History Paper

Submitted By Bmgatton69
Words: 783
Pages: 4

Day 1 of the Ancient Olympics

In the morning, athletic competitors and their trainers went to the vouleutirion, or council building in Olympia. Ten Hellanodikai (Olympic Judges) and organizers with the olympic Oath.
Next the competitors would proceed to the Altis a sacred olive-grove and go to one of the many alters. The men would make offerings to a god Zeus, Hermes, Apollo, or Hercules. They would pray for victory.
Then only competitions on the first day were running, wrestling and boxing for boys.
The afternoon was free for contestnts to explore Olympia Especially exciting was the Temple of Zeus with the famous statue of Zeus, considered of the seven wonders of the Ancient World.

Day 2 of the Ancient Olympics

Day two began with a procession of horses, riders and chariots into the hippodrome, or horse racing arena. This day was the day of chariot and horse rases. The chariot races were one of the most exciting and dangerous events of the games. There were both four-horse chariot and two-horse chariot races with distances ranging from 2,5 miles up to 8 miles. Horse races were just after the chariot rases and were often much shorter in length.
In the afternoon the competitions moved to the stadium for the pentathlon, which incluted five events: running wrestling, long jump, discus and javelin. The first athlete to win tree events was crowned the victor.
At the end of the day crowns gathered at the shrine of the hero Pelops, winner of the first chariot race. Funeral ceremonies were reenacted around the Altis and specially written hymns were sung in honor of victors. The day ended with feasts and celebrations.

Day 3 of the Ancient Olympics

The most important religious event of the whole Olympic festival started on the day tree of the Games -and was the sacrifice to Zeus. All gathered at the entrance to the Altis. Ambassadors from the Greek states brought symbols of their cities to be shared at this celebrations. The Hellanodikai arrived and the procession began around the Altis passing the Temple of Hera, the tomb the hero Pelops, the Temple of Rhea (mother of Zeus) and the treasure houses of Greek states around the Mediterranean. The procession concluded at the Temple of Zeus, where priests made animal sacrifices.
In the afternoon runners ran a long race called the dolichos, whitch ranged in lenght from 2,25 miles to 2,75 miles. Next came the sprints or stades which were arount 630 feet in distance. The sprints finished at the western end of the stadium, were competitors would be facing the Altis.
In the evening, a great public banqued was held where athletes brought their families and other guests. They feasted on meat and enjoyed the lavish foods the Greek city representatives had brought.

Day 4 of the Ancient Olympics

The fourth day of competition was mainly for contact sports. The first sport of the day was whrestling. The were no rounds and whrestlers employed a variety of holds, lifts and other