Contributions of Greek and Roman Empires

While Greece had many contributions to the formation of Western civilization, perhaps their most important contribution is the Olympic Games. Originally held in honor of the gods, then Olympics became a 5-day festival in 472 BC. The first day of the games were devoted to sacrifices. There were large group sacrifices, but the athletes also spent time alone to offer sacrifices to the gods. On the second day of the festivities, the most important event of the Olympics was held, the foot-races. There were four different kinds of footraces: the stadion, which was the length of the stadium, a 2-stade, which was the length of the stadium and back, a long distance race, which was about 7-24 times the length of the stadium, and a 2-4 stade race with the runners wearing full armor. The other events in the games were held on the remaining days. Boxing was much more dangerous back then then it is now. The athletes wore straps of leather over their hands to protect them. Sometimes the leather was weighted down with metal. The match went on until one of the athletes quit. Horse-racing was also held during the Olympics. The horses were owned by the athletes, who were mostly of the higher castes. The race was 6 laps around a track. There were also chariot races, consisting of 2-4 horses pulling a chariot for a similar distance, and a mule race. The Pentathlon in the ancient Olympics consisted of sprinting, long-jumping, javelin-hurling, discus-throwing, and wrestling. The winner was the one with the average best score (ancientgreece.com). The early Olympic Games contributed to Western civilization by not only providing the Olympic Games, a tradition that still continues to this day, but by setting a standard for other athletic competitions.

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...alled a sica, which often had a curved or notched blade. The last type of gladiator, Bestiaries (animal-fighter), were trained to fight and ride on animals. They were the lowest ranking gladiators, and they used whips and spears while having almost no armor (Zograf). The Gladiatorial games contributed to the development of western civilization by providing some of the first entertainment in the ancient world. They also led to the development of free-standing structures and were the start of theater, even though today its much less gruesome.

Works Cited

"Ancient Greece-Olympic Games." Ancientgreece.com. University Press Onc., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

Morey, William C. "Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 20." Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 20. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

Zograf, Bohdan. "Gladiatorial Games." Gladiatorial Games. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.