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The Olympic games have returned, and not without a little bit of controversy. In antiquity, they were regarded as the greatest of the many athletic competitions, so much so that the Greek calendar dated its years to the four year occurrence of the games.
The original Olympic games were first of all a religious event. Historians believe they began at the great shrine of Zeus at Olympia with a foot race near the temple. This action done at a religious site came to be seen as a kind of sacrifice in the unleashing of energy for the god, not entirely unlike the releasing of the spirit of an animal in ritual sacrifice. This principle of religious worship in athletics is well attested in ancient Greek literature and art. In the Iliad of Homer, athletic games were held at the funeral rituals of the hero Patroclus. Greek legend record that four brothers were once sent to Olympia in a long distance race to honor the birth of the god Zeus, and the winner was given an olive wreath. Another legend tells us the hero Hercules established the games in honor of his father Zeus, when he finally accomplished the end of his 12 labors.
The first known formal games were supposed to have been held in 776 B.C. and were originally just the sprinting race, but over the centuries a great many other events were added. This race came to be known as the Stadion and so the place it was held at Olympia was called Stadium. The distance to be run was 210 yards, which in turn gave rise to distances being measured in stadia.
In the Christian New Testament, even the size of the Heavenly Jerusalem is measured in stadia. (Rev. 21:16) The first known winner of the stadia was Koroibos, a cook from the city of Elis in 776 B.C. It was in the Stadium contestants began performing in the nude and so the games took on the idea of celebrating the human form.
Women were barred from watching the Olympics, with only two exceptions. There was the high priestess of Demeter, who symbolically presided over the events. But they also allowed young girls, before the age of puberty, to watch the games, so they would learn what the highest standards of male beauty should look like. Adult women caught peering into the games were put to death. But wealthy women were able to sponsor athletes, and in the horse races the prize was given to the sponsor, not the jockey. The Spartan princess Cynisca was a horse trainer and in 396 B.C. her team won, which gave her the prize. In modern times, women were not allowed in the revived Olympic games until 1900 when they were allowed to compete in sailing, tennis, golf, and croquet.
There were ancient games we recognize today, such as the long jump, discus throwing, and horse racing. But there were other events which were far more violent.
Wrestling matches were very popular and came in two forms, wet and dry, meaning they were held in either mud or sand pits. The only moves prohibited to the wrestlers were biting and eye gouging, and even with these acts the wrestlers were not disqualified but given a huge whack with a long stick by the judges. One particularly fierce wrestler was Milo of Croton, who in the 6th century B.C. was so ferociously strong that eventually he won the competition simply by all the other contestants backing out.
The most violent competition was pankration, which was a kind of martial arts which involved fighting with blows and wrestling combined with choke holds and kicking. Fighting was allowed to continue until one contestant was either knocked out or surrendered. Particularly well known was the three-time winner Sostratus of Sicyon, who routinely opened the match by simply breaking the fingers of his opponents. The famous philosopher Plato was said to have been extremely good at pankration in his youth. When the modern Olympics were revived in 1896, the pankration was removed from the events when the Catholic Cardinal of Lyon insisted it was too violent.
Any free born Greek male was allowed to compete in the games and the Olympic crown of olive branches was one of the highest honors a man could win.
Our modern word “athlete” is derived from the Greek word “althon” meaning “prize.” But there were no awards for second or third place because for the Greeks one was either the best or not.
All good things must eventually end. The Olympic games lasted through Roman times until at least 395 A.D., when they are thought to have been closed by the Christian Emperor Theodosius, who banned all public worship of the pagan gods. Evidence suggests the games did continue after that, but earthquakes and mudslides have covered the ancient sites up.
One final note, given the controversies arising from the modern Paris games. The games were originally in honor of Zeus and in antiquity he was believed to have participated in the games, as did Hermes, Apollo, Ares, and Kronos. Dionysius was not normally associated with the games, nor was he normally depicted as blue. His colors were those most appropriate to wine, green and purple. Along with his close friend Hermaphroditus, Dionysius was notorious as a cross dressing god, and hardly the iconic nude male athlete of the Olympics. That said, one may note that Gucci has now produced a set of women’s clutch purses and shoulder bags available in a brilliant blue leather and other colors called “the Dionysius.” Prices start at $1200 and go up.
Gregory Elder, a Redlands resident, is a professor emeritus of history and humanities at Moreno Valley College and a Roman Catholic priest.
Write to him at Professing Faith, P.O. Box 8102, Redlands, CA 92375-1302, email him at gnyssa@verizon.net or follow him on Twitter @Fatherelder.
Originally Published: August 2, 2024 at 7:00 a.m.
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Courtesy : https://www.pressenterprise.com/2024/08/02/professing-faith-a-look-back-at-the-original-olympic-games/