Olympic Events In Ancient Greece
A Brief History
The Olympics began over 2,700 years ago in a village called Olympia, located in ancient Greece. The Olympics were a ceremony to honor the Greek god Zeus. Legend has it that Heracles (Hercules) founded the festival, as he is the son of Zeus. During the Olympics, there were sporting events such as boxing, equestrian (individual riding and chariot races), Pankration (martial arts combining boxing and wrestling), Pentathlon (javelin, discus, and long jump, sprint, and wrestling), and running.
Pentathlon
The Pentathlon consisted of multiple events such as discus, javelin, and long jump.
Vase showing Chariot Racing
Chariot racing was part of the Equestrian division of the games, which including individual riding and chariot racing.
Stadium in Olympia
Instead of going all around the world with the olympics, they were only for the greeks and they took place in a sacred village called Olympia.
What happened on each of the days.
Day 1: No events, but the opening ceremony took place and sacrifices were made to the gods as a sign to start the games.
Day 2: Boxing and Pankration took place today. (Only boys)
Day 3: The most exciting day of the 5 began with a sacrifice of 100 oxen to Zeus, then the Equestrian and Pentathlon events began.
Day 4: The foot races started today, and consisted of a 200 meter race, a 400 meter race, and a 2,000 meter race. Then, boxing, wrestling, and Pankration. Finally, the hoplitodromia ended the day. The hoplitodromia was a 200 meter race in helmet, calf armor, and shields.
Ancient Olympic Games History, Mythology, The Athlete, Sport Events
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