The last Summer Olympic Games of our time took place in. History of Olympic Games. True, there were still exceptions
Olympic Games, Olympic Games - the largest international complex sport competitions modernity, which are held every four years. The tradition that existed in ancient Greece was revived by a French public figure at the end of the 19th century Pierre de Coubertin. The Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics, have been held every four years since 1896, with the exception of years following the World Wars. In 1924, the Winter Olympic Games were established and were originally held in the same year as the Summer Olympics. However, since 1994, the timing of the Winter Olympic Games has been shifted by two years relative to the timing of the Summer Games.
Ancient Olympic Games
Olympic Games Ancient Greece were religious and sports festival, held in Olympia. Information about the origin of the games has been lost, but several legends describing this event have survived. The first documented celebration dates back to 776 BC. e., although it is known that games were held earlier. During the games, a sacred truce was declared; during this time it was forbidden to wage war, although this was repeatedly violated.
The Olympic Games significantly lost their importance with the arrival of the Romans. After Christianity became the official religion, games began to be seen as a manifestation of paganism and in 394 AD. e. they were banned by the emperor Theodosius I.
Revival of the Olympic Idea
Even after the ban on ancient competitions, the Olympic idea did not disappear completely. For example, in England during the 17th century, “Olympic” competitions and competitions were repeatedly held. Later, similar competitions were organized in France and Greece. However, these were small events that were, at best, regional in nature. The first true predecessors to the modern Olympic Games are the Olympias, which were held regularly between 1859 and 1888. The idea of reviving the Olympic Games in Greece belonged to the poet Panagiotis Soutsos, brought it to life by a public figure Evangelis Zappas.
In 1766, as a result of archaeological excavations in Olympia, sports and temple buildings were discovered. In 1875, archaeological research and excavations continued under German leadership. At that time, romantic-idealistic ideas about antiquity were in vogue in Europe. The desire to revive Olympic thinking and culture spread quite quickly throughout Europe. French Baron Pierre de Coubertin (French: Pierre de Coubertin) said then: “Germany has excavated what remains of ancient Olympia. Why can't France restore its old greatness?
Baron Pierre de Coubertin
According to Coubertin, it was the weak physical condition of the French soldiers that became one of the reasons for the defeat of the French in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. He strives to change the situation through improvement physical culture French. At the same time, he wanted to overcome national egoism and contribute to the struggle for peace and international understanding. The “youth of the world” were supposed to measure their strength in sports competitions, and not on the battlefields. The revival of the Olympic Games seemed in his eyes the best solution to achieve both goals.
At a congress held June 16-23, 1894 at the Sorbonne (University of Paris), he presented his thoughts and ideas to an international audience. On the last day of the congress (June 23), it was decided that the first Olympic Games of our time should be held in 1896 in Athens, in the ancestral country of the Games - Greece. To organize the Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded. The first president of the Committee was a Greek Demetrius Vikelas, who was president until the end of the First Olympic Games in 1896. Baron became General Secretary Pierre de Coubertin.
The first Games of our time were truly a great success. Despite the fact that only 241 athletes (14 countries) took part in the Games, the Games became the largest sporting event that has ever passed since the times of Ancient Greece. Greek officials were so pleased that they put forward a proposal to hold the Olympic Games “forever” in their homeland, Greece. But the IOC introduced rotation between different states so that every 4 years the Games change their location.
After the first success, the Olympic movement experienced the first crisis in its history. The 1900 Games in Paris (France) and the 1904 Games in St. Louis (Missouri, USA) were combined with the World Exhibitions. Sports competitions dragged on for months and attracted almost no interest from spectators. Almost only American athletes participated in the Games in St. Louis, since getting from Europe across the ocean in those years was very difficult for technical reasons.
At the 1906 Olympic Games in Athens (Greece), sports competitions and results again came first. Although the IOC initially recognized and supported the holding of these "interim Games" (just two years after the previous ones), these Games are now not recognized as Olympic Games. Some sports historians consider the 1906 Games to be the salvation of the Olympic idea, as they prevented the games from becoming “meaningless and unnecessary.”
Modern Olympic Games
The principles, rules and regulations of the Olympic Games are determined by the Olympic Charter, the foundations of which were approved by the International Sports Congress in Paris in 1894, which, at the suggestion of the French educator and public figure Pierre de Coubertin, decided to organize the Games on the model of the ancient ones and to create the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
According to the charter of the Games, the Olympics “... unite amateur athletes from all countries in fair and equal competitions. There shall be no discrimination against countries or individuals on racial, religious or political grounds...” The games are held in the first year of the Olympiad (4-year period between games). The Olympiads have been counted since 1896, when the first Olympic Games took place (I Olympiad - 1896-99). The Olympiad also receives its number in cases where the games are not held (for example, VI - in 1916-19, XII - 1940-43, XIII - 1944-47). The symbol of the Olympic Games is five fastened rings, symbolizing the unification of the five parts of the world in the Olympic movement, the so-called. Olympic rings. The color of the rings in the top row is blue for Europe, black for Africa, red for America, in the bottom row - yellow for Asia, green for Australia. In addition to Olympic sports, the organizing committee has the right to choose to include in the program exhibition competitions in 1-2 sports that are not recognized by the IOC. In the same year as the Olympics, the Winter Olympic Games have been held since 1924, which have their own numbering. Since 1994, the dates of the Winter Olympic Games have been shifted by 2 years relative to the summer ones. The location of the Olympics is chosen by the IOC; the right to organize them is granted to the city, not the country. Duration no more than 15 days ( winter games- no more than 10).
The Olympic movement has its own emblem and flag, approved by the IOC at the suggestion of Coubertin in 1913. The emblem is the Olympic rings. The motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius (faster, higher, stronger). The flag is a white cloth with the Olympic rings, and has been flown at all Games since 1920.
Among the traditional rituals of the Games:
* lighting of the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony (the flame is lit from the sun's rays in Olympia and delivered by a torch relay of athletes to the host city of the Games);
* pronouncement of the Olympic oath by one of the outstanding athletes of the country in which the Olympics are taking place on behalf of all participants in the games;
* taking an oath of impartial judging on behalf of the judges;
* presentation of medals to winners and prize-winners of competitions;
* raising the national flag and singing the national anthem in honor of the winners.
Since 1932, the host city has been building " olympic village» - a complex of residential premises for game participants. According to the charter, the Games are competitions between individual athletes and not between national teams. However, since 1908 the so-called unofficial team standings - determining the place occupied by teams based on the number of medals received and points scored in competitions (points are awarded for the first 6 places according to the system: 1st place - 7 points, 2nd - 5, 3rd - 4, 4 -e - 3, 5th - 2, 6th - 1). The title of Olympic champion is the most honorable and coveted title in the career of an athlete in those sports in which Olympic tournaments are held. The exception is football, since the title of world champion in this sport is much more prestigious.
The first modern Olympic Games were held in the Greek city of Athens from April 6 to April 15, 1896.
The decision to hold the First Olympic Games
June 23, 1894, Paris, Sorbonne University - 1st Congress of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was held. initiated an event to announce a project to revive the Ancient Greek Olympic Games. At the suggestion of the writer and translator Demetrius Vikelas (who later became the First President of the IOC), a decision was made to hold new Olympic Games in the city of Athens (Greece). According to the organizers of the Olympics, such a decision would indicate the continuity of the Olympic Games with the modern traditions of Ancient Greece and, moreover, the city had the only large stadium in all of Europe. Unfortunately, the idea of holding the Games in Olympia had to be abandoned due to the enormous costs of reconstructing the stadium.
Opening ceremony of the First Olympic Games
On Easter Monday of Christianity (Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism) and, moreover, on Greek Independence Day, April 6, 1896, the opening ceremony of the First Summer Olympic Games of our time took place. On the day of the ceremonial start of the competition, more than 80 thousand spectators were present at the stadium in Athens. The ceremony was also attended by the Greek royal family. King George I from the rostrum solemnly declared the First International Olympic Games in the city of Athens open.
From this day the first olympic traditions: The head of state where the competition is taking place opens the Games, and the Olympic anthem is played at the Games ceremony. True, such Olympic traditions as the fire lighting ceremony, the parade of participating countries, and the recitation of the oath have not yet been established.
Participants of the First Olympic Games
Firstly Olympic competitions More than two hundred and forty male athletes took part. Forty-three sets were drawn Olympic medals such Olympic sports sports: wrestling, Athletics, cycling, swimming, shooting, gymnastics, tennis, fencing, weightlifting.
According to the IOC, representatives of fourteen countries participated in the First Olympics of our time, their athletes were delegated by: Australia, Bulgaria, Austria, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Izmir, Italy, Denmark, USA, Chile, France, Sweden and Switzerland .
“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.
There are no number of myths - one is more beautiful than the other! - about the emergence of the Olympic Games. Their most honorable ancestors are gods, kings, rulers and heroes. One thing has been established with obvious indisputability: the first Olympics known to us since ancient times took place in 776 BC.
Each Olympic Games turned into a holiday for the people, a kind of congress for rulers and philosophers, a competition for sculptors and poets.
The days of Olympic celebrations are days of universal peace. For the ancient Hellenes, games were a tool of peace, facilitating negotiations between cities, promoting mutual understanding and communication between states.
The Olympics exalted man, because the Olympics reflected a worldview, the cornerstone of which was the cult of perfection of spirit and body, the idealization of a harmoniously developed person - a thinker and an athlete. 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.
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.
This is Olympia, the cradle of the games. It is not the silent ruins that now remind us of its former greatness. Evidence from ancient authors, statues and images on vases and coins recreate the picture of the Olympic spectacles.
Near Holy Olympia, a town of the same name subsequently grew up, surrounded by orange and olive groves.
Nowadays Olympia is a typical provincial town, inhabited by tourists who flock to the Olympic ruins from all over the world. Everything about it is absolutely Olympic: from the names of streets and hotels to dishes in taverns and souvenirs in countless shops. It is noteworthy for its museums - archaeological and Olympic.
Olympia owes its surviving glory entirely to the Olympic Games, although they were held there only once every four years and lasted only a few days. During the breaks between games, a huge stadium located nearby, in a hollow near Kronos Hill, was empty. Overgrown with grass treadmill stadium and the slopes of the hill and embankments bordering the arena, which served as a grandstand for spectators. There was no sound of hooves or the roar of horse-drawn chariots at the nearby hippodrome. There were no athletes training in the spacious gymnasium square surrounded by standing rooms and in the monumental building of the palaestra. No voices were heard in the Leonidayon, the hotel for honored guests.
But during the Olympic Games, life was seething here. Tens of thousands of arriving athletes and guests filled to capacity what was, at that time, a grandiose athletic facilities. Their ensemble, in its composition, differed little from modern ones. sports complexes. In those distant times, only the winner in certain types of competitions was identified at the Olympics - Olympionik. Speaking modern language, no one recorded the absolute achievements of athletes. Therefore, few people were interested in the perfection of the competition venues. Everyone was most interested in the ritual side of the holiday dedicated to Zeus.
As is known, ancient greek history depicts mythology with some degree of authenticity. One of the poetic myths of ancient Greece tells how the Olympic stadium came into being. If you listen to this legend, then its founder was Hercules from Crete. Around the 17th century. BC e. He and his four brothers landed on the Peloponnesian Peninsula. There, near the hill with the grave of the titan Kronos, according to the legend of the son of Zeus, defeated in the fight, Hercules, in honor of his father’s victory over his grandfather, organized a running competition with his brothers. To do this, on a site at the foot of the hill, he measured a distance of 11 stages, which corresponded to 600 of his feet. an improvised treadmill 192 m 27 cm long and served as the basis for the future Olympic Stadium. For three centuries, it was in this primitive arena that the games, later called the Olympic Games, were held on an irregular basis.
Gradually, the Olympics won the recognition of all states located on the Peloponnesian Peninsula, and by 776 BC. e. acquired a pan-Greek character. It was from this date that the tradition of perpetuating the names of the winners began.
Eve grand opening During the games, an ancient tent city was located near the stadium on the banks of the Alpheus River. In addition to many sports fans, traders of various goods and owners of entertainment establishments also flocked here. Thus, even in ancient times, the concern for preparing for the games involved the most diverse social strata of the Greek population in organizational affairs. The Greek festival dedicated to the glorification of physical strength and the unity of a nation that worships the deified beauty of man. The Olympic Games, as their popularity grew, influenced the center of Olympia - Altis. For more than 11 centuries, pan-Greek games were held in Olympia. Similar games were held in other centers of the country, but none of them could be equal to the Olympic ones.
One of the most beautiful legends of the past tells about the god-fighter and protector of people Prometheus, who stole fire from Olympus and brought it in reeds and taught mortals to use it. As the myths say, Zeus ordered Hephaestus to chain Prometheus to the Caucasus rock, pierced his chest with a spear, and a huge eagle flew every morning to peck the titan’s liver; he was saved by Hercules. And not a legend, but history testifies that in other cities of Hellas there was a cult of Prometheus, and in his honor Prometheans were held - competitions of runners with burning torches.
The figure of this titan remains to this day one of the most striking images in Greek mythology. The expression “Promethean fire” means the desire for high goals in the fight against evil. Didn’t the ancients have the same meaning when they lit the fire about three thousand years ago? Olympic flame in the Altis Grove?
During the summer solstice, competitors and organizers, pilgrims and fans paid homage to the gods by lighting fire on the altars of Olympia. The winner of the running competition was given the honor of lighting the fire for the sacrifice. In the glow of this fire, rivalries between athletes, a competition of artists took place, and a peace agreement was concluded by envoys from cities and peoples.
That is why the tradition of lighting a fire and later delivering it to the competition site was resumed.
Among the Olympic rituals, the ceremony of lighting the fire in Olympia and delivering it to the main arena of the games is especially emotional. This is one of the traditions of the modern Olympic movement. Millions of people can watch the exciting journey of fire through countries, and even sometimes continents, with the help of television.
The Olympic flame first broke out at the Amsterdam Stadium on the first day of the 1928 Games. This is an indisputable fact. However, until recently, most researchers in the field Olympic history they find no confirmation that this flame was delivered, as tradition dictates, by a relay race from Olympia.
The torch relay races, which carried the flame from Olympia to the city of the Summer Olympics, began in 1936. Since then, the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games have been enriched by the exciting spectacle of the lighting of the torch carried by the relay in the main Olympic stadium. The Torchbearers' Run has been the ceremonial prologue to the Games for more than four decades. On June 20, 1936, a fire was lit in Olympia, which then traveled a 3,075-kilometer journey along the route of Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Germany. And in 1948, the torch made its first sea voyage.
In 394 AD e. The Roman Emperor Theodosius 1 issued a decree banning the further holding of the Olympic Games. The emperor converted to Christianity and decided to eradicate anti-Christian games glorifying pagan gods. And for one and a half thousand years the games were not held. In subsequent centuries, sport lost the democratic significance that was given to it in Ancient Greece. For a long time it became the privilege of the “selected” fraud and ceased to play the role of the most accessible means of communication between peoples.
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.
One of the types of competitions was chariot racing - unusually dangerous look sports, horses often got scared, chariots collided, jockeys fell under the wheels... Sometimes only two out of ten chariots reached the start. But all the same, no matter how much strength and dexterity the jockey showed, it was not he who received the winner’s wreath, but the owner of the horses!
Women had their own Games - they were dedicated to the goddess Hera. They took place a month before the men's race or, conversely, a month after them, at the same stadium where the women competed in running.
With the advent of the Renaissance, which restored interest in the art of Ancient Greece, people remembered the Olympic Games. At the beginning of the 19th century. The sport gained universal recognition in Europe and a desire arose to organize something similar to the Olympic Games. Local games organized in Greece in 1859, 1870, 1875 and 1879 left some traces in history. Although they did not produce tangible practical results in the development of the international Olympic movement, they served as an impetus for the formation of the Olympic Games of our time, which owe their revival to the French public figure, teacher, and historian Pierre De Coubertin. The growth of economic and cultural communication between states, which arose at the end of the 18th century, the emergence modern species transport, paved the way for the revival of the Olympic Games on an international scale. That is why the call of Pierre De Coubertin: “We need to make sport international, we need to revive the Olympic Games!” found a proper response in many countries.
On June 23, 1894, a commission to revive the Olympic Games met in the Great Hall of the Sorbonne in Paris. Pierre De Coubertin became its general secretary. Then the International Olympic Committee– The IOC, which includes the most authoritative and independent citizens of different countries.
By decision of the IOC, the games of the first Olympics were held in April 1896 in the capital of Greece at the Panathenaic Stadium. Coubertin's energy and the enthusiasm of the Greeks overcame many obstacles and made it possible to fulfill the planned program of the first games of our time. Spectators enthusiastically received the colorful opening and closing ceremonies of the revived sports festival and the awarding of competition winners. The interest in the competition was so great that the marble stands of the Panathenaic Stadium, designed for 70 thousand seats, accommodated 80 thousand spectators. The success of the revival of the Olympic Games was confirmed by the public and press of many countries, which greeted the initiative with approval.
Legends associated with the origin of the Olympic Games:
* One of the oldest is the legend of Pelops, which is mentioned by the ancient Roman poet Ovid in his “Metamorphoses” and the ancient Greek poet Pindar. Pelops, the son of Tantalus, is told in this legend, after King Ilus of Troy conquered his hometown of Sipylus, left his homeland, and went to the shores of Greece. In the very south of Greece, he found a peninsula and settled on it. Since then, this peninsula began to be called the Peloponnese. One day Pelops saw the beautiful Hypodamia, the daughter of Oenomaus. Oenomaus was the king of Pisa, a city located in the northwestern Peloponnese, in the valley of the Alpheus River. Pelops fell in love with the beautiful daughter of Oenomaus and decided to ask the king for her hand in marriage.
But this turned out to be not so easy. The fact is that the oracle predicted Oenomaus' death at the hands of his daughter's husband. To prevent such a fate, Oenomai decided not to marry his daughter at all. But how to do that? How to refuse all applicants for the hand of Hypodamia? Many worthy suitors wooed the beautiful princess. Oenomaus could not refuse everyone without a reason and came up with a cruel condition: he would give Hypodamia as a wife only to the one who defeats him in a chariot race, but if he turns out to be the winner, then the defeated one must pay with his life. In all of Greece, Oenomaus had no equal in the art of driving a chariot, and his horses were faster than the wind.
One after another, young people came to the palace of Oenomaus, not afraid to lose their lives just to get the beautiful Hypodamia as a wife. And Oenomaus killed them all, and to discourage others from coming to woo, he nailed the heads of the dead to the doors of the palace. But this did not stop Pelops. He decided to outwit the cruel ruler of Pisa. Pelops secretly agreed with Oenomaus' charioteer Myrtilus not to insert the pin holding the wheel on the axle.
Before the start of the competition, Oenomaus, confident, as always, of success, invited Pelops to start the race alone. The groom's chariot takes off, and Oenomaus slowly makes a sacrifice to the great thunderer Zeus and only after that rushes after him.
Now the chariot of Oenomaus has reached Pelops, the son of Tantalus already feels the hot breath of the horses of King Pisa, he turns around and sees the king swinging his spear with a triumphant laugh. But at this moment the wheels jump off the axles of Oenomaus’s chariot, the chariot overturns, and the cruel king falls to the ground dead.
Pelops returned triumphantly to Pisa, took the beautiful Hippodamia as his wife, took possession of the entire kingdom of Oenomaus and, in honor of his victory, organized a sports festival in Olympia, which he decided to repeat every four years.
* Other legends claim that a running competition took place in Olympia near the tomb of Cronos, the father of Zeus. And as if they were organized by Zeus himself, who thus celebrated the victory over his father, which made him the ruler of the world.
* But perhaps the most popular legend in ancient times was one that Pindar mentioned in his songs in honor of the winners of the Olympic Games. According to this legend, the Games were founded by Hercules after completing his sixth labor - cleansing the barnyard of Augeas, king of Elis. Augeas possessed innumerable wealth. His herds were especially numerous. Hercules invited Augeas to cleanse his entire huge courtyard in one day if he agreed to give him a tenth of his herds. Augeas agreed, believing that it was simply impossible to complete such work in one day. Hercules broke the wall surrounding the barnyard on two opposite sides and diverted the water of the Alpheus River into it. One day the water carried away all the manure from the barnyard, and Hercules built the walls again. When Hercules came to Augeas to demand a reward, the king did not give him anything, and even kicked him out.
Hercules took terrible revenge on the king of Elis. With a large army he invaded Elis, defeated Augeas in a bloody battle and killed him with a deadly arrow. After the victory, Hercules gathered troops and all the loot near the city of Pisa, made sacrifices to the Olympic gods and established the Olympic Games, which were held from then on every four years on the sacred plain, planted by Hercules himself with olive trees dedicated to the goddess Pallas Athena.
There are many other versions of the appearance and creation of the Olympic Games, but all these versions, most often of mythological origin, remain versions.
* According to indisputable signs, the appearance of the Olympic Games dates back to the 9th century BC. e. In those days, heavy wars ravaged the Greek states. Iphitus, the king of Elis, a small Greek state on whose territory Olympia is located, goes to Delphi to consult with the oracle on how he, the king of a small country, can save his people from war and robbery. The Delphic oracle, whose predictions and advice were considered infallible, advised Iphitus:
"We need you to found Games pleasing to the gods!"
Iphit immediately sets off to meet with his powerful neighbor, the king of Sparta, Lycurgus. Apparently Iphitus was a good diplomat, since Lycurgus decides that Elis should henceforth be recognized as a neutral state. And all the small fragmented states, endlessly at war with each other, agree with this decision. Immediately, Iphit, in order to prove his peace-loving aspirations and thank the gods, establishes “athletic Games that will be held at Olympia every four years.” Hence their name - the Olympic Games. This happened in 884 BC. e.
Thus, a custom was established in Greece according to which, once every four years, at the height of internecine wars, everyone put their weapons aside and went to Olympia to admire harmoniously developed athletes and praise the gods.
The Olympic Games became a national event that united all of Greece, while before and after them Greece was a multitude of disparate states warring among themselves.
* After some time, the Greeks came up with the idea of establishing a single calendar for the Olympic Games. It was decided to hold the Games regularly every four goals “between the harvest and the grape harvest.” Olympic holiday, which consisted of numerous religious ceremonies and sports competitions, was held first for one day, then for five days, and later the duration of the holiday reached a whole month.
When the festival lasted only one day, it was usually held on the eighteenth day of the "holy month", beginning with the first full moon after the summer solstice. The holiday was repeated every four years, which constituted the “Olympiad” - the Greek Olympic year.
Sports, often understood by the Greeks as competitions, had such social significance that the earliest precisely dated records date back to 776 BC. e. do not contain memories of a battle or political event, but the name of the first winner of the Olympic Games. It was in 776 BC. and the first Olympic Games were held.
Sport was one of the fundamental components of education for the Greeks. However, sporting competitions also had important religious significance; competitions were held at funerals significant people and were one of the ways to honor the deceased. It is very likely that the games began to be held in memory of the heroes whose death was mourned by everyone, like the death of Oenomaus at Olympia. In the historical era, the funerary significance of the competitions faded away, their entertainment came to the fore, and now they were organized to please the gods. Over time, some of the cult venues for competitions, in particular Olympia, began to acquire great importance for political and religious reasons, so that it was necessary to allow residents of neighboring cities, then adjacent regions, to participate in competitions.
The games acquired such importance that wars even stopped during their holding. The number of people attending the games is evidenced by the size of the Olympic Stadium - its stands could accommodate up to 40 thousand spectators, and 20 people could run on the treadmill at the same time.
The competition lasted five days, of which part of the time was devoted directly to sports competitions, and the other part was devoted to sacrifices, feasts and other religious rites.
Only Hellenic citizens could participate in the competition. Non-citizens and barbarians could only be spectators. However, after joining Rome, an exception was made for the Romans, which, however, is not surprising. Women, even as spectators, were not allowed to attend the festive competitions.
The first, and initially the only, type of competition in the Olympic Games was running - they ran a distance of 192 meters (one Olympic stage). Starting from the 14th game, a new competition appeared - the double run. In this competition, the runners already ran two stages - 384 m. Later, a long run appeared (from 15 games) over a distance of 7 to 24 stages.
Starting from the 65th Olympiad, hoplite running was included in the competition - runners competed in fully equipped heavily armed infantryman. By the way, this is the only type of competition in the Olympic Games in which athletes covered their nakedness.
In addition to running, athletes competed in fist fight(added at the 23rd Olympiad), pankration, or hand-to-hand combat(added at the 33rd Olympics), wrestling (added at the 18th Olympics) and pentathlon or pentathlon (added at the 18th Olympics).
An important part of the competition was horse racing. The quadriga races were especially popular (since the 25th Olympic Games). The winners were the owners of the horses, not the drivers. This sport was available only to high society - the richest Greeks and representatives of royal families who were able to keep horses.
The reward for the winner of the games was a wreath made of wild olive and, naturally, universal veneration among their fellow tribesmen - poems were written in their honor, even statues were erected.
In 394, the Olympic Games, as pagan, were banned by the Christian emperor Theodosius. For many centuries, humanity forgot about these grandiose competitions, sports facilities fell into disrepair or were destroyed.
The Olympic Games received a new life in the 19th century - since 1896, the Summer Olympic Games were organized by enthusiasts. They were held every four years. Beginning in 1924, the Winter Olympic Games were established, which, starting in 1994, began to be held with a two-year shift relative to the time of the summer games.
When and where did the Olympic Games appear? And who is the founder of the Olympic Games, you will learn from this article.
Brief history of the Olympic Games
The Olympic Games originated in Ancient Greece, because the inherent athleticism of the Greeks became the reason for the emergence of sports games. The founder of the Olympic Games is King Oenomaus, who organized sport games for those who wanted to take his daughter Hippodamia as a wife. According to legend, he was predicted that the cause of death would be his son-in-law. Therefore, young people who won certain competitions died. Only the cunning Pelops overtook Oenomaus in chariots. So much so that the king broke his neck and died. The prediction came true, and Pelops, having become king, established the organization of the Olympic Games in Olympia every 4 years.
At Olympia, the site of the first Olympic Games, it is believed that the first competition took place in 776 BC. The name of the one who was the first winner of the games in Ancient Greece – Koreb from Elis, who won the race.
Olympic Games in ancient Greece sports
For the first 13 games, the only sport in which the participants competed was running. Afterwards there was the pentathlon. It included running, javelin throwing, long jump, discus throwing, and wrestling. A little later they added a chariot race and a fist fight.
The modern program of the Olympic Games includes 7 winter and 28 summer species sports, that is, 15 and 41 disciplines, respectively. It all depends on the season.
Once the Romans annexed Greece to Rome, the number of nationalities that could take part in the games increased. Gladiator fights were added to the competition program. But in 394 AD, Emperor Theodosius I, a fan of Christianity, canceled the Olympic Games, considering them entertainment for pagans.
The Olympic Games have sunk into oblivion for 15 centuries. The first to take a step towards reviving forgotten competitions was the Benedictine monk Bernard de Montfaucon. He was interested in the history and culture of Ancient Greece and insisted that excavations should be carried out in the place where the famous Olympia had once been.
In 1766, Richard Chandler found the ruins of unknown ancient structures near Mount Kronos. It was part of the temple wall. In 1824, Lord Stanhof, an archaeologist, began excavations on the banks of the Alpheus. In 1828, the baton of excavations at Olympia was picked up by the French, and in 1875 by the Germans.
Pierre de Coubertin, statesman France insisted that the Olympic Games must be resumed. And in 1896, the first revived Olympic Games were held in Athens, which are still popular today.
We hope that from this article you learned where and when the Olympic Games originated.
