The very first games began as an annual foot race of young women in competition for the position of the priestess for the goddess, Hera . A second race was also held to find a consort for the priestess oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego who would participate in the religious traditions at the temple.
The Heraea Games , the first recorded competition for women in the Olympic Stadium, were held as early as the sixth century BC. It originally consisted of foot races only, as did the competition for males.
oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego Politically, in Ancient Greece, around the 8 th Century BC, the culture was that of self- regulating city states who all lived near bye each other. They all traded with each other and relied oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego on each other in many ways; but at the same time they competed with each other fiercely for surrounding resources that basically kept them alive.
The Greek colonies spread out in the 5 th and 6 th Centuries BC, and it seem that there are many stories linked to Olympic athletes maintaining close links with the new colonies and Olympia, thus keeping Hellenistic culture and the Olympiad alive further afield.
Only free men who spoke Greek were allowed to take part in the Olympics of classical days. They were to some extent international , in the sense that they included athletes from the various Greek city-states.
Only young people were allowed to participate, Before being able to participate, every participant had to take an oath in front of the statue of Zeus, saying that he had been in training for ten months.
As the Olympics were to honour Zeus, the Greeks erected a huge statue in honour of him at. It was 13 metres high and made of ivory and gold and the Greeks placed it on a throne in a holy temple that they built for Zeus especially, as the head of the Greek Pantheon on a mountain top at Olympia.
In mythology, according oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego to the story, the dacty l Herakles (not to be confused with the son of Zeus ) and two of his brothers raced at Olympia. He crowned the victor oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego with a laurel wreath , which explains the traditional prize given to Olympic champions
This Laurel wreath was known as The Kotinos which was an olive branch from the wild olive tree taken from a sacred tree at the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, which was intertwined to form either a circle or a horseshoe.
The Olympic Games originally contained one event : the stadion (or stade ) race, a short sprint measuring between 190 and 240 meters (620 and 790 ft.), or the length of the stadium. The distance is said to have been measured after Hercules feet. This is where we get the word Stadium from.
The length of the race is uncertain, since tracks found at archeological sites, as well as literary evidence, provide conflicting measurements. Runners had to pass five stakes that divided the lanes: one stake at the start, another at the finish, and three stakes in between.
The diaulos or two-stade race was introduced in 724 BC, during the 14th Olympic games . The race was a single lap of the stadium, approximately 400 meters (1,300 ft.), and scholars debate whether or not the runners had individual oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego turning posts for the return leg of the race, or whether all the runners approached a common post, turned, and then raced back to the starting line.
The event was run similarly to modern marathons. The runners would begin and end their event in the stadium proper, but the race course would wind its way through the Olympic grounds. The course often would flank important shrines and statues in the sanctuary, passing by the Nike statue by the temple of Zeus before returning to the stadium.
As the armour weighed between 50 and 60 lb. (27 kg), the hoplitodromos emulated the speed and stamina needed for warfare. Due to the weight of the armour, it was easy for runners to drop their shields or trip over fallen competitors.
Other events included chariot racing , and several other running events (the diaulos , hippios , dolichos , and hoplitodromos ), as well as a pentathlon , consisting of wrestling, stadion, oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego long jump , javelin throw , and discus throw (the latter three were not separate events!).
The fights had no rest periods and no rules against hitting a man while he was down. Bouts continued until one man either surrendered or died- however, killing an opponent wasn t a good thing, as the dead boxer was automatically declared the winner.
In the chariot racing event, it was not the rider , but the owner of the chariot and team who was considered to be the competitor, so one owner could win more than one of the top spots. The addition of events meant the festival grew from one day to five days, three of which were used for competition.
As already said above, the winner of each Olympic oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego event was awarded the olive branch (Kotinos) which was received with much honour throughout Greece, especially in his home town, where he was often granted large sums of money (in Athens, 500 drachma , a small fortune) and prizes including vats of olive oil .
In 396 BC, and again in 392 BC, the horses of a Spartan princess named Cynisca won her the four-horse race. It is thought oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego that single women (not betrothed or married) were allowed oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego to watch the races. The priestesses in the temple of Zeus who lit the oil lamps were also permitted.
The athletes usually competed nude , not only as the weather was appropriate, but also as the festival was meant to celebrate, oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego in part, the achievements of the human body . Olive oil was used by the competitors, not only as a substitute for soap for washing, oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego bathing, and cleaning, but also as a natural cosmetic , to keep skin smooth, and provide an appealing look for the participants; This tradition oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego goes back to 720 BC.
Their aim was to highlight natural human movement and the shape of muscles and the body . Poets would be commissioned to write prose in honour of their Olympic victors. These poems, known as Epinicians , were passed on from generation to generation and many of them have lasted far longer than any other honor made for the same purpose
oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego The other games were the Pythian Games to honour the God Apollo and were held at Delphi three years after the Olympics. oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego The Pythian Games were the forerunner to the Olympics, being held two years before and two years after the Olympics and in between each Nemean and Isthmian oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego game. The Pythian games features Art and Dance competitions in respect of Apollo and dates back to 6BC.
There was also the Nemean Games , yet again to honour Zeus which were held at Nemea in Corinthia, these were held every two years (the 2 nd and 4 th Olympiads) where the prize was wild Celery, and finally there was the Isthmian Games in order to honour the God Poseidon oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego which was held in Corinth; they were held every two years, and the victors prize was a pine.
Today , an Olympiad refers to a period beginning January 1 of a year in which the Summer Olympics are due to occur, and lasting four years. The first modern Olympiad began in 1896, the second began in 1900, and so on. The 30th began in 2012.
An Olympiad started with the games, which were held at the beginning of the Olympic New Year, which fell on the full moon closest to the summer solstice . (After the introduction of the Metonic cycle about 432 BC, the start of the Olympic year was determined slightly differently).
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