Ancient Olympic Fun Fact 31

Hope all of you have been having fun with the London 2012 Games so far. I am! Though I personally thought Beijing’s opening ceremony was a slightly better show than London’s, I was very impressed by the creativity that went into London’s flame “cauldron.” (I was wondering during the entrance of the athletes what the point of those metal pieces were). I was  also delighted by Rowan Atkinson’s Chariots of Fire bit. I used to watch Atkinson’s Black Adder series (yes, as a teen, I was into historical comedies), so seeing him as part of London’s opening ceremony was an unexpected treat.

Anyway, this will be my final Olympic fun fact as the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators have their LA conference this weekend, and I’ll likely be too scattered to do a post next week. I will try to do a conference write-up though. So here’s our final factoid:

Spartans did not participate in boxing or pankration.

Both these events ended when a competitor got knocked out or admitted defeat, and to lose in either manner would’ve been dishonorable to a Spartan.

The ironic thing is that the Spartans probably invented boxing to toughen their faces. (!!!)

Enjoy the rest of the Games!

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!