Issue: July 2004
Olympics
Olympics - ancient and modern
The same, only different
Winners are heroes, feted by adoring fans and proud governments, often using their short-lived sporting prowess to achieve wealth and prestige for an entire lifetime.
Sounds like the future facing victors at the Athens Olympics!
'Indeed it is - and so it was for the millennium that the ancient Olympics were held. In this aspect, little has changed since the first Olympics in 776 BC,' says classical archaeologist, Dr Elizabeth Pemberton.
Now an Honorary Research Associate in La Trobe University's Archaeology Program, Dr Pemberton has researched both archaeological and historical aspects of the Olympics and lesser games in ancient Greece. She is particularly intrigued by the differences between the ancient and modern games.
The fame of victors is one of the great similarities. Almost from the start until the Games finally ceased in the fourth century AD, Olympic victors - even those from poor backgrounds - found that many doors opened for them.
'At the time of their victory they received little, merely an olive victory wreath and religious privileges. But there are many examples over that millennium of victors using their fame for political, financial and other ends. Some cities gave local victors free food for life. Many winners used their popularity to gain election to political office,' Dr Pemberton said.
There is very detailed information about this and other aspects of the ancient Olympic Games, both from archaeology and written records of historians of the time.
The Games were held at Olympia on a fertile flat plain - one of the few in Greece - flanked by the Alpheios and Kladeos rivers about 56 km from the city of Elis where athletes and officials gathered. Importantly, the Olympia site provided grazing for horses used in chariot races.
For a month officials watched the athletes train, making sure they reached a sufficient level of prowess before allowing them to compete. Then both athletes and officials marched the 56 km to Olympia in one day - another test of fitness.
Because the Games lasted only five days and were held only every four years, there is an excellent archaeological record. Most athletes, officials, and the thousands of spectators brought their own food and utensils for cooking and water and lived in tents, digging temporary wells for water. When the five day program was over, those cleaning up the site simply dumped the pottery and other debris into the wells as new ones would be dug for the next games.
The increasing popularity of the Games over the centuries can be gauged by the rise in the number of wells dug and the number of permanent buildings erected.
Temples, altars and treasuries were among the earlier buildings. Then the Romans came and added baths and more buildings, but under Roman rule the Games were less prestigious than when the Greeks were independent.
Excavations at Olympia started briefly with the French in the 1820s. They went away and the Germans came in 1875 and in seven or eight years uncovered massive amounts of material from the wells and found the many building foundations. There was a hiatus until 1936 when the government of Nazi Germany financed the continuation of the German excavation. The Germans have had exclusive excavation rights to the site ever since and are still making very significant discoveries there.
There are also extremely good written records of the games and the names of many of the winners - even the winner of the only event in 776 BC - are known. He was Coroebus from Elis, victor in the 192 metre sprint. Records of the winners of many events are preserved right down to the third century AD.
The Greek traveller and historian, Pausanias, visited Olympia in the second century AD and wrote detailed accounts of individual athletes which he learned from guides and local records. Earlier historians and poets also wrote about the games.
The ancient games differed from the modern in several ways, primarily because they were part of a religious festival, with event winners granted the privilege of lighting the altar for the great sacrifice. And they were by no means international, with only Greek-born males permitted to participate in the earlier games.
Another difference was the Sacred Truce during the games. Heralds were despatched to Greek cities to proclaim that the games would be held at a certain time. Wars did not stop, but people going to the Games could pass safely through areas of conflict. All events were individual. There were no team games.
'Like today, the games caused enormous interest and rivalry between individual participants and their places of origin. In this way, they affect us in the same way they affected our forebears,' Dr Pemberton added.
back to top
back contents next
|
