Ancient Olympics Research Paper

The year is 776 B.C. All the Greek citizens and citizens and athletes from neighboring countries gather at one location: Olympia. It is the first Games and not one single person knows how it will turn out, but everyone has been buzzing about it for quite some time. The participants have been training for months, or sometimes even years, and are ready to compete. They lather themselves with olive oil to protect from the blazing sun (“Ancient”). What are they preparing for? The ancient Olympic Games. The modern Olympics as we know it today is certainly much different than it was when the Games began in ancient Greece almost 2,800 years ago. There are different events, different locations, and more nations that participate in the Olympics. Instead

At the end of the ancient Games, there were around fifty events (“Ancient”). Throughout the modern Olympics various events have been added and taken away. In the aquatic category, for example, swimming races were a part of the first modern Olympic Games, but it wasn’t until 1904 that diving was added, and not until 1912 that women’s swimming and diving was also a part of the Games. In 1900, archery was introduced, but it was excluded from the 1912 Stockholm Games. In 1920, archery made its last appearance until 1972. Men’s track and field events were a part of the ancient and first modern Olympics, but women’s events were first added in 1924. Badminton joined the Olympics in 1992. Baseball was introduced in 1992, but just twenty years later in 2012, it was dropped. Men’s basketball was an exhibition event in the 1904 Olympics, but was added as an actual event in 1936. Women’s team joined men’s in 1976, and in 1992, professional players were allowed to participate (“Summer”). The first Olympic event that allowed women to participate was the 1900 Games in Paris, France. In the 1900 Games, winners were also awarded paintings as prizes in place of the medals used today