How Did The Olympic Games Affect The Government?

Throughout history, societies around the world have been exposed to an assortment of governments, which has reflected on how that area has dealt with the internal and external issues that they are faced with. With that being said, the type of government that an area has greatly affects the way the Olympic games are run. The Olympics games are a series of different sports and events that are held every four years, and alternating every two years between the indoor and outdoor games. However, due to ever changing governments and societies, the Olympic games are no longer what the ancient Greeks intended for them to be. Instead of being a leisurely competition, the changing societies have manipulated the games into over-competitive events in which …show more content…
The goal of the games was uncomplicated; the “objective of them being to honor and salute their gods” (Benagh). Having a simple, constitution-run government whose gods held the ultimate power allowed to the Greeks to establish modest games focused solely on honoring those same gods. Like the Olympics, Aristotle’s constitution was unambiguous about what was and wasn’t tolerated, such as the rights of men; “Any male citizen 18 years or over could speak and vote in the assembly, usually with a very simple show of hands” (Aristotle). Such clarity helped their society run smoothly and this translated into the running of the Olympics. In fact, “married women could not participate or watch the games, but unmarried women were allowed to watch” (“The Athletes”). Just as the women didn’t play a role in the government, they could not participate in the Olympics. Since the Greeks were the only participants, no one questioned their approach. These ancient games were extremely manageable since they followed the same parameters the government used to …show more content…
The modern Olympics are now an elaborate seventeen-day event that athletes from all around the world spend years training for in order to take home the prized gold medal. With many diverse nations participating, decisions must incorporate a variety of ideas. As a result, the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) were created, “to develop, promote and protect the Olympic Movement in their respective countries,” (“National Olympic Committees”) as a way to allow each country have a say in all aspects to the games. These committees ensure that each country contributes to the arrangements for the future games. To stay current, every two years the committees meet at the “Association of the National Olympic Committees (ANOC) to exchange information and experiences in order to consolidate their role within the Olympic Movement,” (“National Olympic Committees”) allowing all NOCs to express their thoughts on different aspects of the Olympics, such as who should host them, and to compromise when necessary. These programs maintain peace between all the countries because they protects any one nation from making all the arrangements for the games without consent from the others. It is no longer possible for a single country to structure the games after its own government. Furthermore, the Olympics have changed not only