The first Olympic Games have passed. Olympic Games

Greece is truly a magical country. There, the wind plays in the olive groves, the waves gently caress the shores, and the generous sun allows nature to turn green and bloom even in winter. It seems that this fertile land is saturated with some kind of extraordinary ether that helps people create beautiful and eternal things. Greece, ancient Hellas gave the world so many great scientists, architects, poets, thinkers! There is nothing surprising, therefore, in the fact that it was there that the very first Olympics in the world took place.

Olympian gods and the ancient Hellenes

Ancient Hellas was a pagan country. The people there worshiped various gods, the most powerful of which was Zeus. He and his "colleagues" in the heavenly pantheon lived on Mount Olympus and were called Olympians. The Greeks built temples for them, arranged ritual ceremonies and even sacrifices. Zeus was especially revered. At the time when the first Olympics was held, Hellas often fought. We had to repel the attacks of the invaders, and seize new lands ourselves. Yes, and internecine skirmishes constantly occurred, because Hellas was divided into dozens of regions. Each of them considered itself a small state with its own rules and ambitions. In those years, the people highly valued physical strength, dexterity and endurance, because without them it was difficult to survive in battles. Therefore, men were extremely proud of their muscular bodies and wore clothes that did not hide their biceps. In Hellas there was even a certain cult of a strong and healthy body. It was the thirteenth century BC...

How the Olympic Games were born

The history of the first Olympics is rich in myths and legends. The most popular of them is about King Ifit. He was a brave Argonaut and a good king who wished prosperity for his people. Around 885-884 BC, a plague swept through Hellas, claiming thousands of lives. And then there were endless strife overcame. Ifit decided to go to Delphi to the oracle. He wanted to know how to achieve peace in Hellas, even for a short time. The oracle advised the warlike Hellenes to engage in competitions pleasing to the gods. During their conduct, no one had to take up arms, and the competitions themselves had to be held honestly and openly. Ifit rushed to Sparta to the local king Lycurgus. The Spartans attached great importance to physical exercises, and Lycurgus, although he did not favor Ifit, agreed to measure his strength. Having agreed, the two rulers drew up an agreement, the text of which was minted on an iron disk. This great event happened in 884 BC. It is a pity that Hercules subsequently threw such a good king off a cliff.

and Hercules

There is another myth about how the first Olympics came about. The year then was 1253 BC. Elida, a small region in the Peloponnese, was ruled by the treacherous and deceitful Augeas. He owned a huge herd, but he never cleaned his animals. Hercules was instructed to clean the stables from tons of dirt accumulated there in one day. He demanded a part of the herd for this, and Avgiy agreed. No one believed that Hercules could handle it, but he did. To do this, he sent rivers to the stables, changing their channels. Augeas was pleased, but he did not deliver what he had promised. The hero left with empty hands and a desire for revenge. After a while, he returned to Elis and killed Avgii. To celebrate, Hercules made sacrifices to the gods, planted an olive grove and organized competitions in honor of the mighty Zeus. This was the first Olympics in Greece. There are other myths about this event, for example, that the Olympias was arranged by Hercules in honor of his victory over Kronos, who swallowed his sons.

Olympia - the birthplace of the first Olympics

The venue for the Olympics was Olympia. This is a territory in Elis, hundreds of kilometers from Mount Olympus. The legendary olive grove of Altis with the altar of the mighty Zeus was located here. It was bordered by a wall and was considered sacred. Also, there was already a temple of Zeus, where rituals were held for hundreds of years. Later, already by the fifty-second Olympiad, a new temple was founded. It provided for training palestras, gymnasiums, houses for guests and athletes, prototypes. Also, statues of the winners were installed there. The date 776 was carved on one of them. That is how scientists who unearthed Olympia in the 19th century established when the first Olympiad took place. The stadium for the competition was located at the foot of Mount Kronos. Tribunes were arranged on its slopes, accommodating up to 45 thousand spectators. This grandiose complex was completed after more than a hundred years, somewhere around 460 BC. The new temple stood safely for 8 centuries, and in 406 was destroyed by Theodosius II, who hated everything pagan. Nature completed the defeat of Olympia, destroying everything that still remained with two powerful earthquakes, and then flooding with an unprecedented flood of rivers.

The rules of the first Olympics, which are still in force today

The modern Olympics are significantly different from those that were held more than 3,000 years ago. However, some rules are still kept. The main one is the fairness of the competition. Now athletes take an oath of allegiance to the Olympic traditions. Previously, there were no oaths, but if an athlete was caught cheating, he was expelled in disgrace, and copper was cast for the fine money that he had to pay. Before the start of the competition, they were shown to the participants as a sign of edification. The second immutable rule is to hold the Olympics every four years. Then the Greeks introduced a special chronology called the Olympic year. It was exactly equal to four ordinary ones. And one more important rule of the past and present Olympics is to stop hostilities for the duration of them. Unfortunately, both when there was the first Olympics, and now they do not adhere to it at all. Otherwise, the first Olympics are very different from the current ones.

Rules of the first Olympics, no longer in existence

Now representatives of all countries and peoples can compete. When there was the first Olympics, the rules forbade non-Greeks, the poor, as well as slaves and women to participate in competitions. The latter were not even allowed to attend the competitions. Otherwise, they could be thrown off the cliff.

In the entire ancient history of the Olympics, only one Fereniya was able to get there. She was her son's fistfighting coach. Fereniya dressed up in a men's suit for the games. Her son won, and the woman gave herself away in a surge of joy. She was not thrown off a cliff just because the people interceded. But since then, all coaches of athletes, the so-called Hellanodiki, had to be naked to the waist. An athlete who wished to participate in the competition reported about it for a year. All this time he trained intensively, passed the established standards, and if he passed, he trained for another month with a special trainer. Interestingly, there was no Olympic flame at the first Olympics; this “ancient” tradition was invented in the 20th century. In Hellas, they held a race with torches, but not in Olympia, but in Athens - on various holidays.

Types of competitions of the first Olympics

The first Olympics in Greece took place only one day and included a run of 192.14 meters, the so-called one stage, equal to 600 feet of Zeus. According to legend, Hercules himself measured the distance. From the 14th Olympiad, races were introduced for the 2nd stage, and from the 15th - for endurance. The distance included from 7 to 24 stages. From the 18th, wrestling and pentathlon (pentathlon), consisting of wrestling, running, javelin throwing and discus, were included in the regulations. Athletes jumped in length from a place, holding cobblestones in their hands. Landing, they were thrown back. It was believed that this improves the result. The spear was thrown at the target, and the disk was thrown from a special elevation. From the 23rd, fisticuffs appeared in the program, and from the 25th - chariot races. The 33rd Olympiad further expanded the program. Now athletes competed in horse, foal and donkey races and mutilated themselves in pankration (something like our fights without rules). There have been 293 Olympiads in total. Thanks to Theodosius II, they were forgotten, but in 1896 the Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin revived the glorious tradition.

How the Winter Olympics was born

The first Winter Olympics took place in France in 1924. Pierre de Coubertin wanted to include figure skating in the program of the first renewed Olympics, but this happened only in 1908. Figure skating included 4 disciplines. Our Russian Panin-Kolomenkin won in the free program. Thus began the history of the first Winter Olympics. The IOC proposed to include a week of winter sports in the program of the Olympic Games. But the Swedes, who hosted the 5th Olympiad, refused, because they already had such competitions. They justified the refusal by the fact that there were no winter competitions in ancient Greece. The 6th Olympiad took place in 1916 and did not take place. At the 7th IOC included figure skating and hockey in the program. The year 1924 has come. The Olympics were hosted by the French, who didn't mind winter sports. The competition aroused crazy interest, and the IOC finally approved the law on the Winter Olympics, and the last competitions were given the status of "I Winter Olympic Games".

Further development of the Olympic movement

The first Winter Olympics had a fairly broad program. It included hockey, curling, figure skating, skating, bobsleigh, several types of cross-country skiing and ski jumping. Now the list of disciplines has been replenished with freestyle, luge and skiing, skeleton, snowboarding and short track. At first, the winter competitions were held simultaneously with the summer ones, but later they were shifted by 2 years. The list of participating countries has also expanded significantly. Now not only northern peoples are competing, but also representatives of African countries. The popularity of the Olympic movement is growing every year. Now regional Olympics are also held, and in 2015 Baku will host the first European Olympic Games.

Modern youth devotes little time to sports, not only at the professional, but also at the amateur level. There is an extensive network of competitions to promote sports. Today we will consider in which country the Olympic competitions originated, when they were held, the situation today.

In contact with

Sports competitions of antiquity

The date of the first Olympic Games (hereinafter referred to as the Olympic Games) is unknown, but preserved theirs is ancient greece. The heyday of Hellenic statehood led to the formation of a religious and cultural holiday, which for a time united the layers of an egoistic society.

The worship of the beauty of the human body was actively cultivated, enlightened people sought to achieve the perfection of forms. It is not for nothing that most of the marble statues of the Greek period depict beautiful men and women of that time.

Olympia is considered the first "sports" city of Hellas, here the winners of the championships were revered as full participants in the hostilities. In 776 B.C. the festival was revived.

The reason for the decline of the Olympic Games is the Roman expansion into the Balkans. With the spread of the Christian faith, such holidays began to be considered pagan. In 394, Emperor Theodosius I banned sports competitions.

Attention! Sports competitions included several weeks of neutrality - it was forbidden to declare or wage war. Every day was considered sacred, dedicated to the gods. It is not surprising that the Olympic Games originated in Hellas.

Prerequisites for the revival of the Olympic Games

The ideas of world championships never completely died out; England held tournaments and sports competitions of a local nature. The history of the Olympic Games of the 19th century is characterized by the holding of Olympia, the forerunner of modern competitions. The idea belongs to the Greeks: Sutsos and public figure Zappas. They made the first modern Olympic Games possible.

Archaeologists have discovered in the country where sports competitions originated, clusters of ancient monumental structures of unknown purpose. those years was very interested in antiquity.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin considered the physical training of soldiers inappropriate. In his opinion, this was the reason for the defeat in the last war with the Germans (the Franco-Prussian confrontation of 1870-1871). He sought to instill in the French a desire for self-development. He believed that young people should "break spears" in sports arenas, and not through military conflicts.

Attention! Excavations in Greece were carried out by a German expedition, so Coubertin succumbed to revanchist sentiments. His expression is “The German people found the remains of Olympia. Why does France not restore the fragments of its former power? ”, often serves as fair evidence.

Baron with a great heart

is the founder modern Olympic Games. Let's devote a few words to his biography.

Little Pierre was born on January 1, 1863 in the capital of the French Empire. The youth passed through the prism of self-education, attended a number of prestigious colleges in England and America, considered sports an integral part of the development of a person as a person. He was engaged in rugby, was a judge of the first final of the French championship.

The history of the famous competitions was of interest to the then society, so Coubertin decided to hold world-class competitions. November 1892 was remembered for a speech at the Sorbonne University with a report. He was dedicated to the revival of the Olympic movement. The Russian general Butovsky was imbued with Pierre's ideas, as he held the same views.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) appointed de Coubertin as Secretary General, subsequently - organization president. Work went hand in hand with an imminent marriage. In 1895, Marie Rothan became a baroness. The marriage brought two children: the first-born Jacques and daughter Rene suffered from diseases of the nervous system. The Coubertin family ended after Marie's death at the age of 101. She lived with the knowledge that her husband revived the Olympic Games, held a prominent position.

With the beginning, Pierre went to the front, leaving social activities. Both of his nephews died en route to victory.

As head of the IOC, Coubertin often faced criticism. The public resented the "wrong" interpretation of the first Olympic Games, excessive professionalism. Many claimed that he abused power in dealing with issues of various kinds.

Great public figure died September 2, 1937 years in Geneva (Switzerland). His heart became part of a monument near the ruins of Greek Olympia.

Important! The Pierre de Coubertin medal has been awarded by the IOC since the death of the Honorary President. Worthy athletes are honored with this award for their nobility and adherence to the spirit of Fair Play.

Olympic revival

The French baron revived the Olympics, but the bureaucratic machine delayed the championship. Two years later, the French Congress made a historic decision: the first modern Olympic Games will pass on Greek soil. Reasons for this decision include:

• the desire to "wipe the nose" of the German neighbor;
• make a good impression on civilized countries;
• championship in the undeveloped area;
• the growing influence of France as a cultural and sports center of the Old World.

The first modern Olympic Games were held in the Greek city of Antiquity - Athens (1896). Sports competitions were crowned with success, 241 athletes expressed their desire to participate. The Greek side was so pleased with the attention from the world states that they offered to hold competitions “forever” in their historical homeland. The IOC also decided to rotate between countries in order to change the host every 4 years.

The first achievements were replaced by a crisis. The flow of spectators quickly dried up, as the competitions were held for several months. The first Olympiad in 1906 (Athens) saved the plight.

Attention! The national team of the Russian Empire arrived in the capital of France for the first time, women were allowed to participate in competitions.

Irish-born Olympian

James ConnollyJames Connolly - first Olympic champion peace. Working hard from an early age, he was fond of contact sports.

He studied at Harvard University, without asking went on a cargo ship to the shores of Greece. Subsequently, he was expelled, but the first Olympiad succumbed to him.

With a score of 13 m and 71 cm, the Irishman was the strongest in the track and field triple jump. A day later, he won bronze in long jump and silver in high jump.

At home, he was waiting for the restored title of student, popularity and universal recognition as the first champion of modern famous competitions.

He was awarded the title of Doctor of Science in Literature (1949). He died at the age of 88 (January 20, 1957).

Important! The Olympic Games are held under the supervision of a unique symbol - five fastened rings. They symbolize the unity of all in the movement of sports excellence. Above are blue, black and red, below are yellow and green.

Situation today

Modern competitions are the founder of the culture of health and sports. Their popularity and demand is beyond doubt, and the number of participants and spectators of the competition is growing every year.

The IOC is trying to keep up with the times, has established many traditions that have taken root over time. Hosting sports competitions now filled with atmosphere"ancient" traditions:

1. Grand performances at the opening and closing ceremonies. Everyone tries to hold them on a grand scale, and someone overdoes it.
2. Solemn passage of athletes of each participating country. The Greek team always goes first, the rest are in alphabetical order.
3. An outstanding athlete of the host country must take an oath of fair play for everyone.
4. Ignition of a symbolic torch in the temple of Apollo (Greece). It runs through the participating countries. Each athlete must overcome his part of the relay.
5. The awarding of medals is filled with centuries-old traditions, the winner rises to the podium, above which the state flag is raised, the national anthem is played.
6. A prerequisite is the symbolism of the "first Olympiad". The host country is developing a stylized symbol of the sports holiday, which would reflect the national flavor.

Attention! The release of souvenir products can cover the costs of the event. Many European countries will share their experience on how to gain without losing anything.

Many are interested in when the Olympic Games will take place, we hasten to satisfy the interest of readers.

The ceremony of lighting a symbolic torch in the temple

What year is the new championship

First Olympiad 2018 will take place in South Korea. Climatic features and rapid development have made it an ideal contender for the Winter Games.

Summer takes Japan. The country of high technologies will provide safety and comfortable conditions for athletes from all over the world.

Football confrontation will be on the fields of the Russian Federation. Now most of the sports facilities have been completed, work is underway to equip hotel complexes. Improving infrastructure is a priority for the Russian government.

2018 Olympics in South Korea

prospects

Modern ways of development of these competitions suggest:

1. Increasing the number of sports disciplines.
2. Promotion of a healthy lifestyle, social and charitable events.
3. The introduction of advanced technologies for the convenience of holding festivities, enhancing the safety and comfort of participating athletes.
4. Maximum distance from foreign policy intrigues.

First Olympic Games

1896 Olympics

Conclusion

Pierre de Coubertin is the founder of the modern Olympic Games. His obsession has helped save millions of lives as countries openly compete in the sporting arena. Preservation of peace was a priority at the end of the 19th century, and it remains so today.

The content of the article

OLYMPIC GAMES OF ANCIENT GREECE- the largest sports competitions of antiquity. They originated as part of a religious cult and were held from 776 BC. to 394 AD (a total of 293 Olympiads were held) in Olympia, which was considered a sacred place by the Greeks. The name of the Games comes from Olympia. The Olympic Games were a significant event for the whole of Ancient Greece, which went beyond the scope of a purely sporting event. The victory at the Olympics was considered extremely honorable both for the athlete and for the policy he represented.

From the 6th c. BC. Following the example of the Olympic Games, other all-Greek competitions of athletes began to be held: the Pythian Games, the Isthmian Games and the Nemean Games, also dedicated to various ancient Greek gods. But the Olympics were the most prestigious among these competitions. The Olympic Games are mentioned in the works of Plutarch, Herodotus, Pindar, Lucian, Pausanias, Simonides and other ancient authors.

At the end of the 19th century The Olympic Games were revived at the initiative of Pierre de Coubertin.

The Olympic Games from inception to decline.

There are many legends about the origin of the Olympic Games. All of them are associated with the ancient Greek gods and heroes.

The most famous legend tells how the king of Elis Ifit, seeing that his people were tired of endless wars, went to Delphi, where the priestess of Apollo conveyed to him the command of the gods: to arrange pan-Greek athletic festivals pleasing to them. After that, Iphitus, the Spartan legislator Lycurgus and the Athenian legislator and reformer Cliosthenes established the procedure for holding such games and entered into a sacred alliance. Olympia, where this festival was to be held, was declared a sacred place, and anyone who enters its borders armed is a criminal.

According to another myth, Zeus' son Heracles brought the sacred olive branch to Olympia and instituted the Games of Athletes to commemorate Zeus' victory over his ferocious father Cronus.

There is also a legend that Hercules, having organized the Olympic Games, perpetuated the memory of Pelops (Pelops), who won the chariot race of the cruel king Enomai. And the name Pelops was given to the Peloponnese region, where the "capital" of the ancient Olympic Games was located.

Religious ceremonies were an obligatory part of the ancient Olympic Games. According to the established custom, the first day of the Games was set aside for sacrifices: athletes spent this day at the altars and altars of their patron gods. A similar ceremony was repeated on the final day of the Olympic Games, when awards were presented to the winners.

At the time of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece, wars stopped and a truce was concluded - ekecheria, and representatives of the warring policies held peace negotiations in Olympia in order to resolve conflicts. On the bronze disk of Ifit with the rules of the Olympic Games, which was stored in Olympia in the temple of Hera, the corresponding paragraph was recorded. “On the disk of Ifit is written the text of the truce that the Eleans declare for the duration of the Olympic Games; it is not written in straight lines, but the words go around the disk in the form of a circle ”(Pausanias, Description of Hellas).

From the Olympic Games 776 BC (the earliest Games that have come down to us - according to some experts, the Olympic Games began to be held more than 100 years earlier) the Greeks had a special "Olympic chronology" introduced by the historian Timaeus. The Olympic holiday was celebrated in the "holy month", beginning with the first full moon after the summer solstice. It was to be repeated every 1417 days that made up the Olympiad - the Greek "Olympic" year.

Starting as a competition of local importance, the Olympic Games eventually became an event of a pan-Greek scale. Many people came to the Games not only from Greece itself, but also from its colonial cities from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.

The games continued even when Hellas fell under the control of Rome (in the middle of the 2nd century BC), as a result of which one of the fundamental Olympic principles was violated, which allowed only Greek citizens to participate in the Olympic Games, and even some were among the winners. Roman emperors (including Nero, who “won” a race in chariots drawn by ten horses). It affected the Olympic Games and began in the 4th century BC. the general decline of Greek culture: they gradually lost their former meaning and essence, turning from a sporting event and a significant social event into a purely entertainment event, in which mainly professional athletes participated.

And in 394 AD. The Olympic Games were banned - as a "remnant of paganism" - by the Roman emperor Theodosius I, who forcibly propagated Christianity.

Olympia.

It is located in the northwestern part of the Peloponnesian Peninsula. Here was Altis (Altis) - the legendary sacred grove of Zeus and the temple and cult complex, finally formed around the 6th century BC. BC. On the territory of the sanctuary there were religious buildings, monuments, sports facilities and houses where athletes and guests lived during the competition. The Olympic sanctuary remained the center of Greek art until the 4th century BC. BC.

Shortly after the ban on the Olympic Games, all these structures were burned by order of Emperor Theodosius II (in 426 AD), and a century later they were finally destroyed and buried by strong earthquakes and river floods.

As a result of those held in Olympia at the end of the 19th century. archaeological excavations have been able to unearth the ruins of some buildings, including sports facilities, such as the palaestra, the gymnasium and the stadium. Built in the 3rd c. BC. palestra - a platform surrounded by a portico where wrestlers, boxers and jumpers trained. Gymnasium, built in the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC, - the largest building in Olympia, it was used for training sprinters. The gymnasium also kept a list of winners and a list of the Olympics, there were statues of athletes. The stadium (212.5 m long and 28.5 m wide) with stands and seats for judges was built in 330–320 BC. It could accommodate about 45,000 spectators.

Organization of the Games.

All free-born Greek citizens (according to some sources, men who could speak Greek) were allowed to participate in the Olympic Games. Slaves and barbarians, i.e. persons of non-Greek origin could not participate in the Olympic Games. “When Alexander wished to take part in the competition and for this he arrived in Olympia, the Hellenes, the participants in the competition, demanded his exclusion. These contests, they said, were for the Hellenes, not for the barbarians. Alexander, on the other hand, proved that he was an Argive, and the judges recognized his Hellenic origin. He took part in the running competition and reached the goal at the same time as the winner” (Herodotus. Story).

The organization of the ancient Olympic Games included control not only over the course of the Games themselves, but also over the preparation of athletes for them. Control was exercised by the Hellanodics, or Hellanodics, the most authoritative citizens. For 10-12 months before the start of the Games, the athletes underwent intensive training, after which they passed a kind of examination by the Hellanodic commission. After fulfilling the "Olympic standard", the future participants of the Olympic Games prepared for another month according to a special program - already under the guidance of the Hellanodics.

The fundamental principle of the competition was the honesty of the participants. Before the start of the competition, they swore an oath to abide by the rules. The Hellanodics had the right to deprive the champion of the title if he won by fraudulent means, the offending athlete was also subject to a fine and corporal punishment. In front of the entrance to the stadium in Olympia, there were zanas as a warning to the participants - copper statues of Zeus, cast with money received in the form of fines from athletes who violated the rules of the competition (the ancient Greek writer Pausanias indicates that the first six such statues were erected in the 98th Olympiad, when Evpolus the Thessalian bribed three wrestlers who fought with him). In addition, persons convicted of a crime or sacrilege were not allowed to participate in the Games.

Entry to the competition was free. But only men could visit them, women, under pain of death, were forbidden to appear in Olympia during the entire festival (according to some sources, this ban only applied to married women). An exception was made only for the priestess of the goddess Demeter: for her in the stadium, in the most honorable place, a special marble throne was built.

Program of the Ancient Olympic Games.

At first, there was only a stadium in the program of the Olympic Games - running for one stage (192.27 m), then the number of Olympic disciplines increased. Let's note some cardinal changes in the program:

- at the 14 Olympic Games (724 BC), the program included diaulos - a run for the 2nd stage, and 4 years later - a dolichodrome (run for endurance), the distance of which ranged from 7 to 24 stages;

- at the 18 Olympic Games (708 BC), wrestling and pentathlon (pentathlon) competitions were held for the first time, which included, in addition to wrestling and the stadium, jumping, as well as javelin and discus throwing;

- at the 23 Olympic Games (688 BC), fisticuffs were included in the competition program,

- at the 25th Olympic Games (680 BC), chariot races were added (drawn by four adult horses, over time this type of program expanded, in the 5th–4th centuries BC, chariot races pulled by a pair of adult horses began to be held , young horses or mules);

- at the 33rd Olympic Games (648 BC), horse racing appeared in the program of the Games (in the middle of the 3rd century BC horse racing began to be held) and pankration - martial arts that combined elements of wrestling and boxing with minimal restrictions on "forbidden techniques" and in many ways reminiscent of modern fighting without rules.

Greek gods and mythological heroes are involved in the emergence of not only the Olympic Games as a whole, but also their individual disciplines. For example, it was believed that Hercules himself introduced the run for one stage, personally measuring this distance in Olympia (1 stage was equal to the length of 600 feet of the priest of Zeus), and pankration goes back to the legendary fight between Theseus and the Minotaur.

Some of the disciplines of the ancient Olympic Games, familiar to us from modern competitions, differ markedly from their current counterparts. Greek athletes did not long jump from a run, but from a place - moreover, with stones (later with dumbbells) in their hands. At the end of the jump, the athlete threw the stones sharply back: it was believed that this allows him to jump further. This jumping technique required good coordination. Javelin and discus throwing (over time, instead of a stone one, athletes began to throw an iron disc) was carried out from a small elevation. At the same time, the spear was thrown not for distance, but for accuracy: the athlete had to hit a special target. In wrestling and boxing, there was no division of participants into weight categories, and the boxing match continued until one of the opponents recognized himself as defeated or was unable to continue the fight. There were also very peculiar varieties of running disciplines: running in full armor (i.e., in a helmet, with a shield and weapons), running of heralds and trumpeters, alternating running and chariot racing.

From the 37th Games (632 BC), young men under the age of 20 began to participate in competitions. At first, competitions in this age category included only running and wrestling, over time, pentathlon, fisticuffs and pankration were added to them.

In addition to athletic competitions, an art competition was also held at the Olympic Games, which has become an official part of the program since the 84th Games (444 BC).

Initially, the Olympic Games took one day, then (with the expansion of the program) - five days (this is how long the Games lasted during their heyday in the 6th-4th centuries BC) and, in the end, "stretched out" for a whole month.

Olympionics.

The winner of the Olympic Games received universal recognition along with an olive wreath (this tradition went from 752 BC) and purple ribbons. He became one of the most respected people in his city (for the inhabitants of which the victory of a fellow countryman at the Olympics was also a great honor), he was often released from state duties and given other privileges. Olympionics were given posthumous honors in their homeland. And according to the introduction in the 6th c. BC. In practice, the three-time winner of the Games could put his statue in Altis.

The first Olympian known to us was Koreb from Elis, who won the race for one stadia in 776 BC.

The most famous - and the only athlete in the history of the ancient Olympic Games who won 6 Olympiads - was "the strongest among the strong", the wrestler Milo from Croton. A native of the Greek city-colony of Croton (south of modern Italy) and, according to some sources, a student of Pythagoras, he won his first victory at the 60th Olympiad (540 BC) in competitions among young men. From 532 BC by 516 BC he won 5 more Olympic titles - already among adult athletes. In 512 BC Milon, who was already over 40 years old, tried to win his seventh title, but lost to a younger opponent. Olympionic Milo was also a repeated winner of the Pythian, Isthmian, Nemean Games and many local competitions. Mentions of him can be found in the works of Pausanias, Cicero and other authors.

Another outstanding athlete - Leonidas from Rhodes - at four Olympiads in a row (164 BC - 152 BC) won in three "running" disciplines: in running for one and two stages, as well as in running with weapons.

Astil from Croton entered the history of the ancient Olympic Games not only as one of the champions in the number of victories (6 - in the race for one and two stages at the Games from 488 BC to 480 BC). If at his first Olympics Astil played for Croton, then at the next two - for Syracuse. Former countrymen took revenge on him for betrayal: the statue of the champion in Croton was demolished, and his former house was turned into a prison.

In the history of the ancient Greek Olympic Games, there are entire Olympic dynasties. So, the grandfather of the fisticuff champion Poseidor from Rhodes Diagoras, as well as his uncles Akusilai and Damaget were also Olympionists. Diagoras, whose exceptional steadfastness and honesty in boxing matches won him great respect from the audience and were sung in the odes of Pindar, witnessed his sons' Olympic victories in boxing and pankration, respectively. (According to legend, when the grateful sons put their champion wreaths on their father’s head and lifted him on their shoulders, one of the clapping spectators exclaimed: “Die, Diagoras, die! Die, because you have nothing more to wish from life!” And the excited Diagoras died immediately in the arms of his sons.)

Many olympians were distinguished by exceptional physical data. For example, the champion in the race for two stages (404 BC), Lasfen of Thebea, is credited with winning an unusual horse race, and Aegeus of Argos, who won the long-distance race (328 BC), after that with a run , without making a single stop along the way, he covered the distance from Olympia to his hometown in order to quickly bring good news to his countrymen. Victories were also achieved due to a kind of technique. So, the extremely hardy and agile boxer Melancom from Caria, the winner of the Olympic Games of 49 AD, during the fight constantly kept his arms outstretched forward, due to which he avoided the opponent’s blows, and at the same time he himself very rarely delivered retaliatory blows, - in in the end, the physically and emotionally exhausted opponent admitted defeat. And about the winner of the Olympic Games 460 BC. in the dolichodrome of Ladas of Argos, it was said that he ran so lightly that he did not even leave footprints on the ground.

Among the participants and winners of the Olympic Games were such famous scientists and thinkers as Demosthenes, Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Pythagoras, Hippocrates. And they competed not only in the fine arts. For example, Pythagoras was a champion in fisticuffs, and Plato was in pankration.

Maria Ischenko

If so, you might be very interested to know impressive details of the origin of the Olympic races. The history of the Olympic Games is exciting and full of surprises. So, let's dive into the unknown distances of the world Olympiads?

How it all began

The famous Olympic Games in honor of Olympian Zeus originated in ancient Greece and have been held since 776 BC. e. every 4 years in the city of Olympia. Sports competitions were such a tremendous success and great importance for society that at the time of the Olympicohraces stopped wars and established ekekhiriya - a sacred truce.

People came from everywhere to look at the competitions in Olympia: some traveled on foot, some on horseback, and some even sailed ships to distant lands, just to have at least one eye on the majestic Greek athletes. Entire tent settlements grew up around the city. To watch the athletes, spectators completely filled the hillsides around the Alfei river valley.

After the solemn victory and the award ceremony (presenting a wreath of sacred olive and palm branches), the Olympionist lived in clover. Holidays were held in his honor, hymns were sung, statues were made, in Athens the winner was exempted from taxes and burdensome public duties. And the winner was always left the best place in the theater. In some places, even the children of an Olympian enjoyed special privileges.

Interesting, that women were not allowed to compete in the Olympics under pain of death.

Brave Hellenes competed in running, fisticuffs (which Pythagoras once won), jumping, javelin throwing, and so on. The most dangerous, however, were the chariot races. You will not believe it, but the owner of the horses was considered the winner of the equestrian competition, and not the poor driver who risked his life for the sake of winning.

There are many legends associated with the Olympic Games. One of them says that Zeus himself allegedly organized the first competition in honor of the victory over his father. True or not, but in literature it was Homer who first mentioned the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece in the poem The Iliad.

Archaeological excavations show that in Olympia, 5 rectangular or horseshoe-shaped stadiums with stands for fans were built specifically for the competition.

Unfortunately, nothing is known about the time of the champions at the moment. It was enough to be the first to reach the finish line to get the right to light the sacred fire. But the legends tell us about the Olympians who ran faster than hares, and what is the talent of the Spartan Ladas, who did not leave footprints in the sand while running.

Modern Olympic Games

The modern international sporting events known as the Summer Olympics have been held every four years since 1896. Initiated by the French baron Pierre de Coubertin. He believed that it was precisely insufficient physical fitness that prevented French soldiers from winning the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. The youth should measure their strength on the sports grounds, not on the battlefields, the activist argued.

The first Olympic Games were held in Athens. To organize the competition created International Olympic Committee, whose first president was Demetrius Vikelas of Greece.

Since that time, the World Olympiad has become a good tradition. Against the backdrop of impressive excavations and archaeological finds, the idea of ​​Olympism spread throughout Europe. Increasingly, European states organized their own sports competitions, which were watched by the whole world.

What about winter sports?

To fill a gap in winter sports competitions that were technically impossible to host in the summer, Since January 25, 1924, the Winter Olympic Games have been held. The first were organized in the French city Chamonix. In addition to figure skating and hockey, athletes competed in speed skating, ski jumping, etc.

293 athletes, including 13 women, from 16 countries of the world expressed their desire to compete for the championship in competitions. Ch. Juthrow from the USA (speed skating) became the first Olympic champion of the Winter Games, but in the end the teams of Finland and Norway turned out to be the leaders of the competition. The races lasted 11 days and ended on February 4th.

Attributes of the Olympic Games

Now a symbol and emblem The Olympic Games have five rings intertwined, which symbolize the unification of the five continents.

Olympic motto, proposed by the Catholic monk Henri Didon: "Faster, higher, stronger."

At the opening ceremony of each Olympiad, they raise flag- white cloth with the emblem (Olympic rings). Burning throughout the Olympiad Olympic the fire, which is brought to the venue each time from Olympia.

Since 1968, each Olympiad has its own.

The 2016 Olympic Games will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the Ukrainian team will present their champions to the world. By the way, the figure skater became the first Olympic champion of independent Ukraine Oksana Baiul.

The opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games are always a spectacular sight, which once again emphasizes the prestige and planetary importance of these world competitions.

The Olympic Games are the largest sporting event loved by many. They are watched by millions of people on TV, thousands flock to the cities where the competition is held to see the strongest, most agile and fastest athletes with their own eyes. Every professional athlete dreams of not only winning, but at least getting into the Olympic arena. However, not many people know how they were created games when they first passed and what the original concept of this competition was.

Origin Legends

Many legends and myths about the origin of these competitions have come down to us, which have a different plot and history. However, one thing is known for sure: their homeland is Ancient Greece.

How were the first competitions held?

The beginning of the first of them dates back to 776 BC. This date is very ancient, and it could not have survived to this day, if not for the tradition of the Greeks: they engraved the names of the winners of the competitions on columns specially erected for this. Thanks to these buildings we know not only the time when the games began, but also the name of the first winner. This man's name was Koreb, and he was a resident of Ellis. It is interesting that the concept of the first thirteen games was very different from the subsequent ones, because initially there was only one competition - running a distance of one hundred and ninety-two meters.

At first, only the indigenous inhabitants of the city of Pisa and Elis had the right to take part. However, the popularity of the competition soon increased so much that other major policies began to contribute to their development.

There were laws according to which not every person could take part in the Olympic Games. Women didn't have this right., slaves and foreign residents called barbarians. And those who wanted to become a full participant had to submit an application to the meeting of judges a whole year before the start of the competition. Moreover, before the actual start of the competition, potential candidates were required to provide proof that since the moment of registration they had been working hard on their physical fitness, performing various types of exercises, training in long-distance running and maintaining athletic form.

The concept of ancient games

Starting from the fourteenth, various sports began to be actively introduced into the program of the games.

The winners of the Olympiads got literally everything they wanted. Their names are immortalized in history for centuries, and during their lifetime they were honored as demigods until old age. Moreover, after the death of each Olympiad was ranked among the lesser gods.

For a long time, these competitions, without which it was impossible to imagine life before, were forgotten. The thing is that after the coming to power of Emperor Theodosius and the strengthening of the Christian faith, games began to be considered one of the manifestations of paganism, for which they were abolished in 394 BC.

rebirth

Fortunately, the games have not sunk into oblivion. We owe their revival to the well-known writer and public figure, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the creator of the modern concept of the Olympic Games. It happened in 1894 when, at the initiative of Coubertin, an international athletic congress was assembled. During it, it was decided to revive the games according to the standard of antiquity, as well as to establish the work of the IOC, that is, the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC began its existence on June 23 of the same year, and Demetrius Vikelas was appointed its first head, and Pierre Coubertin, already familiar to us, was its secretary. At the same time, the Congress developed the rules and regulations on which the games will exist.

First Modern Olympic Games

It is not surprising that Athens was chosen to host the first games of our time, because Greece is the ancestor of these competitions. It is interesting to note that Greece is a country, in which they were held in three centuries.

The first major competitions of modern times were opened on April 6, 1896. More than three hundred athletes took part in them, and the number of sets of awards exceeded four dozen. At the first games, competitions were held in the following sports disciplines:

Finished the games by the fifteenth of April. The awards were distributed as follows:

• The absolute winner with the most medals, namely forty-six, of which ten were gold, was Greece.
• Second place by a decent margin from the winner was taken by the United States, collecting twenty awards.
• Germany scored thirteen medals and finished third.
• But Bulgaria, Chile and Sweden left the competition with nothing.

The success of the competition was so huge that the rulers of Athens were immediately invited to hold the games on their territory. However, according to the rules established by the IOC, the venue must change every four years.

Unexpectedly, the next two terms were quite difficult for the Olympiads, because their venues hosted world exhibitions, which made it difficult to receive guests. Due to the combination of these events, the organizers were afraid that the popularity of the games would quickly subside, however, everything was quite the opposite. People fell in love with such major competitions, and after that, on the initiative of the same Coubertin, traditions began to form, their flag and emblem were created.

Traditions of the Games and their symbols

most famous symbol has the form of five rings, having the same size and intertwined with each other. They go in the following sequence: blue, yellow, black, green and red. Such an unpretentious emblem carries a deep meaning, showing the union of five continents and the meeting of people from all over the world. Interestingly, each Olympic Committee has developed its own emblem, however, five rings are certainly its main part.

The flag of the games appeared in 1894 and was approved by the IOC. The white flag features the five traditional rings. And the motto of the competition is: faster, higher, stronger.

Another symbol of the Olympics is fire. The lighting of the Olympic flame has become a traditional ritual before the start of any games. It is lit in the city in which the competitions are held, and burns there until they are over. This was done in ancient times, however, the custom did not return to us immediately, but only in 1928.

An integral part of the symbolism of these large-scale competitions is the mascot of the Olympiad. Each country has its own. The question of the appearance of talismans arose at the next meeting of the IOC in 1972. By decision of the committee it could be any person, beast or any mythical creature that would not only fully reflect the identity of the country, but also speak of modern Olympiad values.

The advent of the winter games

In 1924, it was decided to establish winter competitions. Initially, they were held in the same year as the summer ones, however, later it was decided to postpone them for two years relative to the summer ones. France hosted the first Winter Games. Surprisingly, half the number of spectators became interested in them than expected, and not all tickets were sold out. Despite the previous failures, the winter Olympics more and more fell in love with the fans, and soon they gained the same popularity as the summer ones.

Interesting facts from history