Ancient Greek Athletic Festivals

773 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Olympics ancient greece to now

Olympic Games were held every fourth year between 776 BCE and 395 C.E. These Olympic Games lure people from across the country of Greece just to watch athletes that have trained for four years long compete in sport such as running and long-jump. Only the best of the best can win the Olympic Games.
Olympia
Olympia sporting events were around long before any of the three Greek athletic festivals. These games were held to honor the Greek god Zeus. Athletes were to abide by the rules of the game in front of a statue of Zeus. Greek officials are sure to announce the games all across Greece in protection of travelers as a defense to any hostilities because they are banned during these events.
Equestrian events Chariot racing drew in the biggest audience. The rich and wealth owned chariot which they either raced them their self or hired a skilled charioteer. Everyone is eager to win but the game came with some danger like crashes. Crashes usually happen when turning and the wheels lock. The painting on the vase showcases the intensity and determination of charioteer and horses. The dangerous speed of the back of the horse neck. Back around these early times riders toke huge risk due to stirrups or saddle not being invented yet. A soiree was held for the winning horse and owners plus the rider less horses that came first. …show more content…

Discus jumping javelin, running, and wrestling all take place in one afternoon. There are many differences in ancient Greek competitors and modern competitors. Discus throwers almost never threw more than 30 meters whereas modern competitors throw more than twice of that amount. The differences in long jump competitor they use weight which help improve their jump lengths. In javelin throwing a thong was attached to the javelin shaft to add spin and secure a steadier flight. Pentathletes physical looks got a lot of attention but pentathletes as a division was looked at as second class competitors to other

Show More
Related

  • Apoxyomenos and the Role of Athletics in Ancient Greek Culture

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    Athletics were an expression of the philosophical, religious and civic values that were at the very heart of Greek culture. In the world of the ancient Greeks, well-educated individuals were expected to be balanced mentally, spiritually, and physically (http://www.mediaconcero.com/olympic/olympia/ideal_o.php, September 27, 2004). It was felt that athletics aided in the creation of such an individual. Athletic events during this period were not simply displays of physical prowess, but an integration of the facets of Greek culture.

    Read More

  • Ancient Greece´s View on Women

    1838 Words  | 4 Pages

    “It is universally accepted that 776 B.C. was the year the festival at Olympia, in honor of Zeus, became known as the Olympics, and the period of four years between celebrations became an Olympiad (Zimmerman 1984).” Yet the precise circumstances surrounding the creation of the ancient Olympics are still shrouded in mystery. Several myths encompassin...

    Read More

  • Roman Entertainment

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    precautions taken before each race. The horses and the drivers were both checked to ensure

    Read More

  • Overview of the Olympics

    578 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first Olympic Games were held in Greece in ancient times. They probably began in the sixth century B.C. The contests are held every four years in the summer. The first games lasted for only one day. There was only one contest. It was a short race. Only Greek men were allowed to run in the race. Women were not allowed to watch the games either, or to be anywhere near the gaming area. Other events were added later, swimming. But the ancient games were stopped in the fourth century, A.D., when Greece was ruled by Rome.

    Read More

  • Greek Statues And the Olympics

    450 Words  | 1 Pages

    The time has come again for Olympics games to begin. Organizers of the Olympics must choose the finest statues from a certain time period; they chose to decorate with the Classical period. They believed that the Classical period would best decorate the course of the marathon because they believe that the Classical statues characterize both modern and ancient values the best. The three Classical statutes that would best signify both ancient and modern values would be: The Charioteer from Delphi, The Discus Thrower, and Zeus/Poseidon. These three Classical statutes would best depict both modern and western values because of their characteristics of determination, freedom of expression/language, as well as their perfection of form.

    Read More

  • Religion In Ancient Greek Religion

    1948 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Cambridge Illustrated History of Ancient Greece explains a variety of ways in which the Greeks were influenced by their religion. The Greeks expressed their respect for their gods through sacred acts, primarily festivals and rituals. The festivals were held to honor certain deities such as the Olympic Games, an event held for athletes meant to honor

    Read More

  • Ancient Greek Olympics

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    time to time the Greeks held ceremonies of Games in honor of their god Zeus.

    Read More

  • The Modern Olympics: The Traditions Of The Modern Games

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Olympics

    1338 Words  | 3 Pages

    Back in ancient Greece is where the ancient Olympics originated. It was primarily a part of a religious festival in honor of Zeus the father of Greek Gods and Goddesses. The Olympics where held at the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia, which is in Western Peloponnesos. From 776 BC, the games took place at Olympia every 4 years for almost 12 centuries. In 776 BC the only event was the Stadion Race that was a foot race 600 feet long, Koroibos, a cook from Elis, won it. Additional athletic events were gradually added until; by the 5th century BC it was a 5-day program that consisted of three foot races, the pentathlon, boxing, wrestling, pankration, and the hoplitodromos.

    Read More

  • Ancient Olympics

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Pentathlon was the name for the five events in Greek gymnastics: running, jumping, wrestling, discus throwing, and javelin throwing which began with the 18th Olympiad. In the wrestling event, wrestlers were anointed with oil, dusted with powder, and forbidden to bite or gouge one another. Wrestling was looked upon as a weapon-free military exercise. Since there was no weapons wrestlers that competed used their weight and strength as an advantage especially since there were no weight categories. The Javelin was thrown in the same form back in ancient times as it is thrown today. The first recorded Olympic Games had one event, a race, called the stade which is a measure of the distance of the length of the track. By 724 B.C. a two-length race was added and by 700 B.C. there were longer distance races. By 720 B.C., men participated naked, except in the foot race in armor that weighed between fifty to sixty pounds. The outfit included a helmet, greaves, and a shield that helped young men build speed and stamina in preparation for war. The Pentathlon included three running events such as the Stade, the Diaulos, and the Dolichos. The Stade was a 200 yard foot race, was the first and only Olympic event for 13 Games. The dolichos was a variable length foot race averaging twenty stades or four thousand yards for the fifteenth Olympiad. The Diaulos was a four hundred yard foot race that was instituted for the next Olympic Games. The discus was considered by ancient Greeks, an event of rhythm, precision, and finesse of a competitor to throw the discus was as important as his strength. The discus was made of stone, iron, bronze, or lead, and was shaped like a flying saucer. The Sizes were different for the boys' division, since the boys were not expected to throw the same weighted discus as the men. The athletes who competed in the jump event used lead or stone jump weights called halteres shaped like telephone receivers to increase ...

    Read More

  • Summary Of Sport And Spectacle In The Ancient World

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dr. Donald Kyle, in his book Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient world, makes the argument that ancient Greek athletic participation was technically open to all male Greek citizens, but not all male Greeks could or did participate. Dr. Kyle asserts that because all male Greeks had access to athletics from youth that sport in ancient Greece was democratic. But, when it comes to spectacle or what would more modernly be seen as professional sport, it was often aristocratic athletes performing in front of a crowd of lower-class people. The way lower-class people would have perceived sport is much different than how an aristocratic athlete would have viewed sport. Sport in ancient Greece was not democratic; every male Greek citizen had the opportunity

    Read More

  • How Did Ancient Greece Influenced Modern Sports

    502 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Ancient Olympics were huge in introducing sports and events that we now play. The sports that were played in the Ancient Olympics consisted of boxing, chariot racing, riding, pentathlon, discus, javelin, jump, running, and wrestling. All those sport would have never been played without the Greeks introducing them. These sports have become very popular and a lot of people play them. For example wrestling can be played at very young ages and all the way through high school. Another example is running, jumping, javelin, and discus which are all played in high school and some even in elementary.

    Read More

  • The Ancient Olympics

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    It was followed by contact sports (wrestling, boxing, and pankration) and an armor race. It all ended on day five with closing ceremonies. The Greeks felt a need to go to the Olympics not only because of the excellent events and opportunities, but also because of its religious significance. The Olympics were “as spiritually profound for pagans as a pilgrimage to Varanasi for Hindus or the Muslim hajj” ( Perrottet 11).

    Read More

  • Ancient Greek Sports

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Throwing events allow athletes to throw an object a distance to achieve a victory over the competition” (Deemer). That is how competition today is similar to competition in ancient Greece Competition though does not come without much preparation through

    Read More

  • The History Of The Olympic Games

    1381 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ancient Olympics The ancient Olympics had some differences from the modern Games. There were fewer events, and only free men who spoke Greek could compete, instead of athletes from any country. Women where not allowed to even watch the games on penalty of death let alone play in them.. Also, the games were always held at Olympia in Greece instead of being moved around to different sites every time. But also they had some similarities to our modern Olympics, winning athletes were heroes who put their home towns on the map, and became financially sound for life. The conflict between the Olympic's ideals of sportsmanship and unity and the commercialism and political acts which accompany the Games where also present in ancient times. "Sotades at the ninety-ninth Festival was victorious in the long race and proclaimed a Cretan, as in fact he was. But at the next Festival he made himself an Ephesian, being bribed to do so by the Ephesian people. For this act he was banished by the Cretans."

    Read More

More about Ancient Greek Athletic Festivals

Open Document