THEBIRTH OF THE OLYMPICS If any athlete was discovered to have cheated at the ancient Olympics they were disqualified whipped and had to pay a fine that was used to pay for a statue of Zeus An ancient Greek vase showing Olympic wrestlers The first recorded Olympic Games took place in 776B C E at Olympiain ancient Greece Like the modern Olympics they were held every four years They continued for 1,100 years until 393 C E The ancient Greeks believed that competitive sports pleased their gods so they held the Games on a sacred temple site At the opening ceremony they lit a flame at the altar of Zeus king of the Gods and kept it burning until the Games ended In the earliest Olympics there was only one event the stadion a sprint of almost 220 yards about 200 m A crowd up to 40,000-strong watched from the stadium Amazing Olympics The remains of the running track at Olympia including stone starting blocks for the athletes 6
The Athletes Ancient Greece was divided into separate city-states Athletes represented their own city-state called a polis Eventually competitors came from other parts of Europe and North Africa too The winners won a laurel wreath and a palm frond Back home they were treated like celebrities and given valuable bonuses such as free food The main Olympics were for male athletes only and women had their own separate event The Events Gradually there were more events such as boxing wrestling and a violent mixture of the two called the pankration More sprint races were added along with chariot racing long jump and discus and javelin throwing As well as the sports there was an artistic side to the Games Sculptors and poets carved statues of the star athletes or wrote poetry about them First recorded champion Koroibos a Greek cook was the first recorded winner of the stadion race Most successful champion The runner Leonidas of Rhodes who won 12 times between 164 B C E and 152 B C E Most famous celebrity Wrestler Milon of Kroton in southern Italy who won six times between 540B C E and 516 B C E He was a great showman who once carried a bull into the Olympic arena First female champion Kyniska of Sparta was declared winner of chariot races in 396 B C E and 392 B C E even though she was the team owner and trainer and didn’t take part herself Olympic Facts and Stats An ancient statue showing an Olympic discus thrower All athletes competed naked at the Games 7
