S.M.S.

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S.M.S. CARDARELLI2003/2004
The Olympics in Ancient Greece Comenius
ProjectOlympism and Education in the field of
sport
EXIT
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The Olympics in Ancient Greece

• The Greeks and The Olympic spirit
• The origins of the Olympic Games
• The rules of the Games
• The programme of the Games

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The Greeks different but similar

• Even if the Greeks were divided into groups the
  Dorians, the Ionians, the Aeolians and splitted
  in a lot of poleis (city-states) they had a
  strong sense of unity in religion, customs and
  language.
• And wherever they lived the Greeks claimed the
  right to take part in the Olympic Games.

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The Olympic Games

• The Olympic Games were the greatest national
  festival for the Athenians. Held every four years
  athletes came from all regions of Greece to
  compete in the great Stadium of Olympia and
  honour their god, Zeus.

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O l y m p i a

• In the closed and sacred rectangular complex
  there was plenty of space for practising sports-
  the Gymnasium and the Stadium -as well as rooms
  for religious ceremonies and for keeping the
  sacred fire of the Olympics.
• The Gymnasium, a closed rectangular building with
  a large yard ,where the athletes practised events
  such as the javelin, the discus etc.
• .

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The Stadium

• Dates from the early 5th century B.C. The track
  has a length of 212,54m and a width of 28,50m.
  The stadium held 45000 spectators. The
  spectators, sitting on the stands or steps of the
  stadium, shouted and cheered the athletes

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The Olympic spirit

• Ancient athletes competed as individuals and
  glory achieved in sport was not different from
  the one achieved in battles.
• The athletes were not interested in breaking
  records but only to win the game and honour their
  city.

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The origins of the Olympic Games

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776 B.C.

• The year 776 B.C. was the year of the first
  Olympic games and, at the same time, the beginnig
  year of the Greek calendar. Time was divided into
  Olympiads, years, months and days. An Olympiad
  was a period of four hellenic years.

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Omero The first sports reporter.

• In the epic poem, the Iliad,
• Homer describes the funeral Games held by
  Achilles in Honour of his late friend Patroclus.
• In the Odyssey Homer
• tells about the games held
• by Feaci in honour of Ulisse.
• Among the sports discus throwing,, wrestling,
  the foot race

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The Rules of the Games

• Only males of greek origin could participate in
  the Olympics. According to the Olympic rules,
  women, slaves, no-greeks, were excluded. In
  addition, any man who had committed a crime or
  stolen from a temple was banned from
  participation. Married women could not enter the
  olympic stadium or attend the games.

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The Ancient Games

• The ancient Games were held every four years (an
  Olympiad) for almost 1200 years until 393 A.D.
  when Roman Emperor Theodosius banned all pagan
  festivals (the Olympics celebrated the Greek God
  Zeus).

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The Athletes

• One month before the official opening of the
  games, the judges checked the character and the
  sporting capabilities of the athletes who wished
  to participate, selecting only those who really
  deserved to compete.

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The duration of the Games

• The games lasted five days the first day was
  devoted to make sacrifices to gods.
• On the second day the boys games were held, while
  on the third and the fourth day the adults games
  took place. The fifth day was the day of the
  proclamation of the winners.

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The Prize

• At the conclusion of the Games, the winners were
  crowned with simple olive wreaths (crown of wild
  olive).

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Naked Athletes

• The athletes performed naked during the
  competitions. The Greeks were not ashamed to show
  their bodies, the beauty of the naked body was
  considered to reflect internal beauty and the
  harmonius balance between body and mind. Their
  bodies were used as models by sculptors and
  painters who drew inspiration for their works
  directly from the athletes and their
• movements.

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FOOT RACES

• There were different types of races
• -The Stade which consisted of one lenght of the
  stadium
• -The Diaulos, two lenghts or double stadium
• -The Dolichos, a long distance race (from 7 to
  24 lenghts)
• The competitors ran in a straight line and not
  around the stadium as they do today.

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LONG JUMP

• The Athletes used weights made of stone or metal,
  in order to jump further.

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THROWING EVENTS

• The discus and the javelin throwing events were
  very similar to todays ones. The discus was made
  of stone or bronze. The javelin was a wooden
  stick with a pointed end, it was one meter and a
  half long.

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BOXING

• It was one of the most violent competitions in
  which two boxers, wearing wrapped strips of
  leather on their arms, faced each other until one
  of them was knocked out.

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WRESTLING

• A kind of fighting sport in which two people
  fought by holding each other , trying to make
  each other fall to the ground.

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CHARIOT RACING

• Chariot races were spectacular and very popular
  with the public. Only the wealthy could practise
  it as the horse-breeding was very expensive. The
  drivers , called charioteers, rode the lenght of
  the hippodrome for seven or eight times.

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PENTATHLON

• It was the most important of the competitions
  where an athlete competed in five different
  events Running - Wrestling - Jumping -Discus
  throwing - Javelin throwing

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From 776 b.C. to 2004

• Thanks to the French educator Baron Pierre de
  Coubertin, the games were revived in 1896 in
  Athens. Now the games are returning to the
  country of their birth and the city of their
  revival.
• The 2004 Olympic Games will be held
• in Athens from 13 to 29 August.