Revisiting the ancient Olympic Games

The Olympic Games had its origin exactly 2800 years ago - in the year 776 B.C.E - at the Greek site of Olympia, when some spectators came together to watch a men's foot-race. This classical sporting event of the ancient era then continued for over one thousand years, which drew athletes and audiences from around the Mediterranean Sea. However, it was invented even earlier - in the 9th century BCE - when the Greek ruler Iphitos of the city of Elis became fed up with the region's unending wars. He consulted the oracle of Delphi - a priestess who was regarded as the voice of the god Apollo on earth. The priestess urged Iphitosto launch a peaceful athletic competition. After that, Iphitos and other Greek monarchs - one of whom was actually at war with him - signed a treaty or truce called the 'Ekecheiria'. The treaty, however, did not call for ending all conflicts in Greece. Rather, it allowed the athletes and other individuals involved in the sporting event to safely travel to and from Olympia for engaging in athletic rivalry.

This concept of Olympic truce found reflection during the opening ceremony of the 1994 Winter Olympics held in Norway, when the then president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Juan Antonio Samaranch spoke out for peace."Our message is stronger than ever. Please stop the fighting. Please stop the killing. Please drop your guns", he urged while alluding to the then 'Siege of Sarajeveo' in Bosnia by the Serb army. The modern-day Olympic truce was thereby revived by the IOC, and the United Nations has since adopted a resolution captioned 'Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal' before each edition of the Olympic Games since 1994. Inaugurated in Paris, France on 26 July, the focus of this year's Olympic Games will undoubtedly be the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza, where innocent men, women and children are being massacred for over nine months through genocidal acts of the Zionist Israeli war-criminals as well as their racist backers.

Since its inception in 776 BCE, the scope of ancient Olympic Games has gradually expanded from a single running event at its commencement. More sporting events were subsequently added, and the Olympia authorities framed strict rules and regulations for the increasingly popular competition. Competing in the severe heat of southern Greece, the ancient Olympians were umpired by 10 highly trained judge sat the sports venue. The events included wrestling, javelin throw, boxing, long jump, as well as chariot races. Although the main focus of the Games was athleticism, the philosophies of fairness, peace, development, and education were also ingrained in it. This ancient phenomenon lasted for exactly 1,169 years until its demise in 393 CE. And then, after a break of 1,503 years, the first modern Olympic Games was staged in the Greek capital Athens in 1896. That was initiated by a French baron named Pierre de Coubertin, who had the vision and understanding to comprehend the immense value of a global sporting event. He was famously quoted as saying, "Olympism is not a system. It is a state of mind".

In ancient Greece, Olympia was not the only city to organise athletic competitions. Although differing in prestige, many communities were found to host their own games. Around 200 'prize games' were organised regularly at around 150 BCE, with Athens, Megara, and Boeotia getting recognition as the most prominent hosts. The Olympics of Olympia was part of a category of competitions known as the 'Sacred Games', the 'Panhellenic Games', or the 'Crown Games'. Four cities, namely Nemea, Delphi, Isthmus of Corinth, and Olympia took turns in holding this category of annual competitions. It implied that the Olympics were held at Olympia after a gap of four years, similar to the modern-era Summer and Winter Games. However, compared to the prize games, the Sacred Games appeared to be less lucrative for the winners, as apart from the glory of victory and a crown of leaves, they received little else from the hosts or organisers. Despite that, the Olympics of Olympia were unrivalled in reputation compared to other similar contests. An Olympic triumph was revered above all by the Greek people.

A notable feature of ancient Olympics was that, the champions of events during Sacred Games held at Olympia, Nemea, Delphi, and Isthmus of Corinth were awarded crowns of olive, parsley, laurel, and pine respectively; but there were no prizes for second or third places. However, the official prizes were not the only winnings of the champions. Their home cities were hugely proud of their successes, and rewarded them with additional benefits after they returned home. For example, the champions were provided with 50 to 100 large ceramic jars containing olive oil. Other benefits included holding parades, awarding lifelong seats at amphitheatres, granting pensions, official posts, and meals.

Contrary to popular perception, the symbolic torch-to-torch relay - whereby a flame travels from Olympia and finally illuminates a massive torch in the Olympic stadium - was not an event in ancient Games. The tradition certainly did not originate in the ancient Olympia. In fact, the first Olympic flame undertook its maiden journey in 1936, when the German organisers of the Berlin Olympic Games made arrangements for lighting a flame in Olympia and then transporting it to Berlin for the inauguration of the Games. However, fire was an important ingredient in ancient Olympics, as a blaze was kept burning at the altar of the goddess Hestia during the occasion. Besides, sacred flames were also lit at the temples of Zeus and Hera, and athletes kept a baton of reeds ablaze while running relay races from the seaport to the Acropolis.

Another difference between the ancient and modern Olympics was that females were strictly prohibited from participating in the ancient version held at Olympia, although they could earn rewards as owners of horses victorious in chariot race. Any free male citizen of Greece could participate in the contest, and the first Olympic winner turned out to be a cook named Coroebus. All athletes competing in the Games were required by Olympia to train for ten months prior to the event. This resulted in exclusion of many aspirants who did not have adequate time and resources for the purpose. However, some talented but poor athletes were sponsored by wealthy people, who provided them with allowances during the training period. A few others also received athletic scholarships from the authorities. The last stage in the preparations of the Olympians was compulsory stay for one month in the martial city of Elis, which hosted them for an intensive training program. This boot-camp-like phase filtered out unworthy athletes before the Games' commencement, and they could also drop-out voluntarily if they found themselves unfit for the contest.

The marathon was not an event in ancient Olympic Games, although this 26.2-mile footrace has been a part of the modern games since its revival in 1896. History tells us that the longest foot race undertaken by the athletes in ancient Olympics was about three miles in length, which was called 'dolichos'. However, there were myths surrounding the marathon in ancient Greece. One legend said, an ancient Greek courier named Pheidippides ran 26 miles from a battlefield at Marathon to the city of Athens for announcing the Greek military's victory over the Persians before dropping dead on the spot. Nonetheless, foot race was the oldest Olympic event, and a one-lap sprint over one tenth of a mile was the lone event (called 'stadion') staged during the first Olympic Games held in 776 BCE.

The then custom of public nudity in ancient Greece was quite visible at the Olympics. It 'stripped away social rank' - thereby leaving the athletes to be represented solely by their physical prowess. The potential of apparels inhibiting athletic ability was also a factor here. Historians, however, differ on the true motive for competing naked. According to one, "They might have simply wanted to show off their bodies - liberally coated in oil - to their peers, gods, and adoring fans". The trainers were also required to be as undressed as the competitors, so that any unwelcome female could be spotted. Although maidens were permitted to attend as spectators, married women were barred from doing so.

The ancient Olympics were held to honourthe king of Greek gods - Zeus. But by the middle of second-century BCE, the Roman empire took over control of Greece that included Olympia. Thereafter, although the Games continued to be popular, their glory and honour gradually declined. Then in the early part of the 4th century CE, Christianity was adopted as the official religion by Rome; and later that century, the emperor Theodosius issued decrees banning the pagan religion, its rituals, and festivals. Although some historians blame those decrees for the ultimate collapse of ancient Olympic Games, others point out that the Games were not specifically mentioned in those edicts. Rather, the real cause of the Games' downfall was probably economic. These were once supported by civic funds, but this money was being diverted elsewhere after the arrival of the 4th century CE. The organisers finally abandoned the event from 393 CE onwards, as they could not afford it in the absence of sponsors.

Dr Helal Uddin Ahmed is a retired Additional Secretary and former Editor of Bangladesh Quarterly.

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