Festivals and Rules The ancient Olympics were held at Olympia every 4 years to honor the Greek gods Zeus and Hera. There was a truce made saying that every city-state pay for a few athletes to go to Olympia. Only men could compete and they had to swear they had trained for 10 months. There were fewer events and only men who spoke Greek competed. A man who committed a crime or stolen from a temple was banned.

Training An athlete started training from early childhood. The kids had 3 types of trainers, who were called the Paidotribes, Gymnastes, and the Aleiptes. An athlete had to arrive in Elis one month before the games. Once there, they continued training in the arenas. Runners, pentathletes, wrestlers, boxers, and boys trained in separate arenas. If anyone cheated, they were fined by the judges.

Boxing and Chariot Racing Boxing was a fight without rounds until one man was knocked out or admitted he was beaten There were no rules against hitting an opponent while he was on the ground. The athletes didn’t fight with people the same weight; they were chosen randomly. Racing had both 2 and 4 horse racing. The course was 12 laps around the stadium track, which was 9 miles. The owner of the horse won the wreath of victory instead of the jockey. Separate races were held with races with foals.

Pankration and Pentathlon The Pankration was a combination of boxing and wrestling. Punches were allowed and so was kicking an opponents belly. Rules were no biting, cutting an opponent’s eyes, nose, or mouth with their fingernails. There were separate divisions held for the men and the boys. The Pentathlon was a 5 combination of the discus, javelin,jumping,running and wrestling.

Discus and Jump The Discus was made of stone, iron, bronze, or lead.. It was shaped like a flying saucer, and the sizes varied. This event was held to prove a man’s strength. Jump weights doubled as weight lifting equipment was used during training. Halters were held in front during the jump, pulled back, and then dropped to help the athletes body go further.

Running and Wrestling There were 4 types of running races. The Stadion was the oldest event where runners sprinted 192 meters. Other races doubled as 384 meters. Ranged from 1,344 to 4,608 meters. Another race, from 384 to 768 meters, was run in armor. The armor weighed between 50 and 60 pounds. In wrestling an athlete needed to throw an athlete to the ground by landing on a hip, shoulder, or back for a fair fall. Three throws were needed to win a match. Biting was not allowed, but an attack or breaking an opponents finger was permitted.

Women Women, if they were caught attending the games, were thrown off Mount Tyraeum. Footraces held outside of the stadium were run by unmarried women wearing short tunics. Young adults fathers sometimes took them to the games hoping they would get married to one of the winning athletes.

Winning Athletes When an athlete won, he received an olive wreath of victory. When the athletes went home, their cities greeted them with celebrations. An athletes victory meant a god favored him and was immortalized for accomplishments. When they went home, they received rewards. Some were permitted to fight beside the king, have their names put in public places, and given free meals at Pyratoneion for life. The family of the athlete had statues of the put in Olympia.

Fun Facts The Olympics had begun in 776 B.C. As Greece lost power, the Olympic Games fell apart. Religious parts were forgotten and the idea of fair play did too. The Olympic Games ended in 394 A.D. The Olympic Games had been held for nearly 1,200 years.