The+Ancient+Olympics

Ancient Olympic facts The ancient Olympics are what started the present Olympics today. These Olympics were started by the ancient Greek and always took place in Olympia. Not many were in the Olympics because only free men, who could speak Greek were allowed to compete. Men who competed, came from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. At the beginning of the Olympics, all competitors would have to take and oath in front of their god (Zeus), that said that they had been training for ten months. Competitors had to be trained for ten months to compete in the Olympics.

There were many different types of events in the ancient Olympics. There was boxing, wrestling, martial arts, chariot races, running, pentathlon (wrestling, running, long jump, javelin throw, and discus throw). There were four different types of running competitions that you could compete in. There was sprinting where, where the runner would run 192 meters (which was the length of the stadium). Another race was 384 meters (which was two stadiums). The longest races were 1344 meters and 4608 meters (which was seven to twenty-four laps). Another strange and difficult race is a race, where you have to run 384 meters (two laps) with fifty pounds of equipment (shield and helmet).

If you won an event at the Olympics, you would be awarded an olive branch and a great amount of honor. Their home town also awarded the winner with quite a lot of money. Sculptors usually built and designed statues of the winners.

The ancient Olympics seem to be quite different from the Olympics that we know. But they are also quite similar to, in the way that people are competing in a giant competition and they are competing to win for their town or village.

-Georgia Coles