Greek Gods

According to the history of ancient Greek Olympics, they were usually only young men could participate in the activities. The players were usually nude because of the weather and also because the festival was meant to be a celebration of the human body and it was a celebration of the achievements each individual concerning their body. The winner of the games would be given a crown of olive leaves. The olive leaves were a sign of hope and peace. Many of the Greek ceremonies included the torch but they were not a part of the Olympic games. This was integrated into the modern Olympics as was the interconnecting rings.

The ancient Greek Olympics were slightly different from the modern day Olympics and there were not as many different games. According to the rules, only free men who could speak Greek were allowed to participate. The games were held at Olympia and no where else. The winners of the games would help put their towns on the map. History has it that one young man from Athens mentioned that he had 7 Chariots in the Chariot race and this made it look like Athens was very rich, as well as the young man.

The ancient Olympic games consisted of riding, chariot races, boxing, wrestling, discus, javelin, jumping, and running. Running, jumping, javelin, and discus, were a combined sport. The others are:

Riding consisted of riding 6 laps around the track which was equivalent to 4.5 miles. There were races for young fowls and separate races for grown horses. Jockeys rode with no stirrups and only the wealthy could afford to feed the horse and jockey, train the horse, and pay for the equipment. In this case, the winner of the contest was the owner of the horse, not the jockey. The owner would receive the olive wreath.

Chariot races consisted of both the 2 horse and the 4 horse race. There was also a separate race for chariots drawn by foals. There was also another race involving a team of mules. The chariots would race 12 laps around the track and this was equivalent to 9 miles.

Boxing in the ancient Olympics was much rougher than modern day boxing because there were less rules to fight by. The competitors would fight until someone was knocked out. There were no rounds like there is today. The hands were not wrapped up and punches were still allowed. There was no rules which said the boxer could not hit their opponent when they were down. There were no certain weight classes but there was different bouts between the boys, and different bouts among the men.

Wrestling was a combination of both wrestling and boxing. Punching was allowed and the only rules that were outlawed was biting and gouging the eyes, nose, or mouth with the fingernails. The contestants could kick their opponent in the belly and this is not allowed in modern day Olympics.