Ancient greek olympics
where it was held
The ancient event was held in the city/state of Elis at Olympia. It began as a religious event to honour Zeus the ancient Greek king of gods. Most of the five day event was parades, speeches and ceremonies. The histroic games were held every four years of 776 BC till around the years of AD 93. The games were destroyed by the Roman emperor, Theodosius I. Rome had controlled Greece since 146 BC. By the late fourth century all religious meanings of the event were lost as the athletes only wanted money from the events held.
events
Chariot Race: This was the most thrilling race out of the three events held at the games. It was held in the hippodrome and was a popular sport. Out of four chariots teams most of them didn't complete the 12-lap course because it was very dangerous as up to 40 chariots would be racing at one time.
Pentathlon: This event was held in the main stadium of sports park. The event included discus throwing, 200m sprint, long jump, javilin and wrestling. It was the most popular event out of the three of them. Some contestents died.
Marathon: The two most unusual events of the games were the marathon and armour race. The athletes ran in leg guards, a helmet and a shield however other than that they were naked.
Pentathlon: This event was held in the main stadium of sports park. The event included discus throwing, 200m sprint, long jump, javilin and wrestling. It was the most popular event out of the three of them. Some contestents died.
Marathon: The two most unusual events of the games were the marathon and armour race. The athletes ran in leg guards, a helmet and a shield however other than that they were naked.
Bibliography
Websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Greece
http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/ancientchix/
http://www.heavenly-greek-islands.com/ancient-greek-government.html
http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Life/
http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/dailylife/challenge/cha_set.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/6132/government.html
http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/gods/explore/exp_set.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/ancient_greeks/the_olympic_games/
Videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_NaRmA5FKo
Books/Booklets: Ancient Greece Booklet
http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/ancientchix/
http://www.heavenly-greek-islands.com/ancient-greek-government.html
http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Life/
http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/dailylife/challenge/cha_set.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/6132/government.html
http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/gods/explore/exp_set.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/ancient_greeks/the_olympic_games/
Videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_NaRmA5FKo
Books/Booklets: Ancient Greece Booklet