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Olympic
Spirit |
"And we compel men to exercise their bodies not only for the games, so that they
can win the prizes-for very few of them go to them-but to gain a greater good
from it for the whole city, and for the men themselves"
Lucian, Anacharsis, ca. AD 170 
In a fertile valley of Ancient Greece, at a place called Olympia, the first
Olympic Games were held at 776 BC. This games were held every four years, for a
thousand years. The Games, like all Greek Games, were an intrinsic part of a
religious festival held in honor of Zeus.
Hippias of Elis, at ca. 400 BC, compiled a list of Olympic victors, and
according to him, the only event at the beginning was a
stadium-length foot race (stade). The distance of the race came from the
legend, that Hercules, the god of Physical Strength,
run the same distance in one breath. 
It has been speculated, that the games at 776 BC were not the first games
conducted, but rather the first organized games. It is believed, that this lead
from the peace agreement between the city-states Elis and Pisa. The Eleans
traced the founding of the Olympic Games back to their King Iphitos. King
Iphitos was told by the Delphic Oracle to plant an Olive Tree from which the
victor' wreaths for the Olympic Games was cut. Another legend says, that the
Games were founded by Heracles, son of Alcmene.
In Ancient Greece it was thought that the first Games held in Olympia was
organized by heroes and gods. 
PELOPS: In his first Olympian Ode dated to the fifth century BC, Pindar
tells us about Pelops, the founder of the games. Pelops, the son of Tantalus,
came from Asia Minor to participate in a chariot race organized by Oinomaos, the
king of Pisa in the Peloponnese. Oinomaos was told of an oracle according to
which the marriage of his daughter, Hippodameia, would cause his death. Thus, he
had killed all the suitors who came to participate in the race. Pelops came to
Pisa, killed Oinomaos during the race, and married Hippodameia. As a king of the
area, he first organized the games in order to purify himself. According to
another version of the myth, he held the games in order to thank the gods for
his victory. In the same way, Hippodameia instituted the Heraean Games for the
same reason. The organization of the chariot-race was illustrated in the eastern
pediment of the temple of Zeus in the 5th century BC.
HERACLES: Heracles from Ida is another heroic figure associated with the
first Games. Heracles came with his brothers Curetes from Crete, defined the
length of the stadium at Olympia, organized a foot race with his brothers and
crowned the victor with a wreath of wild olive leaves. Pindar also records that
it was Theban Heracles, the son of Zeus who brought the wild olive from the
Hyperborean countries, founded the foot race, introduced the cult of Zeus and
determined the boundaries of the Sacred Altis. 
Click to enlarge
HERAKLEIDAI: finally, Strabo provides us with the
first historical scenario. He reports that the games were first organized by the
Herakleidai, after the spread of the Aitolo-dorian groups to Pisa. According to
this interpretation, the Aetolian groups, who conquered Pisa and settled there
under their leader Oxylus in the post-Mycenean period, ca. 1200-1100 BC,
introduced the cult of Zeus. This occupation led to conflicts with the
indigenous people, as indicated by the later antagonism between Eleans who
migrated from Aetolia, and Pisatans. According to an Elean myth, Zeus took
control of the sanctuary and founded the games. The myths refer to other cults
too, probably associated with other groups which settled the area.
It is recorded that Coroebus of Elis, a cook, won the first race, and therefore
was the first Olympic Champion, but scholars estimate that by that time the
games were already 500 years old.
Every four years, trading suspended and the continuously warring states and the
fighting tribes laid down their arms, and the people went forth in peace to pay
tribute to the manhood of it's nation.
Athletes, the word originated from athlos, which means - contest, came to
Olympia and trained for the event for 10 month. A ten member panel examined and
assessed them on their parentage, character and physical endowments.
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Stadium:.
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Originally, the stadium was about 32 meters wide
and 192 meters in length, one "stade" (one stade = the distance of about 192
meters [210 yards] ), which gave its name to the footrace of the same
distance. In the early Olympics a race was called a stade, which covered one
length of the track.
Later, horse racing became part of the ancient
games, which were held at the hippodrome next to the stadium.
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