Origin of the Games The origin of the Olympic games are based on a myth of Pelops. Pelops was a son of Tantalus who had been favored by the gods. Tantalus invited all the gods to dine with him. His son Pelops was his greatest treasure, so he sacrificed him to the gods. The Olympian gods hated this act and threw Tantalus into the underworld. The gods brought Pelops back alive, and Poseidon gave him a team of magical horses.

Oenomaus was a king of a town near Olympia. He had a beautiful daughter named Hippodameia. Whoever could beat Oenomaus in a chariot race would have her hand, but whoever lost would lose his head. Hippodameia fell in love with Pelops, so she told the stable boy to fix her father's chariot. The stable boy put wax pins in the wheels in place of the wooden ones. During the race the two were neck to neck, but the wax pins gave way, and Oenomaus died. Pelops and Hippodameia got married and threw the stable boy out to sea. Pelops held a huge funeral feast for Oenomaus and held athletic contests in his honor. The games have been repeated every four years since.

Competitors and Spectators

In the year of the games, Spondorophoroi, or messengers were sent to invite city-states throughout Greece to the games. The games were usually held in June or July, and lasted five days. Only honorable men of Greek language and descent were allowed to enter the games. But Greek colonists in Caul, Sicily, Italy, Spain, Africa, Asia Minor and the Black Sea Coasts were all able to participate. Women were forbidden to watch, perhaps because the athletes competed completely naked. Some people think it is because the garments they would have worn would not have allowed them to move freely. One story describes how a mother disguised herself as a man to watch her son compete in his event. When her son won, she jumped up in happiness, and the others saw through her disguise.

The Events The Games tested manly skills and strength and many were of military origin. The first day of the Olympics was reserved for sacrifices to the gods. On the second day, foot-races were held. The most respected event was the foot-race of about 220 yards. On other days, wrestling, boxing and the pancratium, a combination of the two, were staged. Horse racing was restricted to the wealthy because horses were expensive to purchase. The pentathalon tested all-around strength. The pentathalon included five events: a 200-yard (180 meters) sprint, the long jump, wrestling, javelin and discus. The Olympics closed with a running race with contestants dressed in armor. The games also featured music, oratory and theatrical performances.

Awards

The Olympic games were very important to the Greeks for their goal in life was to be the best. Competition was tough, and although many people assume it is because the Greeks enjoyed the sport, Greek motives were not always pure. Winners of the Olympic games were only given an olive wreath, but they became very popular in their own city-state. Winners were looked upon as stars; they were invited to luxurious parties; they could  marry the girl of their dreams; and they were sometimes freed from taxation. The winners were not only viewed as stars, but so were their cities. If a city-state's athletes won many victories, it showed that its men were strong in battle. Training and special diets a competitor needed took money, and wealth was necessary in war.

Olympic History The games dated from 776 BC., and reached their height in the 4th and 5th centuries BC. In AD 393, they were ended by Christian Byzantine emperor Theodosius I. It was not until 1896 that the modern Olympics were staged again, and they have been repeated every four years with the exception of 1916 (World War I), 1940 and 1944 (World War II). In the very first Olympic games, only the stade foot-race was held. As time went on, more events were added to the competition. Historians have speculated that the games in 776 BC were not the first games held, but the first organized games which served as a peace agreement between the city-states of Elis and Pisa.