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October 10, 2017

The Greek Games: The Start Up of the Olympic Games

The Olympic Games weren’t always as majestic as they are today. In our modern times, every four years the eager anticipation of once again witnessing the talent of nationally recognized athletes competing overshadows any other occurring events; that’s exactly how it was in ancient Greece. However, the purpose for the games has shifted over time. The first Olympic games made its mark in history in 776 B.C.E. Competition within ancient Greece was intended to demonstrate power and wealth to the Greek world. The human body was treasured for its physical capacity. As a result, competitive games often tested the endurance of the body. Festivals honoring the Greek gods were also a popular setting for hosting competitions. Although they were not yet named Olympic games, these competitions attracted crowds interested in moments of exhilaration in their otherwise ordinary lives. At that time, the games were a uniting hallmark of Greek culture and religion, a recognition of athleticism, as well as an indicator of Greek wealth and prowess that contributed to Greek self-identity.1

Two Javelina throwers; showing the first figure holding his javelin at the carry and the third figure aiming with his | Image Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Religious festivals were celebrations honoring the Greeks’ gods and goddesses. The Greeks praised the gods; a way of doing so was by partaking in the funeral games, such as the one that Homer tells us about in his epic poem Iliad, where the hero Achilles holds such games in honor of his dead friend Patroclus.2 Today we attend funerals that are full of sorrow and sympathy, but the services the Greeks would host were filled with enjoyment and competition. They saw this as a way to honor and worship the gods, by acting in competitive games. Many of the athletic events eventually evolved into the Olympics. Chariot races of dashing horses, wrestling and boxing matches that were barbarous, foot races, discus throwing, archery, and spear throwing were the activities everyone put their time into at this festival.3

The Greeks believed that Zeus would favor some athletes and deny victory to others, so the athletes who were not denied saw this as empowering. The Greeks loved to be seen as worthy by the gods, so when Zeus would favor certain athletes, those competitors became evermore interested in the outcome of the games. The Nemean Games honoring Zeus was a huge festival the Greeks attended. One of the myths describing the origins of these games claims that they began as funeral games for prince Opheltes, who died as a baby in Nemea. During this festival, athletic and equestrian events were held. The Greek gods contributed to the start of the games. They were divinities that the people looked up to in a literal sense, since their home was thought to be at the top of Mount Olympus, “home of the gods and goddesses.” However, who was allowed into the games? Well, it turns out that if one weren’t Greek or if one spoke a different language, one was forbidden from entering or participating. Only free men were initially allowed to participate in games. Women were prohibited from engaging in or watching the games because the games tended to get severely brutal, and such brutality would scar the eyes of the women.4

Original statue of Disco bolus. Rear representation of the disc throwers in the Olympic and Funeral games | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

In Homer’s portrayal of the funeral games for Patroclus, the hero Diomedes was the first to win the chariot race. He was rewarded with a slave woman and a cauldron. Prizes in the Olympics weren’t always like the ones Diomedes received, but they were ones that would make a Greek famous and rich.5 The winning athletes were presented with a wreath of olive leaves. Also, the city-state or polis for which they were representing gave the competitor a monetary award.6 But for equestrian events, the rider was never given the prize; it was given to the owner of the horse. The games in the Olympics were not quite the same ones we have today. The games in ancient Greece evolved into more challenging events. For example, the chariot races then had competitors racing while wearing armor; today, we no longer have this game. A popular competitive event today is volleyball, but it did not exist in the ancient Greek events. This is an example as to the changes that have been made over time.

Preparation for their exercises during training was a big deal to the instructors and to the athletes. The Anointer played a role in their training. He was the one who would smear oil on the athletes’ bodies in a certain circular technique; he kept the athletes’ bodies relaxed by doing this. Greeks would have to train for at least ten months before they would partake in their specific duels.7 One of the famous wrestlers, Milo, is an example as to how the athletes would train. Milo carried a calf over his shoulder every day, so the heavier the calf, the faster and stronger his body became. His training led him to win thirty-two wrestling competitions; to show that he was capable of doing this he had carried an ox on his shoulders through the Olympia stadium.8

One of the most important outcomes from the start of the Greek Olympic games was that every time they hosted them, all conflicts were put on hold between all Greek poleis or city-states. The competitions were a chance for the Greeks from different poleis to intermingle. The leaders from the different poleis went to support their athletes, but also to negotiate political disputes with the other leaders. This was called the Olympic truce, meaning that there was an agreement on making sure that there would be no warfare occurring during the games. This truce was made to maintain the focus on the games. The Greek religion was mainly about worshiping the mythological gods and goddesses, so the Olympics became a practice for the people in honoring their gods. Those who participated in the games were held at a high standard because they were representing their polis.  In ancient Greece, the games gave the city-states the opportunity to come together and work out their conflicts face-to-face without warfare. In the modern era, we too strive for the same thing, for the Olympics to be a bridge between peoples and a place where political differences are set aside. But there have been many situations in the past that causes it to be troubling in this era.

  1. Salem Press Encyclopedia, January 2016, s.v. “Religion and Mythology in Ancient Greece,” by Judy Johnson.
  2. Homer, Iliad (Boston: Houghton Mifflin & Company, 1881), 240-252.
  3.  Salem Press Encyclopedia, January 2015, s.v. “Olympic Games in the Ancient World,” by Thomas J. Sienkewicz.
  4. Salem Press Encyclopedia, September 2016, s.v. “Sports and Entertainment in the Ancient World,” by Patrick Adcock.
  5. Homer, Iliad (Boston: Houghton Mifflin & Company, 1881), 240-252.
  6. Barbara Maussier, “The New Ethical Dimension of Sports Events: a Reflection on the Evolution from the Ancient Greek Olympic Sports Festival to Postmodern Sports Events,”Cultura, Ciencia y Deporte 12, no. 34 (January 2017): 21.
  7. Salem Press Encyclopedia, September 2016, s.v. “Sports and Entertainment in the Ancient World,” by Patrick Adcock.
  8.  Encyclopaedia Britannica, June 2017, s.v. “Milo of Croton.”

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Clarissa Bustamante

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73 comments

  • Kaitlyn Killebrew

    I love reading about Greek mythology when I was younger, and the Olympics were part of the readings. I knew that winners received olive branches, but I didn’t know that they also received other things like women slaves. They mentioned that they held Nemean Games were in honor of Zeus, but did they do other games to celebrate the other gods and goddesses. I had never heard of the funeral games but I wonder if they correlate with some of the traditions we keep with funerals today.

  • Brianna Ford

    I never knew about the beginning times of the olympics and this article went into great detail of how it started. I didn’t know that the olympics dated back as far as 776 B.C.E. I also didn’t know that the participants were not only trying to win a gold medal, but also trying to portray great wealth and power. The other thing I didn’t know, was how they would turned to the Greek Gods, for example Zeus. It is crazy how much times have changed, imagine if we still followed the rules of the Greeks. That would be very interesting.

  • William Rittenhouse

    As a lover of all sports I find this article to be very cool. I wish there was more info on how the games started, but we will probably never have written documents of the first few games. Sports do have a way of bringing different people together. It’s cool how during the games there was always a truce between the rival tribes. This is something I love the most about sports. They can bring people together in times of trouble or war. Even during wars nations competed during the games and all the spectators of the wars stopped and would view the games. There is a sense of pride and power associated to the games and it makes sense now knowing more about how they started.

  • Matthew Bustamante

    It is truly amazing how man strives to win competitions. How amazing it would have been to watch an Olympic game (even though I myself would never have been allowed in there since I am not Greek nor know the language). However, if women were not allowed because of the brutality, then there must definitely have been bloodshed which is obviously not the current Olympics. Very informative article!

  • Jorge Martinez

    I one thing I appreciate about the Olympics and World Cup is the fact that entire nations put aside their differences and allow such a wonderful and heart stopping to play on. On top of that, I find it very appealing that the games back in the day also followed the same structure, even if they competed in different events. I also like the fact that the original games were a way to lift one spirits during a time of mourning.

  • Reese Lujan

    Greek life has always fascinated me especially the Olympic games I have always been a fan. This article explained all the information that I didn’t know about the Olympic games. Such as how they just let people die during the competitions and it was completely normal. Also, the way that they used it to honor the Gods like how cool is that.

  • Jasmine Jaramillo

    I learned a lot from reading this article about the Olympics that I didn’t know before. I never actually thought of where the Olympics originated from. I think sublimely I knew it was from Greek but I never gave it much thought. I didn’t know that the first games were played around the time of death. It was even interesting to know that people thought the gods would take favor on the winners.

  • Robert Rodriguez

    Very good article! I wasn’t aware that the Greeks would do these events to please the gods. I’m honestly surprised that the Olympics have come this far, considering that people were killed during the first couple of games. it makes me wonder how many of these games happened, and the initial reactions of the spectators when something gruesome happened. I also liked to see that the Olympic Truce is still used till this day, as we saw the truce with North and South Korea take place this year.

  • Robert Flores

    I love the olympics it is great to see that humans from all over the world can set aside their differences and compete in friendly competitions. This article does a great job of showing the beginnings of this great event. I wonder when the olympics became a world event and not just something the greeks did to worship their gods.

  • Derek Esquivel

    I really enjoyed reading this article about the Olympics. I never knew and would have never even guessed that the games were only played during the time of a death. Which seems extremely unusual considering that death is just a sad time when someone we know is no longer with us. Just for the time of your death means a time where men are going to wrestle one another to see who would win. But I am glad I did decide to read this article because like I said I would have never known that this would be even close to being true.

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