Around 776 BC, the ancient Greeks began a lasting tradition known as the Olympic Games. These games, which were originally devised as a way of uniting the warring Greek states, have continued to promote world harmony throughout modern times.
The ancient Olympics were originally located in Olympia, home to the temple of Zeus. This was the chosen location because Olympia was one of the oldest religious centers of the ancient times. Since the Olympics were created in an effort to honor the Greek gods, it only made sense to locate the games in a historically religious area.
Unlike the practices of the modern Olympics, the judges, called Hellanodikai, did not come from all over Greece. Instead, they all came from Elis, the local region which included Olympia. In the first Olympics, there was only one Hellanodikos. Eventually that number grew to ten and remained that way until the cessation of the games. Three of the Hellanodikai supervised the pentathlon, three the equestrian events, and three organized the remainder of the competitions. The senior Hellanodikos served as the overall supervisor. …show more content…
But the sporting event was not entirely a free-for-all. Women were not allowed to compete in the games. Not only were they prevented from physically participating in the games, but the married women were not even allowed watch! If a married woman was caught in the audience, the punishment was death.
This rule was directly caused by the fact that the athletes performed in the nude, and husbands did not want their wives to get turned on by viewing naked men. The same reason goes for why unmarried women were actively encouraged to come view the games. People
The ancient Olympics were originally located in Olympia, home to the temple of Zeus. This was the chosen location because Olympia was one of the oldest religious centers of the ancient times. Since the Olympics were created in an effort to honor the Greek gods, it only made sense to locate the games in a historically religious area.
Unlike the practices of the modern Olympics, the judges, called Hellanodikai, did not come from all over Greece. Instead, they all came from Elis, the local region which included Olympia. In the first Olympics, there was only one Hellanodikos. Eventually that number grew to ten and remained that way until the cessation of the games. Three of the Hellanodikai supervised the pentathlon, three the equestrian events, and three organized the remainder of the competitions. The senior Hellanodikos served as the overall supervisor. …show more content…
But the sporting event was not entirely a free-for-all. Women were not allowed to compete in the games. Not only were they prevented from physically participating in the games, but the married women were not even allowed watch! If a married woman was caught in the audience, the punishment was death.
This rule was directly caused by the fact that the athletes performed in the nude, and husbands did not want their wives to get turned on by viewing naked men. The same reason goes for why unmarried women were actively encouraged to come view the games. People