The ancient
Olympic Games: A history
PART II
Participants
Athletes
who participated in the games had to be Greeks from all the various regions
including the lower part of Italy (Sicily, Great Greece) and the colonies of
North Africa and the Greek cities of Asia Minor.
Events
Even though in the beginning of the Olympic Games,
running was the only athlopedia to capture the attention of the spectators and
organizers, other games were soon added. Between 724 and 200 BC, they added in
chronological order, diavlos, dolichos, the pentathlon, wrestling, boxing, the
chariot race (tethrippo), the pangration (a combination of wrestling and
boxing), running and wrestling of children, pentathlon of children, boxing of
children, running in full uniform and armor, the chariot race on four wheel
carriage (apini), the pangration of children and many others.
Run of the Stadium
Originally,
this meant a run of 600 feet and it was done in a limited space and in later
years from this particular athlopedia “stadium” they named Stadium the area
where all the games were executed. The prototype stadium was 214 meters long
and 32 meters wide. The athletes stood in a flat area and approached the
starting point, which was marked by standing stones. The judges sat right
across from the white marbled altar and the spectators sat on the ground. This
game was the most significant run for speed. Ideally the participating athletes
had to be light, not very tall so they would have a good balance, muscular,
symmetrical lines, straight legs, chest not too wide (like other athletes) and
arms a little longer than normal, but muscular and lean. This proto-type is
according to Philostratos.
Diavlos- This
athlopedia was a run for speed equivalent to the run of 400 meters today. This
game was officially established during the 14th Olympiad. Originally
they were allowing only young men to compete, but eventually, on the 37th
Olympiad, they allowed also children. Considering that the stadium was only
192.27 meters long and diavlos were about 385.5 meters, athletes had to run the
entire stadium,
first forward
and upon reaching the end, turning and running back to the starting point.
Dolichos - This was a run of endurance
and it is approximately equivalent to the five kilometers today. Its beginning,
dates back to the days where messengers in Greece were running to announce important news from city to city. The athletes
of this game were subjected to special diet and various stringent exercises in
preparation.
Armored Running – In this game, the athletes were running in full uniform and
armor. The run was originally done in four stadiums but eventually they did it
in two. This was a spectacular athlopedia and that explains the reason we have
so many depictions of it on ancient urns. It required a tall runner, with a
perfectly muscular body and balance coupled with agility.
The Pentathlon – The most probable theory is that the pentathlon was invented in
708 BC during the 18th Olympiad. Pentathlon, as the word reveals, is
a Greek word meaning five (penta) athlopedias (Athlon). The combination of the
five games included jump, discus, run, javelin and wrestling, in that order.
The experts felt that it was very difficult for the athletes to perform in two
games of the lower extremes (run and jump) one after the other, so they were
separated by the discus and the javelin. Wrestling, which is another very
demanding sport, was set apart and left for last.
In
Part III, we will continue the focus on the balance of events held and The
Judges.
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