Olympics
Ancient Greece is a mythical kingdom. Beautiful and moving mythological stories and twists and turns of folklore cast a layer of mystery on the origin of the ancient Olympic Games. There are many legends about the origin of the ancient Olympic Games, the most important of which are the following two: First, the ancient Olympic Games were sports competitions held regularly to worship Zeus. Another legend relates to Hercules, the son of Zeus. Heracles was nicknamed "Hercules" because of his immense strength. He completed a task that ordinary people could not accomplish in the city-state of Elis. In less than half a day, he cleaned up the king's cowshed full of cow dung. However, the king did not want to fulfill his promise of giving away 300 cows, so Hercule drove the king away in anger. To celebrate his victory, he held games at Olympia.
The most widely spread story about the origin of the ancient Olympic Games is the story of the marriage of Pelops. In order to choose a consort with both civil and military skills for his daughter, King Elis of ancient Greece proposed that the candidate must compete with him in a chariot race. During the competition, 13 young men were killed by the king's spear, and the 14th young man was Pelops, the grandson of Zeus and the princess's sweetheart. Inspired by love, he bravely accepted the king's challenge and finally outsmarted him. In order to celebrate this victory, Pelops and the princess held a grand wedding in front of the Temple of Zeus in Olympia. Chariots, gladiatorial games and other competitions were arranged at the meeting. This was the first ancient Olympic Games. Pelops became the ancient Olympic Games. The legendary founder.
In fact, the origin of the Olympic Games is closely related to the social situation of ancient Greece. From the 9th to the 8th century BC, the Greek clan society gradually collapsed, and the city-state slave society gradually formed, with more than 200 city-states established. The city-states are independent in their own affairs, without a unified monarch, and there are constant wars between the city-states. In order to cope with the war, various city-states actively trained soldiers. Children in the Spartan city-state were raised by the state from the age of 7, engaged in sports and military training, and lived a military life. War requires soldiers, and soldiers need strong bodies, and sports are a powerful means to cultivate soldiers who are good at fighting. War promoted the development of Greek sports, and the events of the ancient Olympic Games also had obvious military imprints. The continuous wars have disgusted the people, and they generally long for a peaceful environment in which to rest and recuperate. Later, the King of Sparta and King Elis signed a treaty of the "Holy Truce Month". As a result, military training and sports competitions to prepare troops gradually turned into games for peace and friendship.
The ancient Olympic Games lasted 1,168 years from 776 BC to 394 AD, and were held for 293 times. According to its origin, rise and fall, it can be roughly divided into three periods:
(1) From 776 BC to 388 BC, in 776 BC, Iphitus, the ruler of Peloponnese , striving to integrate religion and sports competition. It not only innovated religious rituals, but also organized large-scale sports competitions and activities, and decided to hold them every four years. The time is set after the summer solstice in leap years. Therefore, the ancient Olympic Games in 776 BC were officially recorded in history and became the first ancient Olympic Games. There was only one competition at that time. That is, a field run with a distance of 192.27 meters.
Although there were disputes between city-states during this period, Greece was an independent country with relatively developed politics, economy, and culture. It was the golden age of the Games. Especially in 490 BC, after Athens in Greece defeated the Persian army in the Marathon Valley, the people became enthusiastic and the country's prestige was greatly boosted. Many sports facilities, temples, etc. were built. Participants came from all Greek city-states. The Olympic Games became a great success and became the most important event in Greece. festival.
(2) From 388 BC to 146 BC, it began to decline. Due to the long-term Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens (431 BC to 404 BC), Greece's national strength was greatly reduced, and Macedonia gradually annexed Greece. King Philip of Macedonia also personally participated in horse racing. Later, although Alexander himself did not like sports activities, he still actively supported them and regarded the Olympic Games as the opening ceremony of the highest sports event in ancient Greece and added facilities to it. However, during this period, the spirit of the ancient Olympic Games had greatly diminished, and professional athletes began to appear.
(3) From 146 BC to 394 AD, the ancient Olympic Games went from decline to destruction. After the Roman Empire ruled Greece, although sports games were still held at first, Olympia was no longer the only place for competition. For example, in the 175th Olympic Games in 80 BC, the laws of Roman economics summoned outstanding athletes to compete in Rome, while only youth competitions were held in Olympia. At this time, professional athletes had begun to appear in large numbers, and the Olympic Games became a competition for professional athletes, and the Greeks lost interest in it. After the 2nd century AD, Christianity ruled the entire Europe, including Greece, advocating asceticism, advocating the separation of soul and body, and opposing sports, putting Europe in a dark age, and the Olympic Games also declined further until they existed in name only. In 393 AD, Roman Emperor Theodosius I declared Christianity as the state religion. He believed that the ancient Olympic Games violated Christian doctrine and was a pagan activity. The following year, he announced the abolition of the ancient Olympic Games. In 895 AD, a fierce battle broke out between the Byzantines and the Goths on the Alpheus River, resulting in the destruction of all the facilities in Olympia. In 426 AD Theodosius II burned what remained of the Olympian buildings. Two strong earthquakes occurred in 522 and 511 AD, causing Olympia to be completely destroyed.
In this way, the ancient Olympic Games, which had been postponed for more than 1,000 years, ceased to exist, and the prosperous Olympia became a ruin.
Competition schedule and events of the Ancient Olympic Games
Starting from the first session, the Ancient Olympic Games were decided to be held every four years, with each session held for only one day. With the increasing number of competition events, starting from the 22nd Ancient Olympic Games, the organizers decided to change the competition time to 3 days. Including the opening ceremony, closing ceremony and celebration activities, the entire conference period was 5 days. The number of competition events increased to include: pentathlon (discus, javelin, long jump, wrestling, running), boxing, wrestling, chariot racing, horse racing, etc.
The ancient Olympic Games were held for 293 times from the first in 776 BC to 394 BC, all at the Olympia Stadium in ancient Greece. The competition ground was built next to the hills in the north of the Alpheus Valley. The hillock was repaired and turned into a grandstand. It could initially accommodate 20,000 spectators, and later expanded to 45,000, with 160 VIP seats. The competition field is 212 meters long and 32 meters wide. The track is 192.25 meters long. The surface is not specially treated and the starting place is paved with marble. There is a practice field in the southwest of the stadium, which is surrounded by stone colonnades to form a courtyard. A conference hall, locker rooms, bathrooms, etc. are built on one side. There is also a 770-meter × 320-meter racecourse here for horse racing and carriage competitions.
Penalty Rules of the Ancient Olympic Games
The competition rules of the Ancient Olympic Games were very strict, and violators would be severely punished. This shows their sense of honor and disgrace. The ancient Greeks believed that the Olympic Games were sacred, and winning justly was the most glorious. On the contrary, it is a blasphemy against the sacred cause.
The ancient Olympic Games hated fraudsters. At the 90th Ancient Olympic Games, a player named Lihas won the championship. He claimed to be a Spartan, but after verification, he was from another city-state, so he was removed from the ranking. The ancient Olympic Games severely punished those who offered and accepted bribes. Not only were they deprived of the title of the champion, but they were also fined heavily as a warning to the world. The fine was used to carve a statue of Zeus. At the 98th Modern Olympics, a boxer bribed three other opponents to win, and all four were fined heavily. The organizers of the ancient Olympic Games used the fines of these four people to carve four statues of Zeus, one of which was engraved with the following aphorism: Olympic victory cannot be bought with money, but requires fast feet and a strong body.
Features of the Ancient Olympic Games
The ancient Olympic Games had three major features. First, the ancient Olympic Games were mainly dedicated to worshiping gods, with rich and colorful content. They were a comprehensive event across Greece in various forms. It includes activities such as offering sacrifices to the god Zeus, worshiping and wishing birthdays to the gods, poets reciting works and orators delivering congratulations, and conducting market trade. Sports competition is only one of the contents. The second ancient Olympic Games is a part of the culture of various ethnic groups in Greece. It plays a positive role in uniting people of all ethnic groups, maintaining national unity, reducing and stopping wars, and has a very close relationship with politics. Third, determined by factors such as ancient Greek customs, artistic style, geographical environment, and material production, "naked sports" is a major feature of it. During the competition, naked athletes are required to apply olive oil all over their bodies to make their bodies shine under the sunlight, making their muscles more elastic and showing the athletes' toned bodies, so that people can enjoy the beauty.
In addition, the rules of the ancient Greek Olympic Games stipulate that women are prohibited from participating in and visiting competitions, and violators will be punished with death. There are two reasons: First, most of the competitions in the ancient Olympic Games required athletes to compete naked for a long time, and the presence of women was indecent. Second, sports competitions in ancient Greece were part of religious celebrations, and women were not allowed to attend. It is said that the first athletes to compete in the ancient Olympic Games wore animal skins to compete. During a competition, a player wearing a lion's skin accidentally dropped the lion's skin on the ground. He was immediately naked, but this did not affect his competition. In the end, he defeated his opponent and won the olive crown. In this unexpected "accident", people discovered that nudity can better reflect muscle fitness and appreciated a special charm, so they stipulated that all naked competitions will be held in the future.
Naked sports are a unique feature of ancient Greek culture and art and have a long history. The "Age of Power" in ancient Greek history refers to this period. This is reflected in the works of ancient Greek sculptors and artists, whose works depict naked figures. At that time, muscles were well developed, strong and powerful, and they were recognized as a symbol of beauty.
The Awarding Ceremony of the Ancient Olympic Games
The awarding ceremony of the Ancient Olympic Games was solemn and grand. The awarding platform is located in front of the statue of Zeus, and the olive crown is placed on a special tripod. When awarding awards, the reporter first announces the athlete's name, competition results, city-state to which he belongs and the names of the athlete's parents. Then the emcee will lead the winner to the host. The host will stand up, take off the olive crown from the tripod, and put it on the winner. At this time, the audience sang, recited poems, played music, cheered, and threw flowers to the athletes. Although the rewards for winning athletes in the ancient Olympic Games have changed many times, the principle is always focused on spiritual rewards. There are also material rewards, but they are quite meager.
The olive branch is the spirit of the ancient Olympic Games and the symbol of the Olympic spirit. It has profound meaning and long-lasting influence. The ancient Greeks believed that the olive tree was brought to the world by Athena, the patron goddess of Athens, and was a symbol of peace and happiness bestowed by God on mankind. Therefore, an olive crown woven with olive branches is the most sacred prize, and receiving it is the highest honor. It is said that the olive branches used to weave the laurel wreath must be cut from the sacred tree with a pure gold knife by a 12-year-old child whose parents are still alive, and then carefully woven.
After the award ceremony held in Olympia, the winners can return home one after another. At this time, each city-state will also organize grand celebrations for the triumphant return of their winners. Later, Greece also stipulated that winning athletes would be exempted from their obligations to the country, and honorary seats would be set up for them in theaters or festivals. Some city-states also issued lifetime allowances to meritorious athletes.
The Holy Fire of the Ancient Olympic Games
Before the ancient Olympic Games, according to religious regulations, people gathered in front of the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, held a solemn ceremony, lit the torch from the altar, and then rushed to various places in Greece. city-state. The torch bearer held the torch high and ran while shouting: Stop all wars and participate in the sports games! The torch is like a strict order and has supreme power. Wherever the torch goes, the war will be extinguished. Even the city-states that were fighting fiercely put down their weapons one after another, and the holy truce began. Peaceful life returned to Greece. People forgot hatred and war, and rushed to Olympia to participate in the Olympic Games.
Olympia is located in a hilly area 300 kilometers southwest of Athens, the capital of Greece, in the west of the Peloponnese Peninsula, on the north bank of the Alphios River (16 kilometers from the entrance of the cave). Since the 18th century, groups of scholars have come to Olympia to inspect and search for ancient Olympic Games sites. In 1766, the British C. Chandler discovered the ruins of the Temple of Zeus for the first time. After that, a large number of archaeologists and historians from Germany, France, and the United Kingdom conducted large-scale systematic surveys and excavations of the Olympia ruins. By 1881, a large number of precious cultural relics and historical materials related to the ancient Olympic Games were obtained. After the 11th Olympic Games in 1936, due to some remaining funds, the International Olympic Committee decided to use the funds to continue excavation of the Olympia ruins, discover and restore the stadium.
The site is about 520 meters long from east to west and 400 meters wide from north to south. The center is the Altis Divine Domain, where sacrifices were made to Zeus. According to the excavation data, it is only 200 meters long and 175 meters wide. The main buildings in the divine domain are the Temple of Zeus and the Temple of Hera. In addition, there are holy courtyards, treasure houses, hotels and administrative rooms. The earliest buildings can be traced back to 2000-1600 BC, among which the Temple of Zeus (built about 460 BC) in the middle is the most famous. The temple is about 66 meters long and 30 meters wide. There are 6 columns on the east and west ends, and 13 columns on the north and south sides. They are in Dorian column style and are all made of refined stone. The group of statues on the east and west gables represent the mythical story of the Greek hero Parops racing in Olympia and the Greeks' struggle with the centaur monster. They are representative works of early classical sculpture. The giant statue of Zeus, made around the second half of the 5th century BC, is inlaid with gold and ivory. It is said to have been made by the classical sculptor Phidias. It is a representative of the sculptures in the heyday of ancient Greece. It is extremely magnificent and exquisite and was regarded by the Greeks. Known as one of the seven wonders of the world.
On the northeast side of the God's Domain is the stadium, surrounded by large sloping stands. On the west side is the entrance for athletes and referees. The length of the track is 210 meters and 32 meters wide. Together with the nearby martial arts arena, priests' dormitories, hotels, conference halls, sacred fire altars and other buildings, it forms a huge complex of buildings for the games. The Olympic Archeology Museum is built on the current site, which contains cultural relics excavated by the scholars, including a large number of competition equipment from the ancient Olympic Games and ancient Greek weapons such as armor and stomach.
The modern Olympic flame is lit in Olympia, which is one of the symbols of the Olympic movement.
On the occasion of the 2004 Athens Olympics "going home", the International Olympic Committee decided to hold the shot put competition of the 2004 Athens Olympics at the Olympia Stadium. This is also the first time after 2,500 years that people have the opportunity to relive the dream of the Olympics in Olympia.