Olympics

Olympics

The Ancient Greek Olympics
In 776 B.C.E, about three thousand years ago, the first Olympic Games took place. Originally, the games were part of a religious festival to honor Zeus. He was the god of the sky and the leader of the Greek gods who lived on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece.



**Where Were the Ancient Olympics Held?**

The Olympics was one of four all-Greek (Pan Hellenic) games. Even though the games were named after Mount Olympus they weren’t played there. Instead they were held in the religious sanctuary of Olympia near Greece’s southwest coast. The land there was beautiful and rich with olive trees.



**What Events and Awards Were Part of the Ancient Olympics?**

At the beginning, the games were just short foot races designed to keep Greek men fit for the intensity of war. The path for the foot races was about 700 feet long and straight. It was also wide enough for twenty men to run side by side. Only men who spoke Greek were allowed to take part in the races.

Men ran the races without any clothes on. Gradually, other events were added but there were no team sports like in the modern Olympics. Also, there were no medals like the gold, silver, and bronze medals we have today. There was only one winner and he was given a wreath of olive leaves as a prize. But these weren’t just any olive leaves. These olive leaves were taken from a sacred tree that was located at Olympia behind the temple dedicated to Zeus. To reward his mastery of the events, a statue was built in the winner’s honor.

The games were held once every four years in August. Over time other events were added. Horse races, chariot races, boxing, and wrestling were all popular events in addition to the foot races. There was also a special event that consisted of five different sports activities: wrestling, running, the long jump, disc throwing, and spear throwing.



**Were Women Allowed to Participate?**

Married women were not allowed to attend the Olympics and women weren’t allowed to compete in any of the events. There was a separate women’s festival that was called Heraia and was dedicated to the honor of Hera, the wife of Zeus.



**A Special Truce**

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">At the height of the games over 20,000-40,000 people attended. The Olympics were so important to Greek culture that the city-states stopped all their battles and observed a special truce for a full month before the games started. During this time, men could train for the events and participants could travel to the games without fear.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Merchants also traveled to the games to sell food and other items.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The Ancient Olympic games were held for over a thousand years and ended in 393 AD when the Roman emperor Theodosius banned them. He had outlawed the worship of the ancient gods because of new beliefs in Christianity. The buildings were eventually torn down and the city was buried under earthquakes and floods.

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<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">**The Modern Olympics**

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The modern Olympics were started in 1896 by a French educator and historian by the name of Pierre de Coubertin. Pierre loved sports and felt that the world’s countries would have more of an opportunity for peace if they gathered together to play sports. He designed the five color rings that are used to represent the Olympic Games today. The rings stand for North and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">At the beginning of the games a flame is lit. The flame begins in Olympia and is passed from torch to torch until the location of the games is reached. The location changes every time the Olympic games are played.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Today the Olympic games are the largest sporting event in the world. There are summer and winter games and over 30 sports are played. Men and women from all over the world compete to win the gold, bronze, and silver medals.

The Modern Olympic Games
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">**Who revived the idea of the Olympic Games?**

<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">A French nobleman, Pierre Fredy, the Baron de Coubertin, born in 1863. When he was young, Coubertin was a very keen sportsman. As he grew older he developed a passionate belief that sport could encourage peace throughout the world and bring people from all over the world together. <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Coubertin was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games and travelled around the world, spending his own money, trying to persuade people to revive them. Eventually he managed to bring together representatives of many different countries in Paris, in 1894, and the Olympic Movement was begun.

<span style="color: #1ea7c9; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none;">[|Baron Pierre de Coubertin] <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">**When and where were the first modern Olympic Games held?** <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896.

<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">**Did women compete in this first modern Olympic Games?** No! Women began to compete in 1900. For many years there were problems for the women athletes about what to wear, because it was considered very rude to show any part of the body or even the shape of the body! Can you imagine trying to run and jump covered from head to foot in clothes?

<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">**Who supervises the Olympic Games?** When Baron de Coubertin founded the Olympic Movement he established the International Olympic Committee (the IOC) to supervise it, in 1894. He himself served as its president for 29 years, and there have been 8 presidents since then. There were originally 14 members but the Committee has now grown to over 130 members, all of whom must speak either French or English. Existing members elect new members as required. The IOC is based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">**What is the aim of the Olympic Movement?** <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play."

<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">**What is an Olympiad?** <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">An Olympiad is the period of four years which starts with a summer Olympic Games. Each Olympiad is counted with Roman numerals, and the year of the Games cannot be changed (although Games have been skipped out, as in 1916 during the First World War).

<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">**Who chooses the next host for the Olympic Games, and how?** Members of the IOC choose the next venue for the Olympic Games, which must be a city rather than a country. So, for example, the next Olympics, in 2016, will be hosted by Rio de Janeiro, rather than Brazil. Any city which wishes to host the Games can put their bid to the IOC. Only one city from each country can bid, and even putting forward a bid takes a huge amount of work and is very expensive. It usually takes many years to prepare, and of course only one city can be successful!

<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">**Who selects each country's team of athletes?** <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Each country has their own National Olympic Committee (NOC). The NOCs represent their countries at the Olympic Games and select their own national teams.

<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">**What is the Olympic torch?** <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Prior to each Games, the Olympic Torch or Flame is lit in Olympia, Greece and brought to the host city by runners carrying the torch in relay. <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">

<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">**What is the Olympic creed?** <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">**Who wins medals?** <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The athletes or teams who come first, second and third win medals: respectively gold, silver and bronze.

<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">**Are the gold medals real gold?** <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">No! They were solid gold until 1912, but are now silver covered with a thin layer of gold. <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">**Why do we have the Olympic rings as the emblem of the Olympic Games?** <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The five interlocking rings (blue, yellow, black, green, and red respectively) of the emblem was originally designed in 1913 by Pierre de Coubertin, to symbolize the five continents of the world taking part in the Olympic Games (the Americas are viewed as a single continent, and Antarctica is omitted). <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">

<span style="color: #1ea7c9; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none;">[|Paper Plate Olympic Rings] <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">**What is the Olympic motto?** <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"Citius, Altius, Fortius.", which is Latin for "Swifter, Higher, Stronger"

LINKS TO SITES <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">[|Olympic Sports Facts] <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">[|Ancient Olympics BBC] <span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">[|Rio Mascots] [|Brazil - Information] [|Olympic News for Kids] [|Olympics] [|Olympic Current News] Lots of information..... [] [] Brazil [] __PVS Olympics wiki from London Olympics:__ http://pointviewolympics.wikispaces.com/

VIDEOS [|The Ancient Olympic Games] [|Time Olympics for kids] [|Ancient and Modern Olympics] [|Brainpop]