The Olympic movement originated in ancient Greece. For many years, the oldest sports competitions were held on the territory of Olympia, the city that gave its name to the sports festival, which is still one of the most significant and interesting events for people all over the planet.
Organization and holding of the Olympic Games
The first Olympic Games took place in Olympia in 776 BC. This date has survived to this day thanks to the custom of the ancient Greeks to engrave the names of Olympic champions (they were then called Olympians) on marble columns that were installed on the banks of the Alpheus River. The marble preserved not only the date, but also the name of the first winner. It was Korab, a cook from Elis. The first 13 games involved only one type of competition - running one stage. According to the Greek myth, this distance was measured by Hercules himself, and it was equal to 192, 27 m. Hence the well-known word "stadium" came from here. Initially, athletes from two cities took part in the games - Elisa and Pisa. But they soon gained immense popularity, spreading to all the Greek states. At the same time, another wonderful tradition arose: throughout the Olympic Games, the duration of which was constantly increasing, there was a "sacred truce" for all fighting armies.
Not every athlete could become a participant in the games. The law prohibited slaves and barbarians from performing at the Olympics, i.e. foreigners. Free-born Greek athletes had to sign up with the judges a year before the opening of the competition. Immediately before the opening of the Olympic Games, they had to provide evidence that they had been preparing for the competition for at least ten months, keeping fit with daily exercise. An exception was made only for the winners of the previous Olympic Games. The announcement of the upcoming Olympic Games caused an extraordinary stir among the male population throughout Greece. People were heading for Olympia in droves. True, women were forbidden to attend the games on pain of death.
Ancient Olympiad program
Gradually, more and more sports were added to the games program. In 724 BC. Diaul was added to the one-stage run (stadium) - running at a distance of 384, 54 meters, in 720 BC. - dolichodrom or running in 24 stages. In 708 BC. the program of the Olympic Games included pentathlon, consisting of running, long jump, wrestling, discus and javelin throwing. At the same time, the first wrestling competitions were held. In 688 BC. fist fight entered the program of the Olympiad, after two more Olympiads - a chariot competition, and in 648 BC. - the most brutal type of competition is pankration, which combines the techniques of wrestling and fist fighting.
Olympic winners were worshiped as demigods. Throughout their lives, they were given all kinds of honors, and after the death of the Olympian they were ranked among the host of "minor gods".
After the adoption of Christianity, the Olympic Games began to be perceived as one of the manifestations of paganism, and in 394 BC. Emperor Theodosius I banned them.
The Olympic movement was revived only at the end of the nineteenth century, thanks to the Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin. And, of course, the first revived Olympic Games took place on Greek soil - in Athens, in 1896.
