1. The Olympic Games
By: Elizabeth Wagar

2. What are the Olympic Games?
They were held in honor of Zeus every four years in Olympia
The first Olympic games were held in July 776 B.C.E.
Four years between the games is known as the olympiad
The Olympic Games ended in 394 C.E. because Greece was conquered by Romans
The Roman Emperor Theodosius I cancelled them because he thought it offended the Christian religion

3. Evolution of the Olympic Games
At first there was only the 186 yard sprint (dromos) at the Olympics
The purpose of this race was to pay homage to Zeus
For 50 years dromos was the only athletic event but then other races were added
When the Spartans took interest the Olympics had a variety of contests
Athlete comes from the greek word athlos which means contest

4. Evolution of the games continued
The games became so big that it had expanded to five days and all the fighting in Greece stopped
A national truce allowed all the athletes to travel safely to Olympia to be in the Olympic games.
This was known as the Sacred Truce
Contestants had to be of Greek lineage

5. Evolution of the games continued
Women were not allowed to compete so they created their own games called the Heraea in honor of Hera
These were held every five years

6. The Stadium
The running races took place on a wide track known as the stadium
Stadium comes from the Greek word stade
The runners fitted their toes into grooved marble slabs
A blast of a trumpet signaled the beginning of the race
The clay surface was covered with sand to give the runners traction

7. The Legend
“According to the Greek legend, the track measured six hundred feet because this was the distance that the legendary super-hero Heracles could run with one lungful of air.” (He must be one strong dude)

8. The Pancratium
The pancratium was a wild free for all event so the people who participated in the event could do whatever they wanted
One dude named Milo of Crotono became a hero to all Greece because he won the pancratium seven times

9. The Other Events
There was also discus, hurling of the javelin, wrestling and boxing
The wrestling events that took place in an arena are called the palaistra
Another event was chariot racing it was a dangerous event
The crowd was encouraged to wage bets on their favorites
A lot of the best horses came from
Macedonia
Kind of like the hunger hunger games

10. The Other Events Continued
There was one event called the pentathlon
There was five events in this
Two hundred-yard dash, a discus throw, a long jump, a javelin, and wrestling

11. Good Sportsmanship The rules of the game were very precise
Athletes and their trainers took an oath at the altar of Zeus to Practice good sportsmanship and stuff
The judges swore that they would accept no bribes.
Anyone who was found guilty of breaking the rules they were eliminated and had to pay a fine
The money was used to erect a copper statue of Zeus (zanes) which were engraved with the athletes who was guilty

12. What they got when they won
When the games were over the judges would go to the Temple of Zeus
The athletes who won got garlands of wild olive branches cut with a golden knife from the trees of the sacred olive grove (its not a regular olive grove its a sacred olive grove) that grew near the temple
Even Zeus got a wreath
After the ceremony the winners and other contestants had a feast

13. When They Got Back Home
Upon the victors return he traditionally drove a chariot pulled by 4 white horses through a special opening made in the city wall
Olympic champions were considered heroes in their native city- state
The victor would place the wreath on one of the patron gods of his city
Afterwards there was a banquet in honor of him
Some champions enjoyed free meals for life (I wish I could have a free meal for life
Man You get all of this just for winning the Olympic games

15. The Other Games
There were other important festivals that included sports events such as Panhellenic Games which means all greek so all greeks could play in the Panhellenic Games
The Pythian Games were held in honor of Apollo
It was every 4 years in the middle of each olympiad at Delphi
It was famous their competitions of the lyre and flute
Every 2 years athletic games were held at nemea and Corinth
Nemean victors wore wreaths of wild parsley or celery
Isthmian Games were held in honor of poseidon won wreaths of pine needles

16. The Other Games Continues
Athens was the site of the Panathenaic Games
Most participates in this were from Attica but others were welcomed
A winner was given an amphora (clay jar) filled with olive oil
It was given because the main products in Athens were clay jars and olive oil
The amphora was painted of the event in which it was won
This is where our modern tradition of awarding large cups to the winners of sporting tournaments
Local festivals offered other awards such as pottery jars filled with wine, armor, weapons, and sometimes money

18. The Revival of the Olympic Games
The tracks and arenas in Olympia soon fell into ruins
It was worse when two violent earthquakes
The games were forgotten until 1875 when the ruins of Olympia were uncovered by archaeologists
The discovery of the ancient site aroused an interest in the Olympic Games among scholars
Baron Pierre de Coubertin was a french noblemen he was so inspired by the olympic games he worked tirelessly to convince nations from around the world to create a modern series of athletic contests
Thanks to him people were in Sochi

19. That dude had a really big mustache

20. Questions 1. Where is Olympia
2. Why did the first Olympic Games take place
3. Describe the stadium at Olympia
4. What was the Pancratium
5. Describe the racing events at the games
6. What cultural events took place at the games
7. What was the highest honor an Olympian athlete could win
8.How were the victors honored in their cities
9. What are some other games that took place in Ancient Greece?
10. How do the modern Olympics maintain the old traditions of the early Greeks