The Ancient
Olympics
by CTCWeb Editors
Eleans
boasting that they had arranged the Olympic games with all the
justice and fairness in the world, and claiming that even the
Egyptians, although the wisest of all men, could not do better. - Herodotus, Histories,
2.160.1
The Origin of the Olympics
The Achaeans in Homer’s text were
warriors by trade and athletes by accident of their physical
conditioning as combatants. But, as Greece became more settled
and the warrior life declined, exercise for physical fitness
was introduced, and gymnasiums, stadiums, and training facilities
were built by Greek city-states. During the colonization period
 of
750 to 550 BCE, the aristocratic ideals of physical fitness and
intellectual prowess were adopted by all classes. This relatively
settled period ushered in the era of organized, all-inclusive
athletic and musical competitions in which both mind and body
were tested. These competitions were open to all that could afford
training, and even to those who could not, since a city-state
would sponsor an athlete so that he might bring glory to his
hometown. Numerous local music and athletic festivals in honor
of a patron god or goddess provided ample opportunities for athletes
or musicians to prove their prowess and bring honor to their
community.
Despite our knowledge of these competitions,
not much is really known about the origins of the Olympic games
or why they were the most prestigious. Pausanias said that the
games trace their origins back before recorded history when Cronos
wrestled Zeus at Olympia. Several myths tell of the founding
of the games by ancient heroes. In his victory ode Olympian 1, Pindar tells that Pelops
founded the Olympic games. Pelops was the son of Tantalus and
Dione. As a young man, he went to Asia Minor to participate in
a chariot race organized by the king of Pisa, Oenomaos. Race
participants were suitors of Oenomaos’ daughter, Hippodameia.
Heeding an oracle that said his daughter would cause his death,
before the race Oenomaos ordered all suitors who participated
in the race to be killed. During the race, Pelops killed Oenomaos
with the help of his patron god Poseidon and then married Hippodameia.
Two myths offer different reasons why Pelops then founded the
Olympic games. One was to purify himself for killing Oenomaos
and the other was as an act of thanksgiving to the gods for his
victory. Other myths of the founding of the Olympic games include
Herakles setting out the length of the Olympic stadium and crowning
the victor of a footrace with a wreath of wild olive leaves.
And, of course, Strabo tells of an Eleans myth that says Zeus
founded the games.
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