The Origin Of Olympic Games

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The Origin of Olympic Games The ancient Olympic Games were primarily a part of a religious festival in honour of Zeus, the father of the Greek Gods and Goddesses. The festival and the games were held in Olympia, in the western Peloponnesos. Olympia was named after Mt. Olympos, the highest mountain in Greece. In Greek mythology, Mt. Olympos was the home of the Greek Gods and Goddesses. The athletes were all male citizens of the city-states coming from Iberia (Spain) in the west and the Black Sea (Turkey) in the east. The ancient Olympic Games began in the year 776 BC, when Koroibos, a cook from the nearby city of Elis, won the stadion race, a foot race 600 feet long. This was the only athletic event until 724 BC. Contrary evidence, both literary and archaeological, suggests that the games may have existed at Olympia as early as the 10th or 9th century BC. A series of bronze tripods have been found at Olympia, some of which may date to the 9th century BC. It has been suggested that these tripods may in fact be prizes for some of the early events at Olympia. From 776 BC, the Games were held in Olympia every four years for almost 12 centuries. Additional athletic events were gradually added. By the 5th century BC, the religious festival consisted of a five-day programme. The athletic events included: three foot races (stadion, diaulos, and dolichos), pentathlon (five contests: discus, javelin, long jump, wrestling, and foot race), pugme (boxing), pale (wrestling), pankration, and the hoplitodromos. Equestrian events held in the hippodromos, were an important part of the athletic programme of the ancient Olympic Games. By the 5th century BC included the tethrippon and the keles. The marathon was not an event of the ancient Olympic Games. The race commemorates the run of Pheidippides, an ancient "day-runner" of 490 BC who carried the news of the Persian landing
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