The Greeks invented Olympic athletic contests and held them in honor of their gods. But sports and competitions are part of the history and culture of many ancient civilization - including those of Meso- America.
In Egypt there had been many findings and glyphs depicting sports events have been found.
The body of evidence for sport and game in ancient dynastic Egypt comes from tomb paintings and tomb finds, notably the tomb at Beni-Hassan, private tombs at Thebes, and the famous tomb of King Tutankhamon. The paintings on the walls of the tomb at Beni-Hassan in particular illustrate acrobatics, hop & jump, ball games, and wrestling. Although "play" is a natural aspect of human life, there is evidence for the overwhelming popularity of sport and games in the ancient Mediterranean.
In ancient Egypt, acrobats, who displayed physical agility and strength, were mainly viewed as performers. Most Egyptian acrobats were women, and they performed alone or in groups. Young Egyptian boys also participated in acrobatics, and played games with hoops.
There are 200 wrestling groups depicted on one wall of the tomb at Beni-Hassan. The wrestlers wear a loin-cloth similar to the cod-piece or loin-cloth of Minoan athletes. Although the scenes portray the various positions and "holds" involved in wrestling, the sport was practiced as part of Egyptian military training, and there is no evidence of organized competition.
Ancient Egyptians also participated in various running activities. One of the kingdom's most important festivals was the "jubilee celebration," a festival first celebrated on the 30th anniversary of the reign of Amenophis III, and celebrated continuously in three-year intervals. In the "ritual run", an integral part of the celebration, the current king would run between two sets of three semicircles, the semicircles being cosmic references to the order of the universe.
Unlike later Greek footraces, however, the Egyptian king ran alone, without a competitor. Physical evidence of the "ritual run" exists at the pyramid complex of King Djoser, where one can find the ruins of the world's first sports facility, complete with the running track for the "ritual run."
Two other examples of "public sport" in ancient Egypt target archery and chariot riding. Target archers used a bow (considered both a weapon and hunting tool) to launch arrows. Ancient bows survive from the tomb of King Tutankhamon. Chariots "arrived" in the Near East during the second millennium BC.
There is no evidence of chariot racing, however. Instead, charioteers were aristocrats who enjoyed the glamour and honor attached to riding a chariot, and strove to perfect the art of driving a chariot. Six chariots survive from the tomb of King Tutankhamon. There are no artistic representations of chariots, just physical remains, and the first artistic representations of chariot driving and racing are from Mycenaean art.
The Egyptians also participated in "private sport." "Private sports" included running, jumping (seldom as a discipline, rather in the context of children's games), wrestling (in pairs of competitors), stick fighting, boxing, swimming, and rowing.
Although there is little Egyptian evidence for organized, competitive games or sports, the Egyptian culture may have influenced the development of Greek games in terms of an appreciation for the athletic human body, the value of games in the context of performance.
The Isthmos game were staged every two years at the Isthmos of Corinth.
The Pythian games took place every four years near Delphi. But the most famous games were those at Olympia, a town in south- western Greece. These took place every four years.
There is plenty of evidence for the presence of games and sport in Minoan Crete. The majority of evidence comes from artistic representation in steatite relief vases, palatial wall frescoes, engraved seals, and figurines. Several types of sport are displayed in Minoan art: bull-leaping, acrobatics, wrestling, and boxing.
The "Boxer Vase" from Hagia Triada in Crete is an excellent example of the representation of sport in Minoan art. The vase has several bands of sculptural relief depicting scenes of wrestling, bull-leaping, and boxing. The bands of the vase are divided by pillars and columns, which are characteristic of Minoan palatial architecture. It has been suggested that the scenes on the "Boxer Vase" are depicting sport scenes taking place in the palace.
Bull-leaping scenes appear in Minoan art as early as 2000 BC. Scenes with acrobats leaping or somersaulting over bulls appear on engraved seals, palatial frescoes, and ivory and bronze figurines. The scenes are likened to a circus: the acrobats are portrayed as "flying" over the backs or heads of bulls.
Boxing scenes also appear in Minoan art, though not as often as bull-leaping scenes. The boxing figures often have a clenched fist, and are sometimes shown wearing hand-coverings, ancient "boxing gloves."
There is also architectural evidence for sport in Minoan Crete. The four major Minoan Palaces (Knossos, Phaestos, Mallia, and Zakro) had theatral areas with L-shaped seating areas that could have held up to 500 spectators, and the central courts of the palaces would have been ideal for bull-leaping: the flat, rectangular area would have been separated from the spectator areas by a fence and in some palaces there is evidence for a hallway leading into the central court that could have been used for leading the bull to the site of the bull-leaping.
In addition, the representation of grandstands in the famous "Grandstand Fresco" from the palace of Knossos, which depicts a group of seated women watching an event in front of them (the performers are not in the fresco), is strangely similar to the setup of the theatral areas or central courts of the palaces: there are columns as well as pillars, and the action seems to be going on outdoors.
Although Minoan influence on Greek sport may have been direct (through the assimilation of Cretan peoples with the Mycenaeans), the Egyptian influences may have depended on the Minoans. There is undeniable proof that the Minoans had extensive contact with Egypt (mainly in the context of trade), and the Egyptians may have influenced Minoan sport and, therefore, Greek sport as well.
Although the Mycenaeans were the chronological link between the Minoans and the Greeks, there is little evidence of sport in Mycenaean society. In addition, when evaluating the cultures which contributed toward the ancient Greek appreciation of sport, one must combine the Egyptian and Minoan influences with possible Dorian influences. The Dorians, or "invaders from the north," may have added an aggressive competitive spirit to the Egyptian and Minoan appreciation of games and the human body.
The first Olympic games at Olympia were held in 776 BC. According to Hippias of Elis, who compiled a list of Olympic victors c.400 BC, the only event held at the first Olympics was the stadion footrace. Scholars have speculated that the games in 776 BC were not the first games, but rather the first games held after they were organized into festivals held every four years as a result of a peace agreement between the city-states of Elis and Pisa. The Eleans traced the founding of the Olympic games to their King Iphitos, who was told by the Delphic Oracle to plant the olive tree from which the victors' wreaths were cut.
The Olympic Games were a constant in ancient Greece. The games were even held in 480 BCduring the Persian Wars, and they coincided with the Battle of Thermopylae. Although the Olympic games were never suspended, the games of 364 BC were not considered Olympic games because the Arkadians had captured the sanctuary and reorganized the games.
After the Battle of Chaironeia in 338 BC, Philip of Makedon and his son Alexander gained control over the Greek city-states. They erected the Philippeion (a family memorial) in the sanctuary, and held political meetings at Olympia during each Olympiad. In 146 BC, the Romans gained control of Greece and, therefore, of the Olympic games. In 85 BC, the Roman general Sulla plundered the sanctuary to finance his campaign against Mithridates. Sulla also moved the 175th Olympiad (80 BC) to Rome.
The games were held every four years from 776 BC to 393 AD, when they were abolished by the Christian Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I. The ancient Olympic Games lasted for 1170 years. If the Modern Olympic games last that long, they will still be held in 3066 AD!
Pottery dating from around 550 BC shows men taking part in the games naked or wearing only a thong.
The games were greatly expanded from a one-day festival of athletics and wrestling to, in 472 BC, five days with many events. The order of the events is not precisely known, but the first day of the festival was devoted to sacrifices. On the second day, the foot-race, the main event of the games, took place in the stadium, an oblong area enclosed by sloping banks of earth.
On other days, wrestling, boxing, and the pancratium, a combination of the two, were held. In wrestling, the aim was to throw the opponent to the ground three times. Boxing became more and more brutal; at first the pugilists wound straps of soft leather over their fingers as a means of deadening the blows, but in later times hard leather, sometimes weighted with metal, was used.
In the pancratium, the most rigorous of the sports, the contest continued until one or the other of the participants acknowledged defeat. Horse-racing, in which each entrant owned his horse, was confined to the wealthy but was nevertheless a popular attraction. After the horse-racing came the pentathlon, a series of five events: sprinting, long-jumping, javelin-hurling, discus-throwing, and wrestling.
The Olympic Games are named for athletic contests held in ancient Greece for almost 12 centuries.
The first Olympic games were held in Ancient Greece in the city state of Athens. The year was 776 B.C. There was a flame burning in the honor of Zeus, lord of all the gods. The very first Olympic games only held one event - the marathon. marathon.
The Olympics expanded to wrestling, boxing, horse racing,long jumping, javelin, and chariot races.
Early Olympic victors became national heroes and celebrated in music and poetry.
In early Olympic Games - women were not allowed to watch the games, but were allowed to participate in the games.
Men on the other hand were allowed to watch and/or play in the Olympic games.
The Olympic Games were held to help unite many different countries in a peaceful manner. Each participating country is limited to three entries.
The Greek competitors marked the first modern event of the Olympics with cross country runners bringing a torch from the valley of Olympia to light a much larger torch in the stadium where the games are held.
The Olympic Games were banned in AD 394 but were revived and made international in 1896.
The Winter Games were added in 1924. World War I and World War II forced cancellation of the Olympics in 1916,1940, and 1944, but they resumed in 1948 and are held every four years.
Source: Crystal Links.com