ancient olympics
...aces were competed. There were both 2-horse and 4-horse chariot races, with separate races for chariots drawn by foals. There was also a race between carts drawn by a team of 2 mules. Most of the races were competed on tracks. The course was 12 laps around the stadium track (9 miles). The half course consisted of 6 laps around the track (4.5 miles), and there were separate races for full grown horses and foals. In most of the races jockeys rode without stirrups. Like I said before, clothes were not a big factor for the Greeks. These chariot races were to help enhance the skills of jockeys in warfare. Another predecessor of modern track and field events is the long jump (Guttman 36). This event differed from the jumping we see today. The jumpers would have a running start and would hold weights in their hands to gain momentum. The use of the weights, which were swung about during the run and jump, caused the jumper to have a much larger distance than the athletes of the modern Olympics (Guttman 37). In fact, the ancient jumping events are highly controversial, because of the ludicrous records found about the distance of the jumps in ancient Greece (Guttman 39). One record states that a contestant jumped 55 feet. The modern record for the running long jump is near 30 feet, and it seems too many experts that it would be quite impossible for anyone to jump 55 feet, even with the help of an impetus (Kindersley 112). Some experts say the Greeks used a system of measurement in which the feet were smaller than the modern foot (Kindersley 112). The runners would jump into broken up earth, no more than a patch of well turned soil. Each athlete who competed would rake his own jumping pit (Guttman 36). The throwing events have deep roots in the Ancient Olympic Games also. The discus throw and the javelin were the most common events at the Ancient Olympics, but later in the history, another event was added which quite similar to the shot put. Although the discus is one of the few events in which the skill is not useable in war, the Greeks must have felt a great fascination for throwing the discus (Poole 85). Both the size and the weight of the Ancient Greek discus varied greatly. Some we have recorded to be nearly 50 pounds and made of stone, whereas the later implements discovered were metal and were of similar weight as modern discus. Discus throwers were depicted throughout Greek art history as magnificent human sculptures (Poole 85). Artists preferred to render discus throwers toward the beginning of the throw, where the weight of the body was centered, as opposed to the end of the throw, where the thrower was terribly unbalanced and aesthetically unpleasing (Poole 86). Techniques that had been used in the discus throw are not unlike the ones used today. The spinning technique, however, was not used in Ancient Greek times because the stadium in which the event took place was only 35 meters wide. The javelin was made of elder wood, much lighter than the dogwood javelin/spear used in the war (Poole 86). A leather thong was attached to the javelin around the middle. This thong helped the thrower by, one, increasing the leverage of the throw causing it to go farther and, two, by adding a spin to the shaft so the javelin would fly straighter and in-bed into the ground on its tip(Poole 86). The Olympics have also changed in the way of what competitors receive when they win. The ancient competitors looked forward to winning a much less valuable prize than today’s competitors. In the Ancient Olympics, the winner was held in high regards. Religious ceremonies often followed the competition. The awards given to athletes were far from expensive, but they were very honorable. The winners received a crown of intertwined olive branches that were placed on their head. They were no ordinary olive branches, though; they were cut from the sacred olive tree (Poole 118). No one knows for sure where the tree was located, but many assume it was located in a coliseum (Poole 120). As time has passed, the awards for the winners have become more honorably and expensive. Now, competitors receive medals. These expensive medals consist of the gold, silver, and bronze. Track and field started at Olympus, centuries ago, and is still a major sport today, despite changes to the program over time. The Ancient Olympics are events that are displayed in The Odyssey and The Iliad. In The Odyssey, many different sports are mentioned, such as, track and field, pentathlon, boxing, wrestling, foot racing, and broad jumping. Athletes came from all over in order to participate in these events. In The Odyssey, Homer stated that the athletes were Tipmast, Tiderance, Sparwood, Hullman, Sternman, Beacher and Pullerman, Runningwake, Bluewater, Shearwater, Boardalee, Seabelt, Seareach, Prince Laodamas, Laodamas’ brothers, and Seareach (Homer, The Odyssey, lines 118-126). Each one of these athletes seemed to excel in different events that took place. For example, Klytoneous won the race around the track, and Sparwood won the discus throw. After each one of the men had competed in their particula...