08.22.08
The Olympics - A force for unity
Before the Olympics games come to an end I thought I’d publish this article that I wrote for a local newsletter.
On a hot summer’s day 2,784 years ago, a Greek by the name of Koroibos crossed the finishing line to become the first ever Olympic winner. He was competing in a foot race called the stade that was run over a distance of 192.25 metres.
The year was 776 BC and the occasion was the first official Olympic Games, which were held in the town of Olympia in western Greece.
Like today, the games were held every four years and for nearly fifty years the stade race was the only event. Over time other events were added.
The Pankration was a combination of boxing and wrestling with very few rules. This was a dangerous sport and sometimes resulted in serious injury or even death. Gouging and biting were forbidden but choking, finger breaking and blows to the genitals were allowed.
The Hoplite race (a Hoplite was a Greek soldier of the time) involved competing under a hot Greek sun with a complete suit of bronze armour that could weigh up to 60 pounds.
A more familiar event to modern times, the Pentathlon, consisted of the long jump, discus, javelin, running and wrestling. Later, chariot racing was introduced. An interesting point about this particular event was that it was the owners and not the charioteers who were recognised as the victors.
The ancient Greeks, in common with the organisers of the modern games, had to deal with the twin threats of cheating and violence in order to protect the status of the games. Strict laws were enforced for cheating. For instance, an athlete making a false start could be punished by whipping. Transgressors could also be banned and face heavy fines.
These fines were used to erect bronze statues of Zeus (the patron god of the games) at the entrance of the stadium as a warning to other athletes. The name of the cheat was inscribed on the base of the statue thus bringing permanent shame, not just to the athlete, but also to his family and city.
Ancient Greece was not a single united state. It consisted of a series of independent city-states that shared a common heritage in literature, language and religion. But despite this common heritage the cities were constantly at war with each other. It was the Olympic Games that provided a focus of unity for all ancient Greeks.
For this reason war was banned for the duration of the games. This ban was known as the Sacred Truce and was enforced for a three-month period. It allowed athletes, officials and spectators to travel, participate in and return from the Games in safety.
The Olympic Games continued on into Roman times. In 67 AD the emperor Nero took part in a chariot race held in his honour and although he fell from his chariot and did not finish the race he was still declared the winner.
He also introduced a musical contest to the event and while he was performing no one was allowed to leave the auditorium. The Roman biographer, Suetonius, tells us that women gave birth during the performance and men pretended to be dead so that they could be carried out.
The last recorded Olympic victor of the ancient games was Varazdates the Armenian, who in 385 AD, was victorious in the boxing event. Nine years later, after more than a thousand years of unbroken competition, the Christian emperor Theodosius the Great abolished the Games because of their pagan associations.
Over 1,500 years were to pass before athletes would again participate in Olympic competition with each other in pursuit of personal and national glory. Apart from some half-hearted efforts in the 19th century to revive the games, it was not until late in that century, in 1896, that the first International Olympic Games of the modern era took place, fittingly enough, in Athens.
The word ‘Athletics’ is derived from the Greek verb “to struggle or suffer for a prize” Apart from the struggle for personal excellence the ancient Greeks saw the Olympic Games as a strong force for unity. They obviously recognised that unity of purpose was critical if their civilisation was to survive and prosper.
Against a background of widespread global conflict the significance of the Games as a catalyst for global unity in the 21st century is of no less importance. It is certainly a prize that is worth the struggle.