Ancient Olympic Games

The Ancient Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions held between the city-states of Ancient Greece. They used to be called the Olympic Games (Greek: Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες; Olympiakoi Agones) until the modern day Olympic Games started. The Ancient Olympic Games began in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece.^[1] Prizes at the games were olive wreaths, palm branches and woollen ribbons. The ancient Olympics were played in the honour of the God Zeus.

Women were not allowed to participate or even to see the competitions.

There is no agreement on when the Games officially ended, but many historians think it is 393 AD, when the Christian Roman emperor Theodosius I declared that all Pagan religious practices should end.^[2] Another date might be 426 AD, when the next emperor Theodosius II ordered the destruction of all Greek temples.^[3] The stadium in Olympia got buried by landslides and other natural disasters. After the Olympics stopped, they were not held again until the modern Olympic Games were started in 1896 in Athens.

Famous athletes

Here are athletes that competed at the Games:

from Athens:
- Aurelios Zopyros (Junior boxing)
from Sparta:
- Acanthus of Sparta (Running: diaulos)
- Chionis of Sparta (Running: stadium, diaulos. Long and Triple Jump)
- Cynisca of Sparta (first woman to be listed as an Olympic victor)
from Rhodes:
- Diagoras of Rhodes (Boxing 79th Olympiad, 464 BCE) and his sons Akusilaos and Damagetos (Boxing and Pankration)
- Leonidas of Rhodes (Running: stadium, diaulos and hoplitodromos)
from Croton:
- Astylos of Croton (Running: stadium, diaulos and hoplitodromos)
- Milo of Croton (wrestling)
- Timasitheos of Croton (wrestling)
from other cities:
- Koroibos of Elis (Stadion)
- Orsippus of Megara (Runner: diaulos)
- Theagenes of Thasos (Pankration)
non-Greek:
- Tiberius (steerer of a four-horse chariot)^[4]
- Nero (steerer of a ten-horse chariot)
- Varastades, Prince and future King of Armenia, (last known Ancient Olympic victor (boxing) during the 291st Olympic Games in the fourth century.^[5]

Related pages

Olympic Games

References

↑ "Ancient Olympic Games". Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006. Microsoft Corporation. June 20, 1997. Archived from the original on May 4, 2006. Retrieved December 27, 2006.
↑ However, Theodosius' decree contains no specific reference to Olympia (Crowther (2007), p. 54).
↑ Crowther (2007), p. 54
↑ Tiberius, AD 1 or earlier - cf. Ehrenberg & Jones, Documents Illustrating the Reigns of Augustus and Tiberius [Oxford 1955] p. 73 (n.78)
↑ 369 according to Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece by Nigel Wilson, 2006, Routledge (UK) or 385 according to Classical Weekly by Classical Association of the Atlantic States

Other websites

The Ancient Olympic Games Virtual Museum (requires registration) Archived 2004-06-02 at the Wayback Machine
Ancient Olympics (General and detailed information)
The Ancient Olympics (A special exhibit)
The Real Story of the Ancient Olympic Games Archived 2008-05-01 at the Wayback Machine
The Origin of the Olympics
The Original Olympic Movement Since 776 B.C.
List of Macedonian Olympic winners (in Greek) Archived 2004-05-17 at Archive.today
Webquest The ancient and modern Olympic Games Archived 2012-06-18 at the Wayback Machine

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[Encarta-Ancient-1] "Ancient Olympic Games". Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006. Microsoft Corporation. June 20, 1997. Archived from the original on May 4, 2006. Retrieved December 27, 2006.

[2] However, Theodosius' decree contains no specific reference to Olympia (Crowther (2007), p. 54).

[3] Crowther (2007), p. 54

[4] Tiberius, AD 1 or earlier - cf. Ehrenberg & Jones, Documents Illustrating the Reigns of Augustus and Tiberius [Oxford 1955] p. 73 (n.78)

[5] 369 according to Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece by Nigel Wilson, 2006, Routledge (UK) or 385 according to Classical Weekly by Classical Association of the Atlantic States

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v t e Olympic Games
Participating nations IOC NOCs Country codes Pierre de Coubertin medal
Summer Games	1896 Athens 1900 Paris 1904 St. Louis 1908 London 1912 Stockholm 1916^† 1920 Antwerp 1924 Paris 1928 Amsterdam 1932 Los Angeles 1936 Berlin 1940^‡ 1944^‡ 1948 London 1952 Helsinki 1956 Melbourne 1960 Rome 1964 Tokyo 1968 Mexico City 1972 Munich 1976 Montreal 1980 Moscow 1984 Los Angeles 1988 Seoul 1992 Barcelona 1996 Atlanta 2000 Sydney 2004 Athens 2008 Beijing 2012 London 2016 Rio de Janeiro 2020 Tokyo^§ 2024 Paris 2028 Los Angeles 2032 Brisbane
Winter Games	1924 Chamonix 1928 St. Moritz 1932 Lake Placid 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1940^‡ 1944^‡ 1948 St. Moritz 1952 Oslo 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo 1960 Squaw Valley 1964 Innsbruck 1968 Grenoble 1972 Sapporo 1976 Innsbruck 1980 Lake Placid 1984 Sarajevo 1988 Calgary 1992 Albertville 1994 Lillehammer 1998 Nagano 2002 Salt Lake City 2006 Turin 2010 Vancouver 2014 Sochi 2018 Pyeongchang 2022 Beijing 2026 Milan Cortina 2030
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v t e Ancient Greece: Arts and Culture
Sculpture	Artemision Zeus • Charioteer of Delphi • Colossus of Rhodes • Elgin Marbles • Hellenistic art • Hermes and the Infant Dionysos • Phidias • Praxiteles • Riace Warriors • Statue of Zeus at Olympia • Venus de Milo • Winged Victory of Samothrace •
Painting and pottery	Carpenter Painter • Epiktetos • Kleophrades Painter • Kottabos (Kleophrades Painter) • Singing Reveler (Epiktetos) •
Sports and Games	Boxing • Gymnasium • Heraia • Kleomedes of Astypalia • Kottabos • Milo of Croton • Olympic Games • Palaestra • Pankration • Theogenes • Wrestling •
Architecture	Acropolis of Athens • Corinthian order • Doric order • Palaestra at Olympia • Parthenon • Temple of Artemis • Temple of Hera at Olympia • Temple of Zeus at Olympia •
Theater	Aeschylus • Aristophanes • Comedy • Euripides • Greek chorus • Satyr play • Sophocles • Theatre of ancient Greece • Tragedy •
Literature	Aesop • Apollonius of Rhodes • Argonautica • Epic poem • Hesiod • Homer • Iliad • Ode • Odyssey • Pindar • Sappho • Theogony
Places	Athens • Corinth • Delphi • Macedonia • Mount Parnassus • Olympia • Sparta • Thebes
People	Alcibiades • Aristotle • Galen • Herodotus • Hippocrates • Pausanias (geographer) • Pericles • Plato • Plutarch • Socrates • Xenophon
Miscellanea	City-state • Democracy • Greek homosexuality • Greek mythology • Labors of Herakles • Oracle of Delphi • Satyr •

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