The believed origin date for the first Olympiad is 776 BC however it is has been the subject of intense debates for historians for a long time (Spivey 2004, 206). When trying to come to a date for the first Olympiad a decision was made by fixing a list of victors at Olympia, after which they counted backward in quadrennial units (Miller 2004, 20). The main concern with trying to figure out the origin date is if it is accuracy for the emergence of Greek athletics. Scholars have looked for the origin in older cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt as Greece had large, influential contacts in the Bronze Age (Miller 2004, 20) .The art of both Mesopotamia and Egypt show evidence of sporting activities, but the sense that these competitions are not the
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As Greeks thought very highly of hero’s, they then thought very highly of the victor. They were seen as the Greeks version of celebrities (Fox 2005, 67). When they returned to their city-states, they welcomed and rewarded in a victory parade, and many stories were told about them. However, an Olympic Victory was owed to the favour of the gods. They believed that the victor was their chosen, in which they helped win the legendary prize, and whose name would then be talked about for long after he was dead (Pentazou, Kakridis & Andronicos 1982, 134). On the day that the prizes were given out to the victors, it was the crowning moment of their lives. On the last day of the event, the victor’s set of the temple of Zeus as the sun set. They had a red woolen band around their head, and a palm-branch in their right hand. A herald would call out their name and their city, so that it was known where the victor was from. When they had finished an event, they had received a symbol, which was marked out with very ancient cults and traditions of Greece. The wool adorned sacred objects, and the palm-branch was connected with Theseus (Pentazou, Kakridis & Andronicos 1982, 134). As the victors left the temple, the surrounding crowds would shower them in leaves and flowers, which was licked to the ancient vegetation in when the games held their roots. Crowns made of wild olives lay within the temple, upon a gold and ivory table, which had three gods carved into (Miller 2003, 30). One by one the victor would approach the table, and were crowned, which signified a communion between deity and man, as the crown represented a transfer of power that are active in the growth of vegetation (Olympic games). The victor was then accounted for as the favourite of the gods, for it was thanks to their help that he was able to win at an event. As everyone
As Greeks thought very highly of hero’s, they then thought very highly of the victor. They were seen as the Greeks version of celebrities (Fox 2005, 67). When they returned to their city-states, they welcomed and rewarded in a victory parade, and many stories were told about them. However, an Olympic Victory was owed to the favour of the gods. They believed that the victor was their chosen, in which they helped win the legendary prize, and whose name would then be talked about for long after he was dead (Pentazou, Kakridis & Andronicos 1982, 134). On the day that the prizes were given out to the victors, it was the crowning moment of their lives. On the last day of the event, the victor’s set of the temple of Zeus as the sun set. They had a red woolen band around their head, and a palm-branch in their right hand. A herald would call out their name and their city, so that it was known where the victor was from. When they had finished an event, they had received a symbol, which was marked out with very ancient cults and traditions of Greece. The wool adorned sacred objects, and the palm-branch was connected with Theseus (Pentazou, Kakridis & Andronicos 1982, 134). As the victors left the temple, the surrounding crowds would shower them in leaves and flowers, which was licked to the ancient vegetation in when the games held their roots. Crowns made of wild olives lay within the temple, upon a gold and ivory table, which had three gods carved into (Miller 2003, 30). One by one the victor would approach the table, and were crowned, which signified a communion between deity and man, as the crown represented a transfer of power that are active in the growth of vegetation (Olympic games). The victor was then accounted for as the favourite of the gods, for it was thanks to their help that he was able to win at an event. As everyone