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The history of olympic games essay
The history of olympic games essay
The introduction to the Olympic games in ancient Greece
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Every two years, millions of people around the world turn on their TV sets and watch the greatest athletes in the world compete for the greatest achievement any athlete can reach… The bronze, silver, and gold medals of the summer and winter Olympics. Those millions of people cheer mostly for their country and wear their favorite athlete’s jersey. They plan parties for their favorite events and make memories with every game. With all the hustle and bustle, people don’t stop to think about how the Olympics affect the town, city, state, and even world around it. How does it benefit? What does it cause? What does it leave behind? Who does it impact? So many questions can be thought up about how the Olympics impact the world. The two most talked about topics are the affects it has economically and socially. To find out where the entire hubbub began, one must travel back to the 6th century B.C. in ancient Greece.
What other culture to be the history of games where people compete athletically for medals in front of tons of people other than the Greeks and their magnificent gods? That’s right. The history of the Olympics is rumored to start with the famous Hercules and the mortal woman Alcmene founding the games. However, the first written records were in 776 B.C. when a cook won the 192 meter footrace and became the first Olympic champion. The games, known as the ancient Olympics, were held between August 6 and September 19 every four years while a religious festival was held honoring the great Zeus. The games became so popular that the people of Greece started measuring time by the four years between each Olympics. A set of the four years was called an Olympiad. The name “Olympics” came from the town that the games took place, which wa...
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...dal in his country's history.” (Coles)
Works Cited
“After The Party: What happens when the Olympics leave town?” The Independent. n.p. 19 Aug. 2008. Web. 29 March 2014.
Chernyshenko, Dmitry, and V. Sadovnichy. “The Olympic Games Impact.” OGI Digest. 2013. Print.
Coles, Terri. “Famous Olympic Quotes To Get Inspired About The Games.” Huffington Post. 7 Feb. 2014. Web. 31 March 2014.
History.com Staff. ”The Olympic Games.” History.com. A+E Networks, 2010. Web. 28 March 2014.
Malfas, Maximos, B. Houlihan, and E. Theodoraki. "Impacts of the Olympic Games as mega-events." ICE, 2004. Print.
Rishe, Patrick. “How Does London's Olympics Bill Compare to Previous Games?” Forbes. n.p. 5 Aug. 2011. Web. 28 March 2014.
Wilson, Stephen. “Size, scale and cost of Sochi Olympics pose challenge for future Winter Games.” Fox News. Associated Press. 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 29 March 2014.
Since 776 BCE, the Olympics have been a way for people of different cultures to come together and compete in friendly competition. In 1892 the first modern Olympics were held in Athens, although it had been over a thousand years since the last game it still had brought together an assortment of different religions and ethnic groups together. Many factors shaping the Olympic Games reflect the changes that have taken place in our world since the last game in 393 CE in Greece such changes include woman’s suffrage, global economy, world wars, and proving competency.
As the base of this essay is on how the Olympics have been used in the
Professor Chris Pelling of UCL wrote The Ancient Olympics. In addition, the author is a member of the UCL Department of Greek and Latin. In this article, the author describe and explain how sports were more than a competition in the ancient Greece. His hypothesis was that sports were a way to get honor and power instead of just competing. It represents more than a simple crown of leaves and olive-branch at the Olympics. It gave power, fame and honor to the athlete and their home city. In addition, they were awarded with many material rewards such as money, and women. For instance, the primary method employed in this research consisted
Kindersly, Dorling. The Olympic Games: Athens 1896-Sydney 2000 Chronicle of the Games, 1 July 2000
In the past the Olympic games were used as a way for the Greeks to honor their gods. Today the games are not an honoring but more of a social gathering. What’s great about the games today is that everyone has equal opportunity to compete. No matter your gender, size, ethnicity, or wealth, all you have to do is work hard and
Print. The. MacNee, Marie J., and Rebecca Nelson, eds., pp. 113-117 The Olympic Factbook: a Spectator's Guide.
Close, Paul, David Askew, and Xin Xu. The Beijing Olympics the Political Economy of a Sporting Mega-event.. Hoboken: Taylor & Francis, 2006.. 34-35
Modern Day Olympics are a huge tradition that sweeps the screens of televisions across the world. Competitors take the arena with uniforms that dawn their countries colors and designs that are meant to resemble their designated flag. For months the news is centered around the games; the preparation, the athletes, and of course the competition. Countries aren 't obsessed, they are inspired and full of pride seeing athletes from their country compete and show their incredible skill. This tradition dates back to ancient Greece where the games began. Tony Perrottet writes about the traditions of the ancient game in his book The Naked Olympics.
Politics is the art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs. The Olympic Games is an event held every 4 years, which includes a variety of sporting activities in which different countries compete against one another. “Sport is frequently a tool of diplomacy”. By sending delegations of athletes abroad, states can establish a first basis for diplomatic relations or can more effectively maintain such relations” (Espy 3). One might think that politics and the Olympics have nothing to do with each other, but in fact, they do have a lot in common.
It was estimated that the Olympic Games 2012 would involve more than 11,000 athletes and officials, 1 million visitors from around the world, and 4 billion television audiences, or more. Therefore, it was important to ensure that the Games preparations were ready on time, delivered high standard sports facilities to the sports professionals while controlled spending within budget.
With over two hundred countries participating, the Olympic Games is easily considered as one of the largest multisport event known to history. The Olympics are held at a different country, and even more rarely at the same city. For a country to be chosen to host the Olympics, the country’s National Olympic Committee (the country’s representatives for the Olympics) nominates a city (from the country they represent) that they think has potential in hosting the Olympics nine years prior to when they wish to host the Olympics. It is a two year process that consists of: Application Phase, Candidate Phase and the Election of the Host City. The country that wins the election is given seven years to prepare for the Olympics. (International Olympic Committee, n.d., p. xx-xx) The hosting country expends billions of dollars, usually money they don’t have, preparing for the Olympics. Then the question is raised 'why would a country go through so much trouble and spend an outrageous amount of money to host this event?' Throughout this discussion paper it will address all the pros and cons for a country to host the Olympics. It will also see if a smaller sports event can produce the same benefits the Olympic offers with less cost and risk.
The Olympic Games is a world renowned platform for the very best of athletes from all over the world to come together in the spirit of healthy competition and show the world the result of their hours of dedication to training. Athletes who represent their country in the Olympics hold the responsibility of performing to the best of their ability so that no matter what the outcome is at the end of their event, the county as a whole is proud to be associated with that particular athlete. In having a result as such, the nation stands united as one with an elevated sense of national pride. A BBC World News exert by Jane Mower (2012), serves as proof that Olympic success leads to national pride and that the performance of the athletes is important
Most at times do not really realize how important history and its events greatly influence the way we live and what we do today! Every four years we celebrate the beginning of something that was brought up long ago, the Olympics! This great event in which, now the whole world participates in started way back in the year 776 BC. It started from people playing for the God Zeus to people playing for their country and a medal, the Olympic Games sure did evolve as the time and beliefs changed.
... able to be the competitors of the Olympic Games, this is an internationally recognized action for them. If the IOC did not co-ordinate this event well, believe that the development of Olympic Games may not be as well as today.
Introduction Today, the Olympic Games are the world's largest pageant of athletic skill and competitive spirit. They are also displays of nationalism, commerce and politics. Well-known throughout the world the games have been used to promote understanding and friendship among nations, but have also been a hotbed of political disputes and boycotts. The Olympic games started thousands of years ago and lasted over a millennium.. The symbolic power of the Games lived on after their demise, and came to life again as the modern Olympic Games being revived in the last century. Both the modern and Ancient Olympics have close similarities in there purpose and in there problems.