The Ancient Olympics: A Leap Back
A look back at a time when athletes strived for demigod status in extraordinary feats of athletic endeavour
The suspension of wars, the guarantee of safe passage for participating athletes and audiences, and the forbidding of legal disputes.
All these terms formed the core of the long-standing tradition of the Ekecheiria, or truce, of the ancient Olympic games. Bridging about 3,000 years of history, the truce binds together a shaken world still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic and various forms of international unrest. As the Games of the 32nd Olympiad gets underway in Tokyo, let’s take a look back in time at the beginnings of an event that has held its place at the pinnacle of athleticism for millennia.
Games for a god
“… the glory of the temple persisted… on account of both the festal assembly and of the Olympian Games, in which the prize was a crown and which were regarded as sacred, the greatest games in the world.”
~ Greek historian Strabo, from his book the Geographica
Little is known about the exact date in which the Games first commenced, but history attributes the first recorded victory to Koroibos (or Coroebus) in 776 BC. We know this from the names of athletes who won the stadion race, as the Games were usually named in their honour.
Before 776 BC, athletic events had already been taking place all over the Greek world. It was only in the sacred sanctuary of Olympia, where the worship of Zeus was centred, that the Games dedicated to the god would be held. As father and king to the pantheon of twelve Olympian gods, the religious festivities held in ancient Olympia would include an array of offerings and sacrifices — such as that of an estimated 100 oxen from which the meat would be used for great feasts.
The main attraction of the festivities, however, was the Games. Open to all Greek-speaking men from their various city-states and far-flung colonies, the Olympic Games also ran once every four years just as it does in the modern Olympics. It was the chance for every athlete to gain undying fame, privileges, and favour in the eyes of Zeus himself.
Ancient athletes at the Games pursued the embodiment of arete, or excellence in the fulfillment of one’s own potential. In a society where stories of legends such as Achilles, Heracles, and other larger-than-life figures were passed down, athletes pushed themselves to the crest of their abilities in the hopes of securing a heroic legacy.
To further emphasize the ancient Greek admiration for might and wonder, a towering gold and ivory statue of a seated Zeus was completed in around 435 BC and erected in the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. One of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world and at an estimated 41 feet in height, the figure dominated the interior of the temple and struck those who laid eyes upon it with awe — an effect just as intended by its sculptor, Phidias.
From a battlefield, to the track
“Hail, we are the winners!”
~ the messenger Pheidippides, addressing the Athenian officials after the Battle of Marathon
In the late summer of 490 BC, a large Persian force landed at a bay near the Greek town of Marathon. Threatening the capture of nearby Athens, a certain messenger (or “day-runner”) by the name of Pheidippides was tasked with the responsibility of requesting reinforcements from the southern city of Sparta.
He ran the 240 km distance separating the two cities in about two days, and then back to Athens. From there, he ran another 40 km to the battlefield at Marathon and back once more to deliver the news of the Persian defeat. As the messages relayed in the span of those few days were of utmost urgency, we can only imagine that Pheidippides was in no mood to stall time, and would have most likely stopped only for the quickest and most basic of meals. Upon his return to Athens and the announcement of the Greek victory, he is said to have collapsed in exhaustion and died.
While the ancient Olympics included running events such as the famed 193-metres stadion race, they were usually relatively short sprints. The stadion remained as the only Olympic athletic event for the 13 Olympiads after Koroibos’ victory, until 724 BC when another running event two times longer was added. In the succeeding years, other events that made up the pentathlon would be added: long jump, javelin throw, discus throw, and the pankration (an all-out wrestling event).
It was to be more than two millennia after the battle of Marathon, that the idea of a marathon event would be introduced for the revival of the Games in 1896. Staying true to the distance ran by Pheidippides, the marathon of the 1896 Athens Olympics followed the route from Marathon to the marbled Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. And, quite fittingly, its first winner was Greek — Spyridon Louis.
Raw athleticism
Ancient Greek art has given us a rather clear picture of how athletes performed at the Games. Usually depicted on black and red-figure pottery, are images of nude male athletes in the signature movements of their respective events. Runners have their torsos leaning forward with enlarged thighs as they speed to the finish line. Wrestlers are locked in combat with various holds and techniques. Trainers look on at the action, clothed in chitons (ancient Greek togas) and holding a stick. In one scene, an athlete removes grime and sweat from his body using a strigil, or metal scraper.
The cities and sanctuary sites of ancient Greece would typically have gymnasiums, where common physical exercises would be performed in preparation for the Olympics or just to improve fitness. In contrast to modern gyms, ancient Greek gymnasiums only allowed male citizens entry. Gradually, they also served as venues for intellectual conversations among the more learned members of society.
The city-state of Elis, which held authority over the site of Olympia, also had gymnasiums which served as the first Olympic villages. Apart from honing physical prowess and gaining intellectual knowledge, they were also seen as training venues for times of war. Greek city-states drew their armies from their own citizens, who fought in the closely packed hoplite formation. Olympic events such as the javelin throw was seen as a way to demonstrate Greek martial power to everyone involved.
In support of the preparation for possible military service, the hoplitodromos event was added in 520 BC. Athletes would race in full hoplite armour including a helmet, spear, and shield, for about two stadium lengths (to the end and back).
As a further display of devotion and strength to the gods, athletes competed in the nude and coated themselves in olive oil before their events. Apart from the likely intention of accentuating their glistening figure in the daylight, olive oil was used as a religious anointment for a deeper connection to the gods. Torches in temples at Olympia would be lit with the use of olive oil, and Olympic victors would be crowned with a wreath of olive branches cut from sacred trees near the temple of Zeus. Nudity was also seen as a way for athletes to fully display their strength to Zeus, and to gain respect from a society which regarded the perfected human figure as the measure of all things.
Not much is known about the origins of nudity at the Games, but a widely-accepted version is that of the Olympic runner Orsippus in 720 BC. Hailing from the eastern Greek settlement of Megara, Orsippus is said to have lost his loincloth while competing in the stadion race. Unwilling to give up his place to recover it, he continued to run naked and was crowned victor.
The end of an era, and its revival
“I declare the opening of the first international Olympic Games in Athens. Long live the Nation. Long live the Greek people.”
~ King George I of Greece, opening ceremony of the first modern Olympics in 1896
In the 4th century AD, decrees were issued by the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius I, banning all activities in the Roman world related to pagan worship. With Christianity as the recently proclaimed official religion of the empire, visits to pagan temples were forbidden and many were destroyed. While initially tolerant towards the Olympic games in the earlier part of his reign, after 393 AD Theodosius had completely suppressed the Games and Theodosius II destroyed the temples in 426 AD — ending a tradition of more than 1,000 years.
The temples and venues at Olympia remained abandoned, and in around 550 AD it is widely held that they were further destroyed by an earthquake. However, modern German researchers also claim that it was flooded over by repeated tsunamis. Before its re-discovery and excavations in the earlier half of the 19th century, the site at Olympia remained buried under several metres of sand and sediment.
It took the excavations more than a 100 years from initial work in 1829, to reveal the entirety of the site — including the temple of Zeus, the stadion, and the various gymnasiums and accommodations for athletes and visitors from all over the Greek world. Restoration work was subsequently done.
Two years before the 1st modern Olympiad was held, Frenchman and active sports promoter Pierre de Coubertin presented his idea of a revival of the Olympic games in Paris. Much like the mindset of the ancient Greeks, Pierre believed in the importance of physical education in relation to better military performance and an enhanced overall being. Accepting his idea of the revival and transformation of the Games to be an international athletic gathering, the International Olympic Committee was also established along with the appointment of Athens as the host city — returning the Games after more than 1,500 years to the country of its ancient beginnings.
The Panathenaic Stadium, initially built in 330 BC by Lykourgos (an Athenian statesman) and rebuilt in marble by a Roman senator 474 years later, was to be the venue for the opening ceremony. Restored yet again with white marble, it drew an attendance of an estimated 60,000 people in the opening ceremony on 6 April. Although less than 300 athletes (all male) from 14 nations participated in the nine-day event, it was an immense success for the the hosts and an even greater achievement for the advancement of athletics and international camaraderie.
As Pierre’s idea of the revival was largely based on the model of the ancient Olympics, he did not promote women’s events. However, by the time of the 1900 Paris Olympics, two women’s events were available — tennis and golf.
Today, 2,797 years after Koroibos received the olive victory wreath, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics continues to pay lasting tribute to the continued story of athletics and the never-ending push of the world’s best athletes for a perfect performance. While the Games are not perfect in every way, it continues to bring thousands of participating athletes together in the hope that each will fulfill the promises of peaceful competition laid out in the Olympic truce, and continue to foster growth and love for a well-balanced being through sports.