The Beginnings of Sports

The Beginnings of Sports

People have always enjoyed competing against each other. In prehistoric times, a humor who could run fast and throw a stone or spear accurately was a valued member of the tribe.

The ancient Greeks included athletics in many of their religious festivals. In 776 BC, they held a festival of sport to honor Zeus, the greatest of the Greek gods. Athletes from all over the country gathered in a stadium in valley of Olympia to test their speed, strength and skill in the first Olympic Games. These games were held every four years, and for a long time only males were allowed to watch and take part in the races. The games continued  for several centuries after the Romans conquered Greece, until the Roman Emperor Theodosius I ended them in AD 394. Almost 1,500 years later, the ruins of the Olympic stadium were discovered by archaeologists. Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin suggested holding a modern, international Olympic Games. The first games of the new ear of the Olympics were held in Athens in 1896.

Hail the Champion

Today's victorious Olympic champions receive gold medals. Sporting heroes of ancient Greece were crowned with wreaths made from laurel leaves, as shown on this vase.

Race in Armor

The oddest foot race at the ancient Olympics – the hoplite race – was introduced in 520 BC. Contestants, naked except for their leg-protectors and helmets, had to carry their shields while they ran the race.

Sports in Ancient Greece. Photo by Elena.

Sporting spectacular

In 680 BC. Four-horse chariot races were added to the program of the 25th Olympic Games. As many as 40 chariots crashed, jostled and maneuvered their way around the course marked out in the hippodrome.

The Olympic Torch

The lighting of the flame is the high point of the opening ceremony at the modern Olympic Games. Since 1936, this custom has served as a reminder of the beginnings of this festival. A lighted torch is carried by relay runners from Olympia in Greece, site of the original Olympics, to the city where the modern games are to be held. This torch is used to light the Olympic flame that burns above the stadium throughout the festival. The flame is seen as a symbol of nations and athletes competing peacefully in the spirit of sport.

Discus Hero

Among the sports to have survived from the earliest Olympics is discus throwing. The ancient Greek vase shows a discus thrower placing or withdrawing the peg that is used to mark the distance the discus has been thrown.