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The Greeks and the
Ancient Olympic Games
776 (1,000) B.C.E. – 394 A.D.
The Greeks
• The Minoan civilization controlled the Aegean sea and
the lands it touched for 1,600 years. About 1,400 B.C.E.
the Mycenaean people became the dominant culture in
that same region. Some two hundred years later, they
attacked and destroyed Troy. As the Dorian people
gradually conquered Mycenaean controlled lands, the
region entered what is now known as the “Dark Ages” or
the Homeric Age of Greek history.
Image source:
http://www.best.com/
~singer/crete.html
KIN 375 –Dr. D. Frankl
The Homeric Age
1,200 B.C.E. – 700 B.C.E.
• The earliest documented
literature is the work of a
blind Greek writer.
• The Iliad and The
Odyssey (~850 B.C.E.)
provide a very revealing
window into the lives,
believes and culture of
the early Greeks
Image source:
http://library.thinkquest.org/
The Homeric Age
1,200 B.C.E. – 700 B.C.E.
• In the Iliad, Homer
provides the earliest
known account of sport
competition as he
describes the “funeral
games” initiated by
Achilles in memory of
his warrior friend,
Patroclus.
Achilles bandages the arm
of his friend, Patroclus
Image source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Akhilleus_
Patroklos_Antikensammlung_Berlin_F2278.jpg
Ancient Greece
Greek Influence
• Greeks developed much of the Western world’s
belief about the body and physical education
– Likely with Judaic and Phoenician influences
• Two metaphysical systems in Greece
– Naturalistic: man’s nature is both spiritual and
corporeal (physical)
• Achieving balance is desired
• Emphasized physical and intellectual
education
Map source: http://www.britanicca.net/
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Greek Metaphysics
• Opposing views (cont.)
– Anti-naturalistic: man’s nature created by mind
• Mind held in higher esteem than body
• Physical education not necessary
• View of physical education: result of a specific
metaphysical position
• Both views held the mind in high esteem
– Differed on importance of the body
– Naturalistic view far more popular
Philosophical Positions: The Body
• Dualism
– Explanation of human
existence based upon both
metaphysical and
theological beliefs
– Socrates and Plato
– Has profound implications
for physical education
– Separates human
existence into two parts,
mind and body.
Socrates drinks
hemlock
Image source:http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/socr.htm
Philosophical Positions: The
Body
• Dualism (cont.)
– Elevates mind over body—regulates the
corporeal to an inferior status
– Reality and truth revealed through the mind,
not the body
• Mind and ideas are eternal, the body decays
• Most dualists believe it is essential to develop
the intellectual ability over the physical
– Philosophy was the highest pursuit in
Ancient Greece
Plato: View of Physical
Education
• Initially seems to not support
PE (Phaedo)
• Later Plato supports ideal
education as harmony of
mind (music) and body
(gymnastics)
• Does harmonious imply
equality?
Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato
•
Philosophical Positions: The
Body
Dualism (cont.)
– Body is enemy of the mind
– Deceives as to what is real
• Only in death is the mind truly
free of the body
• Potentially damaging for view
of physical education
Classical Humanism
• Greek gods thought of as
ideal humans
– Anthropomorphic
– Depicted as having
magnificent bodies (Zeus,
Apollo, Athena, etc.)
• Greeks wanted to resemble
their gods
Apollo and Hyacinthus
– Sought to train and develop
the body
Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo
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The Early Athenian Period
776 B.C.E. – 480 B.C.E
• The Ancient Greek’s emphasis on the
importance of a strong and fit body is best
demonstrated by the Ancient Olympic games.
• What started as a stadion race in 776 B.C.
(single course sprint event) evolved by 520
B.C. into several running, combat, and
combined events spread over five days of
Olympic competition.
The Spartan Period
• In war time and during the
peaceful Olympic Games, the
Spartans best represented the
“All for one, and one for all”
concept. The purpose of their
existence was to serve and
protect Sparta.
• In 480 BCE King Leonidas, and
his 300 royal guards, fought
Xerxes, King of Persia, at
Thermopylae to the last man.
Image source:
http://www.aeroartinc.com/
Athens: View of the Acropolis
Image by Ken Romanoff (2001)
The Spartan Period
• The Spartans were a small
(5,000 – 9,000) yet dominant
military force for several
centuries.
• As many as a quarter million
helots (slaves) maintained
the Spartan economy, while
Spartan males devoted their
life (age 7 – 50) to military
training and service.
Image source:
http://www.aeroartinc.com/
Spartan Physical Education
• The world’s first known totalitarian
city-state had a one sided educational
system. They achieved their narrow
goal at the expense of intellectual
pursuits. In a time and place that
produced some of the most
remarkable thinkers of all times,
Sparta had no philosophers, and
Image source:
made practically no intellectual
www.legion-fourteen.com/
contribution to the great Greek
greeks.htm
civilization. Still, Spartan courage,
tenacity and obedience are admired
by many to this day.
The Later Athenian Period
• The early days of the later
Athenian period are also referred
to as the “Golden Age of
Greece.”
• Great emphasis was placed selfexpression and individual
freedom.
• Constant Panhellenic internal
conflicts led to the eventual
decline of this great culture.
Socrates
469 – 399 B.C.
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Extent of Athenian Empire
Plato and his Philosophy
• Plato adopted many traditional
religious images, such as, the
music of the spheres, the
migration of the soul, the soul'
s
remembrance of its celestial
origin, and the idea of rewards for
the righteous and punishment for
the wicked.
"The safest general characterization of the European
philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of
footnotes to Plato"
Image source: http://www.britanicca.net/
A. N. Whitehead, Process and Reality, 1929
Greek Ideals: Arête and Agon
Greek Ideals: Arête and Agon
•
•
•
Herakles, wearing a cloak made from the skin of the Nemean lion
What may have originated as a religious
tribute to Zeus around 1,000 B.C.E. in the
small town of Olympia on Mt. Olympus, later
became the celebration of the ancient
Olympic Games.
Image source: http://www.upenn.edu/museum/
Ideals that resonated
with every Greek
Greeks were most like
the gods when striving
and competing for
excellence
The Greek ideal was the
excellent scholarathlete-soldier
An Olympionike, a winner
of an event receiving an olive
wreath (and also red ribbons)
(Epiktetos, Painter, 520-510 BC).
Image source: http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Olympic.htm
Greek Sport
• First known record of
ancient Olympic Games
(776 B.C.E)
– Originated from Funeral
Games in honor of the
deceased and the worship
of their Gods
– Climate in Greece allowed
for physical activity year
round
Hera’s altar: Location of
the Initiation of Games
Image source: http://travel.webshots.com/explore/ancient/greece/olympics
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• Male citizens of one of
the many Greek city
states with no criminal
record and who swore
they had trained for at
least ten months prior
competition were eligible
to compete in the Ancient
Olympic Games.
• Map of some cities which sent
competitors to the Olympics in
the 5th century B.C.
http://www.upenn.edu/museum/Olympics/
Image source: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/spirit.html
!
• From the very beginning, the
city of Elis (30 miles to the
north) and the small
neighboring town of Pisa were
engaged in disputes over the
control of the Sanctuary of
Zeus at Olympia
• Those who controlled the
Games had prestige,
economic advantages and,
most importantly, political
influence.
Zeus Coin
• In 665 BC, according to Pausanias (a 2nd
century AD Greek traveler), Pheidon, the
powerful tyrant of Argos was asked by the
town of Pisa to capture the Sanctuary of Zeus
from the city-state of Elis. Pheidon, with his
army well-trained hoplites (armed soldiers),
marched across the Peloponnesos, secured
the Sanctuary for the town of Pisa, and
personally presided over the conduct of the
games. But Pisa'
s control of the Sanctuary
was brief: by the next year Elis had regained
control.
"
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The Olympic Games’ organizer city-state of Elis
instituted Paxa Olympica to protect against
military incursions which interrupted the
Games. Every four years, special heralds
from Elis were sent out to all corners of the
Greek world to announce the approaching
Olympic festival and games. Along with this
news, they would announce the Olympic
Truce, which protected athletes, visitors,
spectators and official embassies who came
to the festival from becoming involved in local
conflicts.
http://www.upenn.edu/museum/Olympics/olympicpolitics.html
• Perhaps the most notable example of a
military incident occurring during the ancient
Olympic Games was in 364 BC. In that year,
Elis had again lost control of the Sanctuary of
Zeus to the neighboring town of Pisa which
was directing the festival and the Olympic
Games. Elis chose precisely this time to
attack the Sanctuary of Zeus. Xenophon, a
contemporary 4th century historian, gives us
a firsthand account of the situation:
http://www.upenn.edu/museum/Olympics/olympicpolitics.html
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$
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http://www.fjkluth.com/olympic.html
• Chariot Races
http://www.fjkluth.com/olympic.html
• Pankration
– The owners of the
horses were declared
the winners.
– No weight limits;
punching, kicking,
choking, finger
breaking, and blows
to the genitals were
allowed; only biting
and eye gouging
were prohibited.
• Wrestling
– No weight limits
• Boxing
Discobolos
(Discus-thrower) 450 BCE
Marble Carving Vatican Museums.
©Kathleen Cohen
Image source: http://www.artagogo.com/commentary/
– No weight limits
troyandolympics/troyandolympics.htm
$
$
http://www.fjkluth.com/olympic.html
http://www.fjkluth.com/olympic.html
• Foot races
– False starting in a race
brought whipping; longer
races required the runner to
make an 180 degree turn
around a post.
• Hoplitodromos
– a footrace requiring the
runners to wear helmets,
greaves, and a shield.
Hoplitodromos
Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hoplitodromos_Staatliche_
Antikensammlungen_1471.jpg
•
•
•
Javelin Thrower
Image source: http://www.hellenic-art.com/statues/olfresco.htm
$
$
http://www.fjkluth.com/olympic.html
Lying, bribing, and cheating were heavily
fined
The Olympic Games'organizer city-state
of Elis instituted Paxa Olympica (Olympic
Truce) to protect against military
incursions
Free Greek citizens could participate
•
• Javelin - When
throwing for
distance the javelin
had to fall within an
area defined on
three sides, and the
throw was invalid if
it fell outside this
area.
http://www.fjkluth.com/olympic.html
General Rules
•
Image source: http://www.historical-pankration.com/archive_item.html?archiveid=1052
•
•
•
Once admitted participants could not resign
or withdraw
Any athlete who was left over without an
opponent had the right to compete with the
winner of the second round (“bye”)
Those who had committed crimes or had
robbed a temple (criminals) were also
excluded from the games
except women, slaves, and the very young
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The horse race had been completed, as well as
the events of the pentathlon which were held
in the dromos. The finalists of the pentathlon
who had qualified for the wrestling event were
competing in the space between the dromos
and the altar...
The attacking Eleans pursued the allied
enemy... The allied forces fought from the
roofs of the porticos... while the Eleans
defended themselves from ground level.
Hellenica
http://www.upenn.edu/museum/Olympics/olympicpolitics.html
#
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• The first known record of
the Ancient Olympic
Games traces back to 776
B.C.
• Koromikos, a cook from
the city of Ellis, won the
stadium race (600 feet).
• By 393AD, the time
Emperor Theodosius II
abolished the pagan
Greek Olympics, over 290
Olympic Games had been
held.
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• The idea of the Olympic
Torch/ Flame was first
inaugurated at the 1932
Olympic Games in Los
Angeles. The design of the
L.A. coliseum included a
facility for a large flame.
• The modern Olympic torch
relay was first instituted at
the 1936 Nazi Olympic
Games in Berlin.
Image source:
www.wildwinds.com/
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• "In the name of all competitors, I
promise that we shall take part in
these Olympic Games,
respecting and abiding by the
rules that govern them, in the
true spirit of sportsmanship, for
the glory of sport and the honour
of our teams.“ (Baron de Coubertin)
Image source:
www.ushmm.org/
&
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• The marathon was NOT an event of the
ancient Olympic games. The marathon
is a modern event that was first
introduced in the Modern Olympic
Games of 1896 in Athens, a race from
Marathon northeast of Athens to the
Olympic Stadium, a distance of 40
kilometers (25 miles).
• In 1920 at the Antwerp
Olympic Games, Belgian
fencer Victor Boin became
the first athlete ever to take
the Olympic Oath on behalf
of all athletes.
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Baron de Coubertin
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• The race
commemorates the run
of Pheidippides, an
ancient "day-runner"
who carried the news of
the Persian landing at
Marathon to Sparta (a
distance of 147.2 miles)
in order to enlist help for
the battle..
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)
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• According to the fifth century
B.C. ancient Greek historian
Herodotus, Pheidippides
delivered the news to the
Spartans the next day.
• He then ran back to Athens with
the Spartan'
s reply - which was
that due to observances they
could not leave Sparta until the
full moon.
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Herodotus
(
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• The Athenians decided not to
wait and attacked the Persians
at Marathon. Pheidippides ran
25 miles back to Athens from
Marathon to deliver the news of
a Greek victory.
• In less than one week he ran
300+ miles on a very rough
terrain with hardly any rest.
Upon his arrival to Athens he
declared “Nike!” (Victory!) and
died.
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100 miles
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• love of and joy in participating in
physical activities;
• sport contests took place in nature,
thus nature was cherished and
preserved;
• children never fought against stronger
peers and were forbidden to fight
without adult supervision
• a wide range of sport activities
contributed to a well balanced
and perfectly shaped body;
• the love and care of one’s
body, the responsibility to
society, bravery, wisdom-were all accomplished through
physical education and
athletics.
Apollo Statue Bronze
of Piraeus
Image source: http://www.eleganza.com/
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, )
(
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• Education, physical education and sports
were not available to everybody. Only those
who were Greek by blood could participate.
• In 430 B.C.E. only 20 % of the Athens
residents were also citizens with full rights.
Slaves comprised 75% of Athens population
and the remaining 5% were foreigners.
• Over emphasis on professional orientation
and winning (especially during the later
Athenian period)
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• “The Greek gods continue
to impact modern society,
and the lasting effects of
ancient Greek civilization
cannot be exaggerated. In
fact, most of Western
civilization can trace its
origins to ancient Greece.”
Temple of Zeus
in Athens
http://www.greek-gods.net/
8
-'
The Temple of Apollo
at Delphi
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Theatre at Delphi
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• What is syncretism?
• Provide examples from Greek
mythology literature that have
infiltrated the Judeo-Christian
traditions?
$#
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http://www.greek-gods.net
• “When the Roman Empire
conquered the Greeks they inherited
an extensive empire. The Romans
also adopted the beliefs of the
Greeks and Greek mythology
became the official religion of the
Roman Empire. This lasted for
centuries, until the Roman emperor
Constantine adopted Christianity as
Artemis and Apollo
the official religion of the Rome in
312 [CE].”
The slaying of Niobe’s
sons and daughters
Image source:
http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/papers/coffeyartemis/artemis.html
The Sacrifice of lphgeneia
Artemis
Father, King
Agamemnon
Grieving
mother
Klytaimnestra
Image source: http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/F6.1.html
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• "The Greeks considered physical development and
training an important and absolute dictate of the
gods. Health of body; beauty, perfection and
strength of limb; endurance in competition and
combat; a clear, courageous eye; and that
confidence which comes only through facing
danger: these were considered by the Greeks as
being no less essential than mental development,
shrewdness and artistic talent. The achieving of a
balance between the physical and intellectual life,
and the harmonious development of all natural
powers and talents were the aim of Greek
education."
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Comments?
Thank You.
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