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About 776BC The First Olympics
The ancient Olympic Games were held every four years between 776BC and AD395, although some sources suggest that unofficial competitions took place before this.
Origins of the Olympic Games
At their heart the Games were a religious festival, held in honour of Zeus. A visit to Olympia was also a pilgrimage to Zeus’s sacred grove, the Altis. The Olympic Games were the oldest of four national athletic festivals known as the Panhellenic Games. Each was celebrated under the patronage of a god. Important local games were also held at Athens as part of the Panathenaic festival.
There are many myths about the Games’ origins. The poet Pindar said that the Greek hero Herakles created Olympia. It is more likely that the Games developed from funerary games held in honour of local heroes.
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The Site: Olympia
Olympia is a fertile grassy plain on the north bank of the River Alpheios. Although it seems isolated now, the Alpheios was navigable in antiquity and a number of inland routes passed through the site. The coast was only fifteen kilometres away, meaning that a sea approach was also possible. Once the Games were established, the sanctuary began to develop. New buildings were needed to house the athletes and games officials. The Altis was adorned with temples, altars, statues, treasuries and halls.The Temple of Zeus housed one of the Seven Wonders of the World, a 13 metre high gold and ivory statue of the god. It was made by the great fifth century BC sculptor Pheidias.
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Training and Preparation
In the year of the Games, messengers would travel throughout Greece and the colonies announcing the start date and inviting people to attend. All wars had to cease until the Games were over to allow people to travel to Olympia safely. Preparations for the Games began a year in advance, when the athletes started training. Two months later, the judges started their planning. The competitors were required to live and train at Elis for the month before the Games, under the strict watch of the judges. Two days before the start, the whole company set out in procession to walk 58 kilometres along the sacred way from Elis to Olympia. During the walk they would stop to sacrifice a pig and perform rites at the Fountain of Piera.
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The Games
For the first thirteen years of the Games the only event was the stade-race, a short foot race of one length of the stadium. More events were added later. This included other running events such as the hoplitodromia, in which competitors wore a helmet and armour and carried a shield. Some of the events from the ancient Olympics still take place today, including wrestling, boxing and the pentathlon. Others are less familiar, such as the no-holds-barred pankration, the most violent of all sports. The only two things not allowed in the pankration were biting and eye-gouging. Chariot racing was also popular. Teams of two or four horses would cover twelve laps around two posts.
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