The Olympic Games

The Olympic Games were held once every four years at Olympia, in honour of Zeus, King of the Gods. There were other festivals which held sporting events but these were the most famous. Men came from all over Greece and the colonies to watch them. All wars were postponed for three months to allow people to travel in safety. The Olympic Games date propably back to 776 BC. There were temples and altars where people came to worship the gods and make sacrifices. A statue of Zeus, which stood in his temple at Olympia, was 13m high and made of gold and ivory. The athletes covered their bodies with oil, as a protection against sun and dirt. After the contest, it was scrapped off with a curved instrument, called a strigil. Judges watched all the events from a special stand in the stadium. Many of the other spectators had to stand as there were few seats. The winners were given ribbons, palm branches or wreaths as prizes. They competed for glory, rather than money. At the end of the games there was a huge banquet.

The contests

The Olympic games lasted for five days. All the athletes were men. One of the contests, the pentathlon, was for all-round athletes. This involved taking part in five events -discus, javelin, jumping, running and wrestling- all in one afternoon.

The oldest event was running. The races were either one, two or 24 lengths of the stadium. In one race the men wore helmets and greaves (leg guards) and carried shields.

Another event was discus throwing. The discus was a flat, bronze disc, about the size of a dinner plate. Javelin throwers wound a leather thong round their fingers. his helped them to throw the javelin more smoothly.

Long jumpers carried weights, which were swung forward as they jumped. Chariot races were included in the games. At one time there were races for chariots drawn by mules.

Horse races and chariot races were held in the hippodrome. The jockeys raced without saddles or stirrups.

In wrestling, either the contest went on till one man gave up, or the victor had to throw his opponent three times. The pankration was a violent form of fighting. But there were strict rules and referrees kept a look out for fouls. Boxers wore leather thongs wound round their hands, sometimes with a piece of sheepskin underneath.