Olympics
The Olympics were games that tested your athletic ability. They were held every four years. Only men were able to compete in the games. Women weren't even allowed to watch. The Olympics were held in honor of the 12 Greek Gods.
On the first day of the Olympics, all the sacrifices took place. These sacrifices were for the gods and goddesses. It was a tradition to slaughter one hundred oxen to show their thanks to them. Many athletes would make their own sacrifices in hope that the gods might help them during the games.
There were seven main events that took place. There was boxing, wrestling, pankration, chariot racing, long jumping, javelin hurdling, and discus throwing.
Ancient boxing had much less rules than that of modern boxing. There were no rounds. The match was over when one man was knocked out or admitted he was defeated. There were no weight classes for men and boys, but opponents were chosen at random. Instead of gloves, boxers wrapped leather bands around their hand and wrist. This allowed their fingers to move freely. It also protected their wrists. At first they used soft straps, but as the sport progressed, they started using hard straps to use as against their opponent.
Wrestling was the most popular organized sport in ancient Greece. It was the first event to be held in the Olympics other than the foot race. The winner of the game was determined by the points you gained. A point was scored when one opponent touched the others back, hip or shoulder to the ground. Three points had to be earned to win the match.
Pankration was a combination of boxing and wrestling. It is considered the toughest of all Olympic sports. It had very few rules. The only things not acceptable were biting and harming of the eyes. It's believed that pankration is a result from the fighting used when Theseus fought the Minotaur. Like boxing and wrestling, there were no weight divisions and opponents were chosen at random.
Chariot racing was also a very popular sport in ancient Greece. In this race, both the horse and the driver were put in danger. There were often many injuries and sometimes even death. No matter how horrible this sounds, it generated a lot of excitement for the spectators. Each chariot had one driver and was pulled by four horses. A race was 12 laps around the arena. Chariot racing was not as precise as foot racing, but still had a standard approximate length.
Long jump was a competition combining agility, speed, and strength. The main difference between modern and ancient long jumping is that they used weights. Jumpers held two bronze or lead weights in each hand. When they jumped they swung the weights out in front of them, carrying them farther.
Javelin was a sport that formed form throwing a spear in war and battle. The javelin was a wooden pole about as long as a man's height. There were two types of this event. There was throwing it for distance, and there was throwing for a target. The javelin had to be thrown from a fixed point such as a finish line used for running. Although, they were back up and take a few steps before throwing the javelin, giving th
The disus event was made to let athletes display their level of precision and coordination combined with physical strength The discus was first made of stone. Then later it was made from bronze or lead. The size ranges from 17 to 35 centimeters. The weight ranges from 1.3 to 6.6 kilograms. The size and weight varied for the age groups. Adults had larger and heavier ones, and boys had smaller, lighter discs. Although it is thousands of years old, the sport hasn't changed much over time. It still consists of the same basic rules and technics. The athlete holds the disc in his dominant hand. He stands parallel to the way he wants to throw. He twists his body, without moving his feet. And holds his hand without the disc towards the direction he wants to throw. Then he snaps his disc hand forward, and other hand back and releases.
Olympic victors were awarded right after the competition. They would have an olive branch placed on their hands and red ribbons tied around their wrists and head as a symbol of victory. The official ceremony would take place on the last day at the Temple of Zeus where he would have the sacred olive branch wreath placed on his head.