The Ancient Olympics: Where Competition Started

The ancient olympics were the beginning of competitive sports.  It was the largest gathering of people in the world at the time.  People from all over would travel long distances to witness the events.  The ancient olympics have influenced the sporting world as we know it today more than any other event or events in the history of the world.  It introduced competitive sports and it is the basis of the current largest sporting competition in the world.

The first olympic games were held in 776 B.C.  At the start it was only a foot race but other events soon appeared, including long jump, wrestling, and others.  They were mainly held as part of a religious festival in honor of the Greek god, Zeus and they lasted as far as 393 A.D.

The element of religion was very present at the ancient olympics.  After all, the whole meaning of the olympics was to pay tribute to the ancient Greek gods, Zeus especially.  But don’t we worship sports today in a way?  Figuratively, of course we do.  There is even debate on whether sport can be an actual religion.  Even the greatest minds of the time loved the olympics and sports.  Plato was actually a huge wrestling fan.  So, today people may not have quite the religious feeling to sports, but there is at least a little worshipping going on, changing what we now think of sports in general all over the world.

The Ancient Olympics also had the first professional athletes.  Without which, sports would be nothing like they are today.  The idea that a person could only be a professional athlete changed sports forever after that.  Once there were professional athletes then the games and events became much more competitive.  Soldiers still came from all over to compete.  If a soldier were to be traveling to the olympics then there was a truce that guaranteed him safe travel all the way the the olympics.  Even if armies were in the middle of a battle, then all fighting stopped and they would all travel to the olympic games.  The reason professional athletes started to appear is probably because of the honor given to the winners.  

“Do you think, fellow citizens, that any man would ever have been willing to train for the pancratium or any other of the harder contests in the Olympic games…if the crown were given, not to the best man, but to the man who had successfully intrigued for it? No man would ever have been willing. But as it is, because the reward is rare…and because of the competition and the honor, and the undying fame that victory brings, men are willing to risk their bodies, and at the cost of the most severe discipline to carry the struggle to the end.”  Aeschines, Against Ctesiphon , 179