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The ancient olympics
The Olympics began in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece where they built a statue of Zeus that was one of the 7 Wonders of the World. The original Olympic games included boxing, wrestling, chariot racing, pankration (a combination of kickboxing and wrestling), running races both with and without armor, and javelin throwing. These events were brutal and sometimes deadly, with chariot racers and pankration fighters at high risk of severe injury or death. In 364 BC, there was an unexpected battle that broke out during one of the wrestling matches, though the crowds stayed to watch rather than retreat as the two sides fought.
The ancient olympics
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- 2. WHEN THEY BEGAN TheOlympics started in 776BC in Olympia by the Greeks.
- 3. They made astatue of Zeus and it was one of the 7 Wonders of the World. The creator of Zeus was Phidias and it was built in 432BC.
- 4. The Types ofGames • Boxing • Wrestling • Chariot Racing • Pankration • Race in Armor • Javelin
- 5. Boxing Boxing was a very brutal sport. Another purpose for boxing was to train warriors to fight without helmets, strengthen their heads, and to dodge blows.
- 6. Wrestling Wrestling was also very brutal, but it was considered a gentleman’s sport. It was also helpful in training men for combat. To win in wrestling you have to make your opponent fall 3 times.
- 7. Chariot Racing People that do chariot racing risk their lives just to race. Sometimes in the race they fall off and get severely injured or sometimes even are trampled to death. They made the racers slaves, so that if anyone died it wouldn’t be important to them.
- 8. Pankration ‘Ultimate Fighting’ Pankration was all sorts of fighting techniques put together to try to make your opponent give up. It was a combination of kick boxing and wrestling, and many people came out with broken bones. The only thing off limits was biting and eye gouging.
- 9. Race in Armor Race in Armor was called the hoplitodromia. They wore greaves(which were bronze shin guards), a helmet, carried a shield and ran a 400 meter race. The armor made it more challenging for them to race.
- 10. Javelin The Javelin toss helped men in combat to pierce through the enemy. They used thongs to help increase the accuracy and distance of the javelin to get farther kills.
- 11. Battle at Olympia In 364 BC there was a battle at Olympia. The Pisatans were hosting the games after occupying Olympia. The Elians were humiliated and attacked in the middle of a wrestling match. The crowd did not retreat when they attacked. They stayed and watched the battle. The Elians retreated at nightfall, but the Pisatans thought they had upset the gods, so they gave Olympia back to the Elians.
- 12. Works Cited VFW Magazine August 2012
- 13. The Ancient Olympics By Caden Smith