The most complete information guide about Athens, Greece
Olympic
Games Origin
The
origin of the Olympic Games is linked with many
myths referred to in ancient sources but in the
historic years their founder is said to be Oxylos
whose descendant Ifitos later rejuvenated the
games.
According
to tradition, the Olympic Games began in 776 BC
when Ifitos made a treaty with Lycourgos the king
and famous legislator of Sparta and Cleisthenes
the king of Pissa. The text of the treaty was
written on a disc kept in the Heraion. In this
treaty, that was the decisive event for the development
of the sanctuary as a Panhellenic center, the
"sacred truce" was agreed, the ceasing
of fighting in all of the Greek world for as long
as the Olympic Games were on.
As
a reward for the victors the cotinus, which was a wreath made
from a branch of wild olive tree that was growing next to the
opisthodomus of the temple of Zeus in the sacred Altis, was established
after an order of the Delphic oracle.
Events
The
Olympics were held, after the completion of four years, during
the month of July or August. The time in between two Olympic Games
was called an Olympiad. In the beginning the games lasted only
one day and only had one event, the foot race, but gradually more
events were added resulting, towards the 5th century BC, in the
games lasting for 5 days.
In
total, the Olympic Games consisted of 10 events:
running, the pentathlon, jumping, discus, javelin,
wrestling, boxing, the pancration, chariot racing
and horse racing. All Greeks who were free citizens
and had not committed murder or heresy, had the
right to take part in the Olympic Games. Women
were not entitled to take part, except as owners
in the horse races but they were strictly forbidden
from watching the games.
The
athletes presented themselves one month before
the games began at Elis, the organizing town,
but the organization and supervision for the upholding
of the rules was carried out by the Hellanodikes
(jury), who were chosen by lot from the citizens
of Elis. Two days after the beginning of the games,
the procession of the athletes and the judges
started from Elis to arrive in Olympia where it
was received by the crowds who had come to watch
the games. The ceremonies began with the official
oath that was taken by the athletes at the altar
of Horkios Zeus, in the Bouleuterion, swearing
that they would compete with honor and respect
the rules.
The
victors enjoyed great honors and on returning
to their cities. Their compatriots pulled down
part of the walls for them to enter. They were
also given special privileges and high office.
The Program of Olympia
The
Games were held during the summer and were arranged
so that a full moon lit the celebrations on the
third night.
The
program of Olympia
Day
1
Morning
Swearing-in
ceremony.
Contests for heralds and trumpeters.
Boys' running, wresting and boxing contests.
Prayers and sacrifices in the Altis; consultation of oracles.
Afternoon
Speeches
by philosophers, poets and historians.
Tours of the Altis.
Day
2
Morning
Procession
in the hippodrome of competitors in the equestrian events.
Chariot and horse races.
Afternoon
Pentathlon.
Evening
Funeral
rites in honor of Pelops.
Parade of victors around the Altis.
Singing of victory hymns.
Day
3
Morning
Procession
of the judges, ambassadors, competitors, and sacrificial
animals to the Great Altar.
Afternoon
Running
races.
Evening
Public
banquet in the Prytaneion, honoring Zeus.
Day
4
Morning
Wrestling
event.
Noon
Boxing
and pancration (unarmed fight where everything was permitted).
Afternoon
Hoplitodromos
(running event where athletes ran naked except for full
hoplite gear, which would have included shield, greaves,
and helmet).
Day
5
All
day
Procession
of victors to the Temple of Zeus to be crowned by the
judges with garlands of wild olives. A day of feasting
and rejoicing.
Until
632 BC the Games would last 1 to 3 days and from
the 5th century the Games lasted for 5 days. This
program changed during the millennium and it was
extended to even 7 days. Some give a different
program. The programs are reconstructed from fragments
written by Philostratos, Pausanias, Plutarch and
Lucian.
The Olympic flame
The
Olympic flame or Olympic fire is a symbol of the Olympic Games.
Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus,
its origins lie in ancient Greece, when a sacred flame was lit
from the sun’s rays at Olympia and the fire was kept burning
throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics.
The flame represented the "endeavor for protection
and struggle for victory." It was first introduced
into the modern Olympics at the 1928 Amsterdam
Games. Since then, the flame has come to symbolize
"the light of spirit, knowledge, and life."
The torch relay also began in the ancient Olympics
and was revived at the 1936 Berlin Games. Originally,
the torch was lit at Olympia in Greece and then
carried by relay to the host-city of the Games.
The last runner carries the torch into the Olympic
stadium during the opening ceremony. The Olympic
flame is then lit from the torch and will remain
lit until it is extinguished during the closing
ceremony. The torch relay symbolizes the passing
of Olympic traditions from one generation to the
next.
Fall
The
great historical events that took place in the
passing of centuries within the Hellenic lands,
took their toll even on the athletic ideals of
the Olympic Games resulting in the gradual fall
of the moral values that was especially felt from
146 A.D. when most of Greece fell under the Romans
and the Eleans lost their independence.
The
institution of the Olympic Games lasted for twelve
continuous centuries and was abolished in 393
AD (the 293rd Olympiad) by order of Theodosios
I when the functioning of all idol worshiping
sanctuaries was forbidden and, during the reign
of Theodosios II, the destruction of the Altian
monuments followed in 427 AD.
The
national, racial and spiritual unity of the Greeks
was forged thanks to the Olympic Games. The Olympic
Games combined the deep religious spirit along
with the heroic past of the Greeks thus unifying
to the highest degree body, mind and soul according
to universal and philosophical values and so projecting
the individual as well as the cities, through
the highest ideal of freedom.
Revival
Efforts
for the revival of the Olympic Games in modern
times reached a peak at the end of the 19th century
with the instrumental contribution of the French
Baron Pierre De Coubertin and the Greek Dimitrios
Vikelas. The first contemporary Olympic Games
took place with great glamour in 1896 in Athens,
in the Panathenaic Stadium. The headquarters of
the International Olympic Academy are now in Olympia.
Also
in Olympia is the altar of the Olympic flame,
which is transferred every four years to the city
that hosts the Olympic Games. The lighting of
the flame takes place at the altar of the Temple
of Hera and it is done with the convergence of
sunlight onto a metal reflector. This process
is part of a ritual combination that includes
the prayer and the hymn to Apollo. The high priestess
enters the stadium holding the lit torch which
she then hands over to the first runner in order
for it to start its long journey to the ends of
the earth.
The
Olympic flame in modern times
The
Olympic torch is nowadays ignited several months before the opening
celebration of the Olympic Games at the site of the ancient Olympics
in Olympia. Eleven priestess, played by actresses, light the fire
by placing a torch in a concave parabolic mirror which concentrates
rays from the sun.
The torch is then transported to the host city of the upcoming
Olympics by means of a torch relay. Though traditionally, the
fire is carried on foot, other means of transportation have been
used as well. The
runners have included athletes and celebrities but many previously
'unknown' people have also carried it.
The Olympic torch relay ends on the day of the
opening ceremony in the central stadium of the
Games. The final carrier is often kept secret
until the last moment and is usually a sports
celebrity of the host country. The final bearer
of the torch runs towards the cauldron, usually
placed at the top of a grand staircase, and then
uses the torch to start the flame in the stadium.
It
is considered a great honor to be asked to light
the Olympic flame. After being lit, the flame
continues to burn throughout the celebration of
the Olympics and is extinguished at end of the
closing ceremony of the Games.
Olympic
oath
The Olympic oath is taken by an athlete and a
judge at the opening ceremonies of the Olympic
Games. The athlete, from a team of the organizing
country, holds a corner of the Olympic flag while
speaking the oath:
“In
the name of all the competitors I promise
that we shall take part in these Olympic
Games, respecting and abiding by the rules
which govern them, committing ourselves
to a sport without doping and without drugs,
in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for
the glory of sport and the honor of our
teams.”
The
judge, also from the home nation, does the same
but with a slightly different oath:
“In
the name of all the judges and officials,
I promise that we shall officiate in these
Olympic Games with complete impartiality,
respecting and abiding by the rules which
govern them in the true spirit of sportsmanship.”
The
Olympic oath, written by Baron Pierre de Coubertin,
the founder of the modern Olympics, was first
taken by an athlete at the 1920 Summer Olympics
in Antwerp. The first judge's oath was taken at
the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The text of
the oath has slightly changed over the years.
The oath, read by Victor Boin in 1920 in Antwerp,
was:
“We
swear that we will take part in the Olympic Games in a spirit
of chivalry, for the honor of our country and for the glory
of sport.”
Later,
"swear" was replaced by "promise"
and "country" by "team". The
part concerning doping, was added at the 2000
summer Olympics.
Olympic
Flag
Baron de Coubertin designed the Olympic Flag in
1913-14. It has five interlocking rings (blue,
yellow, black, green and red) on a white background.
The ring's colors were based on the knowledge
that at least one of these colors is on every
flag of each participating country. The five interlocking
rings represent the union of the five continents
and the meeting of the athletes of the world at
the Olympic Game.
The
Olympic Flag was used for the first time in the 7th Olympiad in
Antwerp, Belgium, in 1920. It is paraded during the opening ceremony
of each Game. At the end of the Games, the Olympic Flag is presented
to the next host city by the Games host city.
The
Olympic Anthem
The Greek national poet Kostis Palamas wrote the
poem 'Ancient eternal and immortal spirit' and
its music was composed by Spyros Samaras for the
1st Olympiad where it was sung as the Olympic
Anthem in the opening ceremony. At the later Olympics
other anthems were played. The International Olympic
Committee unanimously adopted the Samaras-Palamas
work as the official Olympic Anthem in 1958. When
the Olympic Flag is raised in the opening ceremony,
the Olympic Anthem is played and also when the
Olympic Flag is lowered at the closing ceremony.
The
lyrics
Immortal
spirit of antiquity,
Father of the true, beautiful and good,
Descend, appear, shed over us thy light
Upon this ground and under this sky
Which has first witnessed the imperishable
fame.
Give life and animation to those noble
games!
Throw wreaths of fadeless flowers to the
victors
In the race and in the strife!
Create in our breasts, hearts of steel!
In thy light, plains, mountains and seas
Shine in a roseate hue and form a vast
temple
To which all nations throng to adore thee,
Oh immortal spirit of antiquity!
Listen to the Olympic Anthem
Olympic
Motto
A
friend of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, Father Henri
Martin Didon of the Dominican order, was principal
of the Arcueil College, near Paris. An energetic
teacher, he used the discipline of sport as a
powerful educational tool.
One
day, following an inter-schools athletics meeting,
he ended his speech with fine oratorical vigor,
quoting the three words "Citius, Altius,
Fortius" (faster, higher, stronger). Struck
by the phrase, Baron de Coubertin made it the
Olympic motto, pointing out that "Athletes
need 'freedom of excess'. That is why we gave
them this motto … a motto for people who
dare to try to break records.".
"Citius, Altius, Fortius" has been the
Olympic motto ever since..
The Olympic Game is the international arena viewed
by millions where the athlete's spirit, mind and
body endeavor to excel and achieve the higher
standard than the presently existing ones, thus
fulfilling the Olympic Motto.
The Olympic Creed
Pierre
de Coubertin got the idea for this phrase from
a speech given by Bishop Ethelbert Talbot at a
service for Olympic champions during the 1908
Olympic Games. The Olympic Creed reads:
"The
most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win
but to take part, just as the most important thing in life
is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing
is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
The
creed and motto are meant to spur the athletes
to embrace the Olympic spirit and perform to the
best of their abilities.