Ancient Olympics

 The first record of the Olympic Games comes from Hippias of Elis in the fifth century BCE, though the first Olympic victory is dated to 776 BCE (this assumes that the games were conducted every fourth year).  The most commonly held legend associated with its inception was that Herakles founded them as a tribute to celebrate Zeus' victory over Kronos in the Titanomachy.  Herakles, who was associated with great athletic strength, later became the official patron of the games.  In Pindar's first Olympian victory Ode we have another version of the Games' origins as he gives reference to Pelops, who he beleives to have been the founder.  In this ode we have the narrative about the punishment of Tantalus and the return of Pelops to earth.  Pelops invoked Poseidon and participated in a race with Oenomaus and won over his opponent.  The award was Oenomaus' daughter, Hippodameia.  In the end of the end Pindar tells us of the fame the Pelops had at Olympia.  Its official site was densely populated during the Mycenaean Period and though it was not the center of Classical Greek life, its early history and topography made it an excellent site for the most prominent of the Panhellenic games.

   

Like all of the athletic games, the Olympics had rather humble beginnings.  The first recorded games took place in 776 BCE and were a purely local event that last only one day.  Having a ritualistic purpose,  they consisted of sacrifices to Zeus in the morning followed by simple running races in the afternoon.  The first winner, Coroebus of Elis, probably did little training and only received a small material prize for his efforts.  His victory was significant, however, in that it headed a long list of winners which serves as our only record of much of the games' history.  Recording the winners' names became a strong tradition, and much of the glory of victory was in the virtual immortality that this brought.

As the games evolved, the sporting element came to overshadow the sacral element; by the fifth century BCE, the two were essentially autonomous.  This separation gen

erally coincided with the increased scope and following of the games.  The first winners came from the surrounding towns, but by the sixth century, competitors journeyed from various parts of Greece and beyond.  Until 720, all winners came from the city-states of the Peloponnese but by 688, competitors from Asia Minor began to compete.  The cities with the most winners over the history of the games included the south Italian city of Croton, Athens, Miletus in Asia Minor, and the island of Naxos.

Timeline:

776 - first games

724 - 2 lap race added

728 - endurance running race added

708 - pentathlon added (consists of running, jumping, discus, javelin, wrestling)

688 - boxing added

680 - chariot racing added

648 - horseback riding and pankration added

 Winners at the games received wreaths made from the branches of a sacred olive tree.  Interestingly, the branches had to be cut with a golden knife by a boy whose parents were still living  This wreath was supposed to grant its wearer protection from Zeus.  Though the wreath had almost no material value, its significance can be attributed to the fame attained by its winner.  An Olympic champion brought glory not only to the athlete, but also to his homeland.