Ancient Olympic Fun Fact 30

I saw my cousin this weekend, the one who’s going to the 2012 London Games. Looks like the events that he and his wife are attending are men’s soccer and volleyball. I didn’t realize this, but tickets for the Olympics are done by lottery. You put in a request for twelve events, and then you get what you get. And apparently, the lottery can choose to completely deny you tickets as well.

So, Cousin N, congrats on being able to witness what most of us can only dream of, and cheer the athletes for the rest of us! Oh, and here’s this week’s fun fact:

An official set of shields was used for the race in armor.

For the race in armor event, participants ran two lengths of the stadium wearing greaves and a helmet and carrying a round shield. Because this was before the time of standardized equipment, officials maintained a set of shields specifically for this race. When not in use, they stayed in the Temple of Zeus.

By the way, this particular event was a noisy affair (think about all that clanging metal), and amusing mishaps, collisions, and shield drops often occurred.

Tune in next week for more about the ancient Olympics!

Ancient Olympic Fun Fact 29

The 2012 London Games are starting in two weeks, can you believe it?! And I just found out my cousin and his wife are going (I’m jealous), plus they’re staying with my other cousin who’s currently on assignment in London so they don’t have to pay through the nose for lodging (double jealous).

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Here’s this week’s fun fact about the ancient Greek Olympics:

Hand weights were used in the long jump.

The long jump looked very different compared to the modern version. Instead of a running start, jumpers began from a standing position holding weights called halteres. They’d swing these back and forth and then simultaneously jump and throw the weights, coordinating the motion such that it propelled them forward. Often pipers played an accompaniment, possibly to help with the timing of the jump/weight throwing.

Stone halter

Early halteres were flat and made of stone or metal. Over time, the design changed, and jumpers used cylindrical stone weights with finger grooves.

Tune in next week for more about the ancient Olympics!

Ancient Olympic Fun Fact 28

2012 is significant in that it is a presidential election year, a leap year, and a summer Olympic year! The modern Olympics, of course, were inspired by the ancient Greek Olympics, a subject I’ve been researching for my work in progress. So in these months leading up to the 2012 London Games, I’ll be posting weekly tidbits about the original athletic festival that started it all.

Here’s this week’s fun fact:

A two-day procession preceded the Olympic competition.

Just like the modern Games have their spectacular opening ceremonies, the ancient athletes also entered Olympia in style. The procession began in Elis, where the athletes would have just completed their compulsory training, and after an exhortation by the Judges, the contestants who’d made the cut proceeded to Olympia accompanied by officials and the hundred oxen designated for the festival sacrifice.

The route they used was called the Sacred Way. The procession took two days partly because it was 58 km long. The other reason it took so long was they had to perform rites, including sacrificing a pig, at points along the way. By the time the athletes hit the road, spectators would already be at or en route to Olympia, and their parade almost certainly drew a crowd.

Tune in next week for more about the ancient Olympics!

Ancient Olympic Fun Fact 17

2012 is significant in that it is a presidential election year, a leap year, and a summer Olympic year! The modern Olympics, of course, were inspired by the ancient Greek Olympics, a subject I’ve been researching for my work in progress. So in these months leading up to the 2012 London Games, I’ll be posting weekly tidbits about the original athletic festival that started it all.

Here’s this week’s fun fact:

The torch relay was not part of the original Olympics

As iconic as the Olympic torch is, there was no equivalent in the ancient athletic festival. Relay races weren’t even part of the events, and the closest thing the Greeks had to an Olympic flame was the sacred fire of Hestia, which was used to light all the other altars at Olympia.

Olympic Torchholders. The owners of our hotel in Olympia had a couple of medalists in their family.

Tune in next week for more about the ancient Olympics!

Ancient Olympic Fun Fact 16

2012 is significant in that it is a presidential election year, a leap year, and a summer Olympic year! The modern Olympics, of course, were inspired by the ancient Greek Olympics, a subject I’ve been researching for my work in progress. So in these months leading up to the 2012 London Games, I’ll be posting weekly tidbits about the original athletic festival that started it all.

Here’s this week’s fun fact:

Wars went on hiatus during the Olympic Games.

Just as the modern Olympics strive to inspire international peace, the purpose of the ancient Games was to promote harmony among the Greek states. Probably the most tangible aspect of this was the Olympic Truce. Specifically, the Truce forbade participating states from taking up arms, pursuing legal disputes, and carrying out death penalties. With military conflict at a standstill, spectators could travel to Olympia in relative safety. The original duration of the Truce was one month but eventually extended to three months as the Games attracted visitors from further off.

By the way, violating the Truce resulted in heavy fines, and the Elean organizers were no respecter of persons when it came to fining. King Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, got fined because his soldiers robbed an Athenian traveler en route to the Games (he also had to compensate the victim for his financial loss). On another occasion, Sparta got fined for waging war at the time of the Truce. The Spartans refused pay, claiming the fighting took place before the Truce. Elis and Sparta hit an impasse, and the Spartans got barred from Olympia for the next two decades.

As to how the Spartans returned to the Games, that’s an interesting story, one my work in progress uses for its opening scene.

Tune in next week for more about the ancient Olympics!

Ancient Olympic Fun Fact 15

2012 is significant in that it is a presidential election year, a leap year, and a summer Olympic year! The modern Olympics, of course, were inspired by the ancient Greek Olympics, a subject I’ve been researching for my work in progress. So in these months leading up to the 2012 London Games, I’ll be posting weekly tidbits about the original athletic festival that started it all.

Here’s this week’s fun fact:

A month of compulsory training took place the month before the Games.

Just as modern athletes undergo a qualifying process to enter the Olympics, the ancient Games had their own sort of preliminaries. This took place in Elis, the city-state that organized the Games (Olympia lay in Elean territory). Having the athletes gather in advance allowed officials time to weed out weak candidates and verify eligibility. In addition, there was a psychological aspect to bringing in the athletes early.

The Olympic Judges supervised the training, and they used to opportunity to reinforce their absolute control over the Games. Sessions were grueling, and athletes had to obey the Judges’ every word and eat only what they provided. And although trainers and relatives might accompany competitors to Elis, they could in no way interfere with the proceedings.

A consequence of this month-long boot camp was that it limited the pool of individuals who could enter. For most citizens, taking an entire month off wasn’t affordable (and by the way, that didn’t include travel time or the actual Olympic festival itself). So unless you were a person of means or had sponsors, clearing this first hurdle to the Games was difficult.

Tune in next week for more about the ancient Olympics!