30 + 1 facts you should read about the Olympic Games

1. Games and national identity: Only Greek citizens were entitled to participate in the Games. Their place of origin involved city-states of Greece or the colonies that extended across the Mediterranean and the Black Sea; nonetheless, they had to be freeborn men who had political rights and had not been convicted of a felony. Despite restrictions, we cannot, but acknowledge the fact that it was in the stadiums of the major Panhellenic sanctuaries where the idea of a common identity was forged.
In the Roman period, the right to compete in the Games entailed a far greater number of participants, as it was granted to all Roman citizens.

2. Theoriai: The official delegations of the Greek city-states that took part in the Olympic Games and the religious rites. In addition to everything else, the Games offered the opportunity to demonstrate power and wealth and establish interstate relations.

3. Sports and religion: In ancient Greece, athletic competitions were staged in honour of a god or in the context of religious festivals, in locations regarded as sacred. As is natural, their secular character progressively developed outweighing their religious dimension; nevertheless, until the end of antiquity, the temples, the votives, the processions and the sacrifices continued to form indispensable part of the Games.

4. The city-states stored their most precious votive offerings dedicated to the sanctuary in the treasuries, buildings in the form of a small temple.

5. Sports and music: An auletes (aulos player) played music accompanying exercise in sports, such as the long jump, javelin throw and discus throw, thereby enabling athletes to improve their rhythm. Hence, in vase painting, we often see an auletes depicted among youths during their physical training.

6. Agones stephanites / Agones chrematites: Four “sacred” Panhellenic agones in which the prize was a wreath made from tree branches or plant stems are described as stephanites: the Olympics held in honour of Zeus (in which the kotinos, an olive wreath, was awarded), the Pythian Games that celebrated Apollo (laurel wreath), the Isthmian Games in honour of Poseidon (pine wreath) and the Nemean Games dedicated to Zeus (wild celery wreath). Agones chrematites included numerous local festivals that offered precious prizes to victors, attracting well-known athletes. The Panathenaea, honouring the goddess Athena, is perhaps the most famous example.

7. The programme of the Olympic Games: Since antiquity, the Olympic Games have always been celebrated every four years, during the second full moon after the summer solstice (July or early August). Through the centuries, their programme changed by adding or discontinuing events. From the 5th c. BC onwards and throughout the Hellenistic period the Games lasted 5 days. The first day was dedicated to preparation (athletes were registered, contestants were chosen by lot, oaths were sworn, etc.) and the sacrifices to the gods. On the second day, boys’ events were held. The third day included the equestrian and the pentathlon events. On the fourth day, following sacrifices and glorious processions, men’s events took place. On the last day, victors were crowned.

8. All games in antiquity, not just the Olympics, were intertwined with military prowess, as armed conflicts were frequent and involved hand-to-hand combat. This explains the nature of many of the events: footrace, javelin throw, hoplitodromos, horseracing.

9. Sports as profession: In the Classical period, athletes were not professionals in today’s terms, but young men who were distinguished for their performance in a sport that formed part of their education. The philosopher Plato, for instance, was a victor at the Isthmian and the Nemean Games in wrestling and the pankration. However, the participation in the events gradually involved specialized athletes who aimed at the rich prizes awarded at the Games.

10. Women and the Games: Women in antiquity did not take part in athletic games, nor were they allowed to attend them, with the exception of the priestess of Demeter Chamyne, who was present at the Stadium sitting on the goddess’ altar. They could participate, though, as owners of horses and chariots, like Cyniska, daughter of the king of Sparta, who was the first woman to accomplish Olympic victory. Kallipateira, the daughter of the celebrated Olympic victor Diagoras, is also famous, because, out of her yearning to watch her son competing, she entered the Stadium disguised as a man, defying death penalty.

11. Heraean Games (Heraia): Held at a different time than the Olympics, the Heraia took place in honour of the goddess Hera, in which unmarried girls competed in running events. The winner was awarded the kotinos and other honours; however, their impact and the participation in them remained rather limited.

12. Children and the Games: From the late 7th c. BC onwards, boys’ competitions were introduced to the Olympic Games programme in wrestling, footrace and boxing. The paides (boys) category appears in other local and Panhellenic games as well. Usually, in this category competed boys between the ages of 12 and 16.

13. Spectators: Literary sources inform us about many historical figures identified among the spectators who visited Olympia to watch the Games: these were eminent philosophers, such as Chilon of Sparta and Thales of Miletus (two of the Seven Sages of Greek antiquity), Plato and Aristotle; historians, such as Herodotus who was given the opportunity to narrate excerpts from his Histories on the Persian Wars, and Thucydides; leading statesmen, such as Themistocles who, upon entering the Stadium, following the victory at the naval battle of Salamis, was enthusiastically welcomed by the spectators that rose to their feet to greet him.

14. In the ancient Olympic Games, entrance ticket was not required. During the Games, the thousands of spectators encamped in the surrounding area. We can imagine them thronging into the Stadium early in the morning staying until the evening, participating in the various daytime events. Despite the scorching summer heat, they sat on the slopes around the Stadium bareheaded, so as not to disturb other spectators behind them. The annoyance caused by the insects was such that the Eleans offered sacrifice to Zeus Apomyius (who drives away flies)!

15. Games and time calculation: In antiquity, each city-state had its own system of measuring time. Gradually, however, and particularly from the Hellenistic period onwards, the Olympic Games served as a common point of reference for the documentation of events by historians.

The Olympiads (namely, the four-year interval between the Games) was used as a method of dating historical events. For instance, it is documented that the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) was fought in the 1st year of the 75th Olympiad.

Each Olympiad was named after the victor in the stadion race, a nude competition which was the oldest and the only event until 728 BC.

16. Catalogues of Olympic victors: At the Bouleuterion of Olympia, those responsible for the sanctuary maintained an archive in which the names of the winners were recorded. Around 400 BC, Hippias of Elis set out to compile the first catalogue of Olympic victors, possibly making use of this archive as well as oral tradition. In the ensuing centuries, other ancient writers also engaged in this venture. Today, by combining written sources and excavation finds, such as the votives dedicated by winners to the sanctuaries, we know the names of around 800 athletes.

17. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: In the city Oxyrhynchus in Egypt, a large number of papyri were recovered in excellent preservation state due to the dry climate of the region. The finds include, among others, catalogues of Olympic victors. Although they date back to the 3rd c. AD, they constitute valuable historical evidence.

18. The first victor: Contrary to today’s rules, only the first winner was awarded the prize, a fact that strengthened the athletes’ desire for victory. Moreover, no other performances were recorded, apart from victories, although some participations turned legendary.

19. Bybon, for instance, using one arm, he lifted over his head a block of stone, 143.5 kilos in weight, which he later dedicated to the sanctuary of Olympia, as evidenced by the inscription on the stone itself. The rock is now on display at Olympia. Although weightlifting had never been an Olympic event in antiquity, but was employed in training athletes of heavy sports, this impressive accomplishment exemplifies athletic performance.

20. Another extraordinary athlete was Phayllos of Croton, who excelled in the long jump. Legend has it that he once jumped more than 16 metres and, therefore, landed outside the pit (skamma); from this achievement derives the phrase: ὑπέρ τά ἐσκαμμένα (leap too far, further than seemed possible). Phayllos was also a famous discus thrower, with throws that exceeded 30 metres. Nevertheless, his name is not included in the catalogue of Olympic victors.

21. The Roman emperor Nero was declared victor in numerous events during the 211th Olympiad (AD 67) that took place two years after its regular schedule so as for the emperor to participate. It is characteristic that this Olympiad has not been documented by the Eleans in the official catalogue.

22. Transgressions punished by the Hellanodikai involved mainly late arrival at the Games, lack of compliance with the regulations and bribery.

23. Zannes: The plural form of the name Zeus. The Zannes were bronze statues of Zeus installed outside the entrance of the Stadium at Olympia, and their creation was funded from the fines imposed by the Hellanodikai on athletes who had transgressed the regulations of the Olympic Games. Thus, they served as a constant reminder of the ethos with which athletes had to be infused. Each statue was inscribed with the name of the violator, a disgrace to the athlete himself and his city of origin.

24. The host city of the Games: In modern times, every four years a different city undertakes to host the Olympic Games. In contrast, in antiquity, Elis was almost exclusively responsible for their organization. The participating athletes had to arrive there one month before the start of the Games, so as for their personal details to be verified, and to carry out training in accordance with the official regulations.

Elis: The capital of the city-state of the Eleans, who were entrusted with the honourable, yet challenging undertaking of the organization of the Olympic Games. The life of the city was intertwined with this institution and its history coincided with the evolution of the Games. At the end of antiquity, Elis was abandoned and was consigned to oblivion. Today, visitors can see the excavated monuments, such as the Agora, gymnasia, palaestrae, the theatre, stoae and sanctuaries, the acropolis, dwellings, workshops and cemeteries.
Following their preparation, a grand procession of the athletes, the Hellanodikai, the priests and the numerous spectators walked along the Sacred Way to Olympia.

25. Pisa: It was the first city to stage the Olympics. It competed with Elis claiming their organization until 570 BC, when it was eventually defeated by its rival. The Italian city Pisa was possibly a colony of ancient Pisa.

26. The beginning of the Olympic Games: According to ancient sources, the first Olympic Games are traced back to 776 BC. Of course, an earlier date is possible; nonetheless, the year 776 marks a conventional turning point in their history.

27. The end of the Olympic Games: In AD 393, the Olympic Games were banned by decree issued by the Byzantine emperor Theodosius I. In AD 393 the Olympic Games were abolished, whereas in AD 462, Emperor Theodosius II ordered the destruction of the pagan temples. Olympia was disremembered, covered by the mudslides of the nearby rivers.

28. Modern history begins… In 1875, excavation was launched after 1,300 years after the last Olympic Games.

29. Hence, the ancient Olympic Games lasted almost 1,200 years in total, and more than 280 Olympiads were held. Thirty-two Olympiads have taken place since their revival in 1896.

30. Excavations at Olympia: The first systematic excavations at Olympia were launched after the mid-19th c. Soon, the unearthed valuable treasures turned the need to build a museum urgent. The neoclassical Old Museum, the first built outside Athens, was erected in the late 19th c. In the 1970s the New Museum was constructed. After the 2004 renovation, the Museums of Olympia offer visitors a comprehensive picture of the sanctuary and the history of the Games.

31. The Olympic flame: In antiquity the lighting of the Olympic flame and the torch relay that follows were not included in the rituals associated with the Games, but were introduced in modern times. Torch relays were held only in local festivals, such as the Panathenaea, but never in Panhellenic games.