arms extended forward

A draw is impossible.

Unlike the modern starting position of runners, in Ancient Greece they started from a standing position with their arms extended forward. If the race ended in a draw, then a repeat race was scheduled.

7. The Baker of Elis Coreb

Olive branch.

The winner of the first recorded Olympic Games (in a sense, the first gold medalist) was Korebus, a baker from Elis (the region in which Olympia was located). He won a running race in 776 BC. Naturally, no gold medals were awarded then, and Koreb was awarded an olive branch - a symbolic prize. Interestingly, Olympia still exists - about 150 people live in this city.

8. Gymnasium

Tribute to the gods.

The Greek tradition of athletes performing in the nude is believed to have begun at the games in 720 BC. Most likely, it was introduced by the Spartans. It was from this practice that arose modern word"gymnasium", which comes from the Greek word "gymnos", meaning "naked". The nudity of athletes was considered a tribute to the gods and encouraged an aesthetic perception of the male body.

9. "Kynodesme"

Olympic minimalism.

Although most athletes were naked during the games, it is possible that some wore a "kynodesme" - a thin strip of leather that was tightly tied around the foreskin to prevent the head of the penis from showing. This strip was then tied to a string tied like a belt around the waist.

10. Tradition of ekecheiriya

Moratorium on executions, wars, battles...

During the games, a truce (“ekecheiria”) was concluded throughout Greece - capital punishment, wars or battles were not allowed. This was done to ensure the safety of participants and spectators coming to Olympia.

11. Pythian, Nemean, Isthmian

Annual sport competitions.

The Olympic Games were not the only sporting competitions. In the four-year interval between them, the Pythian, Nemean and Isthmian Games were held, but the Olympic Games were the most significant in status.

12. Only in Greek, parakalo

International status of the games.

Although the first games were "international" in a sense (all Greek city-states were allowed to participate), they were limited to people who spoke Greek. Eventually, the Greek colonies were also allowed to participate in the games.

13. Hoplitodrome

Running in full armor.

In 520 BC, a competition called "hoplitodrome" was added to the Olympic Games, in which athletes ran 400 or 800 meters in full armor with shields and helmets with greaves. Runners often bumped into each other or tripped over shields thrown by other competitors.

14. 5 days of the Olympics

Temple of Zeus at Olympia.

In their heyday, games lasted 5 days. The first three were intended for sporting events, while the other two days were used for rituals and celebrations. On the last day, all participants attended a festival where they ate 100 bulls (which were killed on the first day of the Olympics as a sacrifice to Zeus).

15. Revival of the Olympic Movement

Ceremony of lighting the Olympic flame.

As part of the transition of Christianity to the official religion, the ancient Olympic Games were finally banned by either Theodosius I in 393 AD. or by his grandson Theodosius II in 435 AD. The next Olympic Games were not held until 1896 in Athens, Greece.

The ancient Olympic Games were brutal competitions in which athletes shed their blood and even gave their lives for the sake of glory and championship, in order to avoid shame and defeat.

Participants in the games competed naked. Athletes were idealized, not least because of their physical perfection. They were praised for their fearlessness, endurance and will to fight, bordering on suicide. In bloody fist fights and chariot races, few reached the finish line.

The emergence of the Olympic Games

It is no secret that for the ancient Olympians the main thing was will. In these competitions there was no place for politeness, nobility, exercise in amateur sports and modern Olympic ideals.

The first Olympians fought for the reward. Officially, the winner received a symbolic olive wreath, but they returned home as heroes and received unusual gifts.

They fought desperately for something that modern Olympians cannot understand - for immortality.

There was no afterlife in the Greek religion. hope for continuation of life after death it was only possible through glory and valiant deeds, immortalized in sculpture and song. Losing meant complete collapse.

In ancient games there were no silver and bronze medalists, the losers received no honors, they went home to their disappointed mothers, as the ancient Greek poet writes.

Little remains of the ancient Olympic Games. The festivities that once rocked these places can no longer be returned. These columns once supported the vaults, in whose honor the games were held. The now unremarkable field was the stadium where the competitions were held, where 45 thousand Greeks gathered.

The tunnel has been preserved, in which the steps of the Olympians were heard as they entered the field. From the top of the triangular column, the winged goddess of victory, the symbol and spirit of the Olympic Games, looked at all this.

The origin can be called prehistoric, people lived here in stone houses around 2800 BC. Around 1000 BC Olympia became a temple to the god of thunder and lightning.

How did games come about?

From religious rituals. The first competition was running to the altar of Zeus – ritual offering of energy to god.

The first recorded games took place in 776 BC., they were held every 4 years continuously for 12 centuries.

All citizens could participate. Non-Greeks, whom the Greeks themselves called , were not allowed to participate, and women and slaves were also not allowed.

The games took place in August on a full moon. Athletes arrived here 30 days before the opening to train for a month. They were closely watched by judges called.

To those who carefully prepared for the Olympics, were not lazy and did not do anything reprehensible, the Hellenic scientists said move forward boldly. But if someone didn't train properly, they should have left.

In those times The entire ancient world came to the Olympics, 100 thousand people set up camps in the fields and olive groves. They arrived here by land and sea: from Africa, the territory of modern France and the southern coast of modern Russia. Often people came here from city-states that were at war with each other: the Greeks were quite quarrelsome by nature.

The games were of great importance and were respected, and therefore in honor of Zeus a truce was signed on the sacred disk, which protected all arriving guests for three months. Perhaps due to the fact that it was reinforced by fear in everyone, the truce was almost never broken: even the most sworn enemies could see each other and compete at the Olympics in the world.

But on the first day of the Olympiad there were no competitions; it was a day of religious purification and parting words. The athletes were led to a sanctuary and meeting place. There was also a statue of Zeus with a lightning bolt in his hand.

Under the stern gaze of the god, the priest sacrificed the genitals of a bull, after which athletes took the Solomon's oath To Zeus: compete fairly and follow the rules.

Everything was serious. The punishment for breaking the rules was severe. In the distance, the athletes saw statues of Zeus, called zanas, erected with money received in the form of fines paid by violators of competition rules.

Victory had to be earned not by money, but by the speed of the legs and the strength of the body - said the instructions of the Olympics. But the crown of victory was given with considerable blood.

Fist fight

The ancient Greeks admired the beauty and power of sports, but they were also drawn to savagery and violence: they saw this as a metaphor for life.

The Greek word for competition is agon, which is where the word agony comes from. The concept of struggle is one of the central ones in Greek culture. In the context of athletics, "agon" meant competition with pain, suffering and brutal competition.

Without a doubt, no sport has such fierce competition as boxing, which has its origins in

Fist fighting entered the games program in 688 BC, followed by wrestling and even more cruel look sports – . All of them quickly became the crowd's favorite sports because the risk of injury or even death was extremely high here, and the victims had to appease Zeus, so the battles were held in the sacred part of Olympia - in front of the 9-meter altar of Zeus, made from the ashes of sacrificial animals.

Modern boxers would be horrified by the rules of the competition, or rather, by the practical absence of them: there were no weight restrictions, there were no rounds, the opponents fought without a break, water, a trainer in the corner of the ring and gloves - the fighters were left to their own devices.

They were reeling Rough leather straps for fists and wrists to increase the impact force. The skin cut into the flesh of the enemy. The blows often landed on the head, everything was splattered with blood, they fought nonstop until one of the opponents falls.

Since 146 BC. The Romans became the hosts of the Olympics. With them, competitors began to insert three-centimeter metal spikes between their belts - it was more reminiscent of a knife fight than a fist fight, some almost immediately dropped out of the competition, others were very successful. Many beginners were slashed by these belt gloves, or rather, they were even torn into pieces.

To make the battles tougher, they were held in August afternoons under the scorching Mediterranean sun. Thus, the competitors fought each other with blinding light, dehydration and heat.

How long did the battles last? Four hours or more until one of the athletes gave up, for this all you had to do was raise your finger.

But the defeat was much more humiliating than today: many wrestlers preferred to die than to lose.

The Spartans, fanatical soldiers, were taught to never give up, so they did not participate in fist fights, since defeat was a mortal shame.

Wrestlers were admired not only for the blows they could inflict on their opponents, but also for the pain they could endure. They valued physically and philosophically the ability to withstand pain to the point where you would take blow after blow under the scorching sun, the heat, breathing dust - they saw virtue in this.

If the matter went to a draw, or the fight reached a dead point, the judges could appear climax, when the fighters had to exchange open blows. There is a famous story about two fighters who reached this point in a match - Krevg and Damoxena. Everyone had to strike a blow to the enemy. The first was Damoxenus, he used a karate piercing cut, pierced his opponent's flesh and ripped out his intestines. Krevg was posthumously declared the winner, because the judges said that technically Damoxenus struck him not just with one blow, but five, because he used five fingers to pierce the enemy's body in several places at once.

The ancient fighters had no equipment for training, but they were not inferior in physical strength modern colleagues.

Pankration - fights without rules

Wrestling matches were practically a battle to the death, but for the savagery - low blows and prohibited techniques- had my own sport, pankration.

Pankration was a very brutal event, it was the most brutal of all ancient competitions. They say about him that it is a mixture of unclean boxing with unclean wrestling: it was allowed to hit, push, choke, break bones - whatever you want, no prohibitions.

Pankration appeared in 648 BC. It had only two rules: Don't bite or gouge out eyes, but these prohibitions were not always observed. Opponents fought completely naked, blows to the genitals were prohibited, but even this rule was often violated.

Technique was not important in these ancient fights without rules, very soon they became the most popular event at the Olympics.

Pankration was the personification of violence in ancient sport , it was a most exciting and popular spectacle, and it gives us some idea of ​​the spirit of humanity in those days.

Wrestling is a relatively civilized combat sport.

Wrestling was the only combat sport that could be called relatively civilized by today's standards, but even here the rules were not strict. Simply put, everything was used: much of what is prohibited today - chokeholds, breaking bones, tripping - everything was considered normal technique.

The ancient fighters were well trained and taught many techniques: throwing over the shoulder, vice grips and various grips. The competitions were held in special shallow hole.

There were two types of competitions: lying on the ground and standing. The wrestlers fought either on their feet - in this case, any three falls meant defeat, or the opponents fought in slippery mud, where it was difficult for them to stay on their feet. The fight continued as in wrestling or pankration until one of the participants gave up. Fights were often akin to torture.

In the 7th century BC. e. judges realized the need to introduce ban on breaking fingers, but was often ignored. In the 5th century BC. Antikozy won two victories in a row, breaking the fingers of his opponents.

Chariot racing is the most dangerous sport

But it wasn't just wrestlers who risked their bodies and lives at the ancient Olympic Games.

Long before the appearance of the Olympic Games, the Greeks loved to combine sports with sometimes even mortal danger. Bull jumping was popular sport on in the 2000s BC The acrobats literally took the rushing bull by the horns, performing on its back.

The most dangerous Olympic sports were chariot racing. The chariots competed in the hippodrome, which is now an olive grove: the hippodrome was washed away around 600 AD. river Althea suddenly changed course.

The racing strip of the hippodrome was about 135 meters long, its width could accommodate 44 chariots, each of which was harnessed by 4 horses.

Tens of thousands of Greeks watched the races, which were real a test of control skill and nerve resistance. 24 laps of 9 kilometers each freely accommodated 160 horses, beating their hooves at the start.

The most difficult part of the distance was turning around: the chariot had to be turned 180 degrees almost on the spot, i.e. the chariot rotated around its axis. It was at this point that most accidents occurred: chariots overturned, athletes were thrown, and horses bumped into and tripped over each other.

The level of danger of racing reached the point of absurdity, mainly due to the lack of dividing strips. Chariots often collided head-on. The poet writes that in one of the races, 43 out of 44 chariots crashed, leaving the winner the only survivor on the field.

Zeus ruled Olympus, but the fate of the chariots rather depended on the god of horses, whose statue looked over the hippodrome. His name was, he instilled fear in horses, so before the race the participants tried to appease him.

The only element of order in this racing chaos was introduced at the start. The Greeks came up with an original mechanism to ensure fairness on the field: the bronze eagle of Zeus rose above the crowd, which meant the start of the race.

The chariots were small in size and had two wheels; they were open at the back, so the driver was not protected in any way.

It was erected by participants almost as prestigious as the Olympic ones. The Greeks praised control and self-control in the midst of violence and chaos. The statue embodies these ideals.

Was it possible for women to participate in competitions?? Not as charioteers, but they could display their chariots.

On the pedestal on which stood the statue of the king’s daughter, there is an inscription: “ Sparta kings are my fathers and brothers. Having defeated the chariots on fleet-footed horses, I, Kiniska, erected this statue. I say with pride: I am the only woman who received this wreath.”

Kiniska was the first woman to win the Olympics, sending his chariot to the games.

As today, boys often acted as jockeys in the horse racing that followed chariot racing. The main thing here was the right combination of unstoppability and control. Jockeys raced bareback horses controlling them only with knees and a whip.

The horses were wild. In 512 BC. the mare named Veter threw off the jockey as soon as she burst into the field, ran without a rider and won the race.

Pentathlon is the most prestigious competition

Olympians trained here in palaestre, practicing fist and hand-to-hand combat. In the gymnasium they trained for the most prestigious competition among the ancient Olympic Games - pentathlon.

If in chariot racing the Greeks demonstrated fearlessness and fury, then in the pentathlon other Olympic ideals were valued: balance, grace and well-rounded development.

The event was imbued with idealism, the Greeks attached great importance proportions and balance in a person. We can see the embodiment of all this in pentathletes.

It was the pentathletes who served sample perfect body , when ancient sculptors depicted gods. The Greeks appreciated correct proportions, the winner in the pentathlon was recognized main athlete of the games.

He competed in five different competitions: running, jumping, discus throwing, javelin throwing and wrestling. Craftsmanship and timing were extremely important.

Pentathletes trained for years in the gymnasium in rhythm to the sound of a flute. The competition was interestingly different from modern ones. For example, in javelin throwing the Greeks used loop in the middle of the spear shaft to enhance the throw. They threw a disc weighing 6 kilograms 800 grams - three times heavier than a modern one. Perhaps that is why they performed such perfect twisting and throwing techniques that these techniques have survived to this day.

The most intriguing difference occurs in the long jump: the Greeks held loads in their hands from 2 to 7 kilograms to increase momentum and increase the length of the jump.

Holding weights to jump further seems absurd. In reality you can catch the impulse of a flying cargo and it will literally drag you through the air so that you will feel the inertial force on yourself. This actually adds length to the jump.

The length is incredible: the jumping pit was designed for 15 meters, which is 6 meters more than the modern world record. Pentathletes, like all Olympians, competed naked.

Nude Olympics

From the point of view of modern people nudity is the most amazing aspect ancient Olympic games. All the competition took place without clothes: running, discus throwing, wrestling and everything else.

But why participants began performing naked? History says that this has been the case since the 8th century BC. In 720, a runner named Arsip lost his loincloth during the competition. He won, and all the runners decided to compete naked. Gradually this custom spread to other sports.

Modern scientists reject such explanations and note that nudity and homosexuality were not considered shameful in Greek society. The very word “gymnasium,” where the Greeks studied, meant “nakedness.”

Invented in the 600s BC. These were training facilities. And at the same time, the importance of homosexuality increased, it ceased to be a secret among the Greeks. This may be partly why nudity was introduced into the games.

Homosexuality was not only not shameful in Russia, it was even encouraged, because It is important for a man to marry a virgin and have children. The only way to keep virgins intact was homosexual relations. The atmosphere at the Olympics was very electric, these were the best men of the city-states: they were the most attractive, trained and there was sexual attraction between them.

As well as between men and women who were allowed to watch nude games. Oddly enough, but married women were strictly prohibited from watching games, even just crossing the Altis River, which skirted the sacred place. Violation of the ban was punishable by death. Women caught on sacred ground were thrown into an abyss that yawned near the temple.

But young virgin girls could watch the games, despite the nudity of the athletes and the brutality of the spectacle. Unmarried girls were allowed into the stadium, because in some ways they were ignorant, they needed to get used to the idea of ​​a man being a part of their life. The best foreplay was the performance of naked men.

One of the modern researchers said that this order was developed so that married women would not see what they could no longer have, but young maidens looked at the best of the best to know what to strive for.

Gerean games

Virgos could compete in their games called Heroes in honor of the wife of Zeus. The Gerei consisted of three races: for girls, teenage girls and young women, one lane long olympic stadium, shortened by one-sixth in proportion to a woman's stride.

Spartan girls trained from birth just like boys, so they were the leaders of the games.

Unlike men, girls did not compete naked: they wore short tunics, chitons, revealing the right breast.

Women's competitions were a ritual event, something like public demonstration of their strength and spirit before they were tamed by the bonds of marriage and before they became women, it was a ritual transition.

The women's races took place on a day when the men were resting. It was a day of rituals and feasts, leading to the culmination of the religious part of the ancient games.

Art in Olympia

But people came to Olympus not only for the games, they literally wanted to see people and show themselves off: - here any of them could be found in the crowd. , the world's first professional historian, earned his fame here, reading his works at the Temple of Zeus.

People came to enjoy the works of art that decorated the temple. Those who saw this place for the first time were amazed at its beauty. These ruins were once home to thousands of masterpieces, a “forest of sculptures,” as one writer put it.

But only a few of them have survived to our times - those that archaeologists pulled out from under the cobblestones a little more than a century ago. Unfortunately, nothing remains of the legendary one that stood in the temple and was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

It took countless amounts of gold and ivory. Zeus's entire body was made of ivory, his throne was made of ivory, ebony and precious stones. Zeus's robe was entirely made of gold - gold foil.

Dozens of gutters in the shape of lion heads decorated the temple and surrounded the statue. Outside, along the perimeter of the temple, sculptures depicted scenes from. Bright ornaments on the walls of some buildings in the complex made the temple even more dazzling.

The ruins, surrounded by 182 columns, were once a hotel Leonidio, where only the richest people stayed. Of the hundreds of thousands who came to Olympus, only 50 guests could be accommodated here at the same time.

There is no trace left of the altar of Zeus. Once it was located between the temples of Zeus and, it was the main shrine Olympia, animals were sacrificed here every day. This cone-shaped altar, more than 9 meters high, was famous throughout Ancient Greece. It consisted entirely of the ashes of sacrificial animals. The altar was symbol of worship of Zeus: the more sacrifices they made to him, the more honors he was given, and this is a clear reminder of how many sacrifices were made to his divine essence.

The ashes were mixed with water and pressed into a mold. Steps were carved into the side of this ash mound, along which the priests climbed to make another sacrificial offering.

At noon on the third day of games the sacrifice became a special spectacle: a herd of bulls – a whole hundred – stabbed and burned in honor of Zeus. But in reality, only a small symbolic piece from each animal was given to God.

They took the most useless parts of the animals, placed them on the altar, and then burned them for the gods. They cut up and cooked 90% of the carcass, and in the evening everyone got a piece. The meat was distributed to the crowd, it was quite an event.

Running is the very first sport

There was an even bigger event the next morning: a men's running competition. The very first and once only sport had special significance for the Greeks, who named each Olympics after the winners of cross-country or sprint.

Treadmills were practically no different from modern ones. There were indentations on the starting line, which runners could rest their toes on. The distance was about 180 meters long. According to legend, he could run exactly this distance in one breath. On both sides, 45 thousand roaring spectators sat on the slopes. Many of them camped here and cooked food at night.

Interestingly, even in the August heat, they watched the games with their heads uncovered: wearing hats in the stadium was prohibited, because they could block someone's view.

Despite the wealth and prestige of the games, on the hillsides never built shops like in other stadiums. The Greeks wanted to keep the ancient democratic tradition of sitting on the grass. Only 12 stone thrones in the center were intended for the Hellanodic judges. Another seating area was provided the only married woman who could be present at the stadium- priestess, goddess of the harvest, who was once worshiped on Olympus even before Zeus.

20 runners could compete at the same time in the stadium. Starting positions were drawn by lot, then they were called to the start one by one. False starts were strictly prohibited: those who took off ahead of time, judges beat with rods.

In the 4th century BC. The Greeks invented the hysplex starting mechanism - wooden starting gate, guaranteeing a fair start.

What was the main thing difference between ancient races and modern ones? IN starting positions. Such an arrangement of runners would seem strange to us, but we needed to understand how everything was arranged: when the boundary board fell, the athletes’ arms dropped, the body leaned forward, the toes pushed off from the depressions in the ground - the starting jerk was very powerful.

It is unknown how fast the Greeks ran; they would not have recorded time even if they had stopwatches. They never compared the competition to any records. For the Greeks the idea and the meaning of the sport was a duel between men, in the struggle and what they called the word “agon”.

However, legends about speed have survived. One of the statues says that Phlegius of Sparta did not run, but flew over the stadium. His speed was phenomenal, incalculable.

In addition to sprinting, the Greeks competed in double distance running, i.e. there and back on a treadmill, and also in Darikos, where you had to run 20 times along a 3,800-meter-long circular track.

Ironically, the famous torch relay race were not included in the program of the Olympic Games, like those that the Greeks considered form of communication being phenomenal runners long distances. Immediately after the victory at Dorikos in 328, an athlete named Augeias ran from Olympus to home, 97 kilometers, in one day.

The last race of such a day was the most unusual: a grueling test of speed and strength in which Greek infantrymen, called , ran twice back and forth along the stadium track in full uniform and equipment. Imagine what it’s like to run 400 meters with 20 kilograms of weapons at the highest speed and turn around.

It is interesting that the hoplite race was held at the very end of the Olympiad, it meant end of the olympic truce and a return to hostility and hostilities. It was a reminder that the beauty of the games had to come to an end, to be replaced by other important events.

Legends of the Ancient Olympic Games

For more than 12 centuries, the best athletes of the Ancient world came to Olympia to compete in games that were the main test of strength and agility.

What did the winners receive? Only branch cut from an olive tree in the grove behind the Temple of Zeus. But as soon as they returned home, they were showered with gifts: free food for life and rewards for every win, commensurate with a modern hundred thousand dollars.

Them worshiped like heroes or even gods, even their sweat was revered as a symbol of struggle. Athletes' sweat was an expensive commodity. It was collected along with dust from the site during competitions, placed in bottles and sold as a magic potion.

A stone has been preserved that contains the names of the winners of the Olympics. Unfortunately, statues of game legends such as the wrestler, won 6 Olympiads in a row. He was so feared that his opponents immediately dropped out of the game, crushed by his glory. They said he had superhuman strength. Ancient texts report that Milo once carried a full-grown bull through the stadium, then butchered it and ate it whole in one day.

Another Olympian was a famous strongman - champion of pankration in 408 BC. He was known for his exploits outside the stadium: they said that Polydam fought with an adult lion and killed him with his bare hands, and also stopped the chariot at full speed, grasping the back with one hand.

Among the runners the best was Leonid of Rhodes. They said he was as fast as a god. He won three races during 4 Olympics in a row. He was revered as a god.

But the main Olympic record belongs to the jumper Failu, who participated in the 110th Olympiad. History says that the jumping pit was 15 meters long, this is unimaginable for us, because modern athletes jump a little further than 9 meters. They said that Fail jumped over that pit and landed at about 17 meters with such force that he broke both of his legs.

But Fail's jump is nothing compared to the Olympics' leap in time. The temple also reflects an outstanding history. This round monument was erected by the king and his son in honor of the victory over the Greeks in 338 BC. They built this memorial in the heart of Olympia to show their strength and power.

The Romans did the same a couple of centuries later, installing 21 golden shields around the Temple of Zeus when Greece became a Roman province. Thus, Olympia became the embodiment of Roman greatness, and the Romans put a lot of effort into maintaining the sanctuary in decent condition: they built an aqueduct that brought water to one of the structures, in addition, the Romans built baths there and a kind of club for athletes, discovered by German archaeologists only in 1995

Only the winners of the games could be members of the club. The building was paved with marble tiles, even the walls were covered with it. There is evidence in ancient sources that similar clubs existed. The winning athlete at Olympia was immediately included in the circle of the elite.

The building was built by an emperor who considered himself a god. In '67 he took part in a chariot competition. While driving a cart pulled by 10 horses, Nero lost control and, crashing the chariot, did not finish the race. Nevertheless, he was declared the winner. A year after the death of the emperor this the decision was reconsidered.

The end of the ancient Olympic Games

How and when did the tradition of games end?

Until very recently it was believed that last olympiad passed in 393 AD, when the emperor Theodosius I, who was a deeply religious Christian, put an end to all pagan traditions.

30 years later, in 426 AD. his son finished what he started, setting on fire the sanctuary and Temple of Zeus.

However, scientists have found evidence that the tradition of games continued for almost a century up to 500 AD. This information was found on marble tablet, found at the bottom of an ancient latrine. There were inscriptions on it left by the hand of 14 different athletes - winners of the Olympics. The last inscription dates back to the very end of the 4th century AD. Thus, it should be considered that the history of games should be extended for another 120 years.

The ancient games finally disappeared along with Olympia itself, destroyed by two earthquakes at the beginning of the 5th century. Subsequently, a small Christian village arose on the ruins, the inhabitants of which turned the only surviving building into a church - the workshop of the great sculptor who sculpted the once legendary statue of Zeus.

By the 6th century floods destroyed it along with everything what was left of ancient Olympia, hiding the ruins under an 8-meter layer of dirt and earth for 13 long centuries.

The first excavations were carried out in 1829. German archaeologists appeared here in 1875 and since then work has never stopped.

However, excavations turned out to be so difficult and expensive that the stadium was liberated from earth captivity only in the 1960s. The cost of excavating the hippodrome, hidden by groves, is so great that it will probably remain underground forever.

However, the spirit of this place is reborn, just as the Olympic Games themselves were revived in 1896 at the height of the excavations. Every 4 years for 12 centuries here lit up olympic flame , and this tradition has resumed in our time. From here the fire begins its path in the hands of the runners, symbolizing the beginning of the games, games that will never be able to achieve the scope and brilliance of the Olympics of the past.

“There is nothing nobler than the sun,
giving so much light and warmth. So
and people glorify those competitions,
There is nothing more majestic than the Olympic Games.”
Pindar

These words of the ancient Greek poet Pindar, written two thousand years ago, have not been forgotten to this day. They are not forgotten because the Olympic competitions, held at the dawn of civilization, continue to live in the memory of mankind.

The center of the Olympic world of antiquity was the sacred district of Zeus in Olympia - a grove along the Alpheus River at the confluence of the Kladei stream. In this beautiful town of Hellas, traditional pan-Greek competitions in honor of the Thunder God were held almost three hundred times. The winds of the Ionian Sea disturbed the mighty pines and oaks on the top of Kronos Hill. At its foot lies a protected area, the silence of which was broken once every four years by the Olympic celebrations.

Beautiful myths and legends have been created by human fantasy about the origin of the Olympic Games. One of them says that it was in Olympia that Zeus defeated his father, the god Cronus. The prediction that Cronus would be overthrown by his son came true, just as he himself overthrew his father, Uranus. Fearing the fulfillment of a terrible prediction, Cronus devoured his children born of his wife, the goddess Rhea. The unfortunate mother, in order to save at least one child, took refuge on the island of Crete, where she secretly gave birth to a son, Zeus. The baby was hidden in a cave on Mount Dikte, where he was nursed by the goat Amalthea. The Kurete youths guarded baby Zeus, and when he began to scream or cry, they loudly rang their weapons or hit their shields with spears so that his screams would not reach the cruel Cronus. Having matured, Zeus defeated Cronus and forced him to vomit out his five swallowed brothers and sisters. He shared dominion over the entire world with his brothers Poseidon and Hades, whom he freed. Zeus received supreme power over gods and people. Poseidon became the ruler of the seas, and Hades became the king of the underworld. In honor of great victory Zeus over Cronus and the Olympic celebrations were held.

During the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece, wars stopped and a truce was concluded, and representatives of the warring policies held peace negotiations in Olympia in order to resolve conflicts. Tens of thousands of pilgrims from Greek city-states (cities), Italy, Sicily, Asia Minor and the islands of the Aegean Sea, on ships, horse-drawn carts, and on foot, rushed to Holy Olympia every four years. The one who managed to participate or attend the Olympic Games at least once was considered lucky.

The Olympics were real celebrations of sports and art. The strongest athletes of the ancient world gathered at Olympia for competitions held in honor of the god Zeus, the thunderer, poets declared poems, philosophers read treatises, speakers made speeches, sculptors and painters demonstrated their creations. The ancient Olympic Games linked together sports competitions and military training, religion, culture, and politics. The festivities continued for five days: processions, sacrifices and sports competitions. On the first day, sacrifices and a solemn torchlight procession took place in honor of Olympian Zeus and his wife, the goddess Hera.

On a nine-meter high marble column in front of the majestic Temple of Olympian Zeus in 424 BC, a sculpture of the winged goddess Nike was installed. This goddess was very popular in Olympia. After all, every participant in the ancient Olympics associated his dream of winning the Games with her favor. The goddess Nike was imagined by the ancient Greeks as a beautiful young girl flying from the sky on bright wings and carrying in her hands a victorious crown - a reward for the hero. Slender, light, she had just descended to earth from the sacred Olympus. Everyone who saw the marble Olympian goddess believed that Nike brought the award to the hero for him.

For the participants, the Olympic Games began with taking an oath, which went down in history under the name “Six Olympic Words.” One of them rose to the altar and, laying it on it right hand, in the presence of his rivals, swore an oath that he, a free citizen, would show steadfastness and courage in the competition, that he had not committed a single crime in his life, that he would compete fairly, in accordance with the rules of the Games.

Ancient Greek athletes competed naked. The word “gymnastics” comes from the word “naked” (“gymnos”). A naked body was not considered something shameful - on the contrary, it showed how hard the athlete trained. It was shameful to have an unathletic, untrained body. Women were prohibited not only from participating, but also from observing the Games. If any woman was found in the stadium, by law she had to be thrown into the abyss. Only once was this rule broken - when a woman, whose father, brother and husband were Olympic champions, trained her son herself and, driven by the desire to see him become a champion, went with him to the Games. The coaches stood separately on the field, watching their players. Our heroine changed into men's clothes and stood next to them, looking at her son with excitement. And so... he is declared champion! The mother could not stand it and ran across the entire field to be the first to congratulate him. On the way, her clothes fell off, and everyone saw that there was a woman in the stadium. The judges were in a difficult position. According to the law, the offender must be killed, but she is a daughter, sister and wife, and now also a mother Olympic champions! She was spared, but from that day on a new rule was introduced - now not only athletes, but also coaches must stand on the field completely naked to prevent such situations.

At least 10 types of competitions are known that were held at the ancient Olympics. The most ancient competition, which took place at the games of the first Olympics in 776 BC, was running - “dramos” or “stadium”. Greek legends say that having defeated Augeas, Hercules indicated the location of the sports festivals in honor of his success. He himself measured the length of the first Olympic track - 600 feet. This race over a distance of one stage - 192 meters 27 centimeters - "stadium" and gave the name to the sports facilities where competitions are now held. The winner in the race on the most short distance enjoyed special honor. He was given the right to light a fire in the sacred altar. The name of the winner in the one-stage race was given to the Olympics.

Since the 18th Olympiad (708 BC), the pentathlon - "pentathlon" - has been included.

Since the 23rd Olympiad (688 BC), fist fighting has been included.

Since the 25th Olympiad (680 BC), a competition on chariots drawn by four horses - quadrigas - has been included.

Since the 33rd Olympiad (648 BC), bareback racing has been included.

Since the 33rd Olympiad (648 BC), the ancient Greek all-around competition, which was a mixture of techniques, has been included fist fight and struggle.

Since the 65th Olympiad (520 BC), running with weapons has been included. In heavy military armor it was necessary to run a distance in 2 stages.

The award ceremony for the champions was particularly solemn. It was held on the last day of the festivities. Guests filled the temple of Olympian Zeus, the purple curtain covering the statue of Zeus moved aside, and a majestic deity shining with gold and jewels appeared before the admiring spectators. The Hellenistics awarded the winners of the Olympic Games with a wreath made of olive tree branches. After this, to the sound of flutes and the singing of hymns, they headed to the altar, where they made blessed sacrifices to Olympian Zeus.

The Olympionist - the winner of the games - was given the honors bestowed upon the gods by his compatriots; monuments were created in their honor during his lifetime, odes of praise were composed, and feasts were held. The Olympic hero rode into his hometown in a chariot, dressed in purple, crowned with a wreath, and entered not through the usual gates, but through a gap in the wall, which was sealed that same day so that Olympic victory entered the city and never left it. Residents of the city presented the winner with expensive gifts, exempted him from taxes, and provided him with a free seat in the theater.

Numerous wars weakened the power of Hellas. In the middle of the 2nd century BC it was conquered by Rome. Olympia fell into decay. From a great national holiday of the Hellenes, the Olympic Games turned into a spectacle that attracted a motley crowd of pilgrims from the countries of the Roman Empire. But even under these conditions, the Olympic Games continued for another five centuries. The Olympic Games sank into oblivion (as the ancient Greeks called the river of oblivion, through which, according to their legends, the dead were crossed) along with the independence of Ancient Greece itself. The centuries-old tradition of holding the Olympic Games has ended. Along with the games, the Hellenic ideals of nurturing harmony of body and spirit, physical beauty and spiritual perfection were forgotten for many years.

Nowadays, the Olympic Games, born 28 centuries ago on the land of Ancient Hellas, have found a second youth...