Origins at Olympia
The ancient Olympic Games were held at Olympia, a sanctuary in the region of Elis in the western Peloponnese in Greece. By tradition, the first Games took place in 776 BCE, a date later Greek writers worked out from lists of victors. The list is not contemporary evidence, and archaeology suggests that cult activity at Olympia began earlier. Ancient Greeks themselves told several origin stories, linking the Games to the hero Heracles or to Pelops, and modern historians treat these as myths rather than history.
What seems clear is that over the 700s and 600s BCE the festival grew from a local gathering into one that drew competitors and spectators from many Greek city-states. It was held every four years, a cycle the Greeks called an Olympiad, and some Greeks used Olympiads to date events.
A religious festival
The Games were part of worship of Zeus, whose temple stood at the center of the sanctuary. Sacrifices, processions and oaths accompanied the competitions, and the event was as much a religious festival as a sporting one. The great temple of Zeus held a gold-and-ivory statue of the god, made by the sculptor Phidias, which ancient writers counted among the wonders of the world.
Around the festival, Greek states observed a sacred truce. Heralds announced that travelers to and from Olympia should be allowed safe passage. The truce did not end wars in general, and it was sometimes broken, but it did protect pilgrims and athletes in principle.
The events
At first the program was very small. According to tradition, the only event in the early Games was the stadion, a sprint of roughly one length of the stadium, which is usually estimated at about 190 meters. Over time more events were added:
- Longer footraces, including the diaulos (about two lengths) and the dolichos (a long-distance race of many lengths).
- Wrestling, boxing and the pankration, a rough combat event combining striking and grappling with few rules.
- The pentathlon, which combined running, the long jump, discus, javelin and wrestling. Exactly how the winner was decided is not fully known.
- Horse and chariot races, held in a hippodrome. In these, the prize went to the owner rather than the driver or rider.
- A race in armor, added later in the 500s BCE.
There were also separate contests for boys in some events. Judges known as Hellanodikai oversaw the competition and could fine or punish cheaters. Athletes usually competed without clothing, a custom the Greeks themselves noted as distinctive.
Prizes and fame
The prize at Olympia was a wreath of wild olive cut from a sacred tree. Winning brought great honor at home, and cities sometimes rewarded victors with privileges or money. Poets wrote victory songs, and statues of winners were set up at the sanctuary. The importance of reputation is part of why wealthy families invested heavily in chariot teams.
Who took part
Participants had to be free Greek men. Evidence on spectators is less certain. A later writer, Pausanias, says that married women were barred from watching on pain of death, though unmarried women may have been allowed, and the rule is not well documented in earlier sources. Women could still win as owners of chariot teams. Kyniska, a Spartan princess, is the best-known example and is traditionally credited with chariot victories in the early 300s BCE. A separate festival, the Heraia, offered footraces for girls at Olympia.
What we do not know
Much about the Games rests on sources written long after the events. Pausanias wrote in the second century CE, centuries after the classical Games, and victor lists were compiled later. Details such as the early program, the length of the festival (often said to be five days in its later form) and how the events were scheduled are disputed or reconstructed. The first Olympiads, in particular, are poorly documented, and stories of very early winners should be treated cautiously.
Later history and end
Under Roman rule, after Greece came into the Roman Empire, the Games continued and Romans took part. Over time, the sanctuary was damaged by raids, earthquakes and floods. The traditional date for the end of the Games is about 393 CE, associated with the Christian emperor Theodosius I, but historians doubt that a single decree ended them, and some evidence suggests the Games faded or continued for some time afterward.
The modern Games
The modern Olympics, begun in Athens in 1896 under the influence of Pierre de Coubertin, took the name, the four-year cycle and some of the idealized image of the ancient festival. But they differ in many ways: the modern Games are secular, include women and people of all nationalities, and cover many more sports. The ancient Games were a religious event for Greek men, and the picture of athletes from all of Greece laying down arms is more an ideal than an accurate description.
Training and competition in the ancient Games still raise familiar questions about the human body, preparation and what motivates athletes, themes covered in the study of motivation psychology.