Updated: 28/04/2020
Tokyo's 2020 Summer Olympics will be postponed for a 1year due to coronavirus, says Dick Pound, a member of the International Olympic Committee, BBC reports.
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| Olympic.org |
The Olympic Games, which originated in ancient Greece as many as 3,000 years ago, were revived in the late 19th century and have become the world’s preeminent sporting competition. From the 8th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D.
The Games were held every four years in Olympia, located in the western Peloponnese peninsula, in honor of the god Zeus. The first modern Olympics took place in 1896 in Athens, and featured 280 participants from 13 nations, competing in 43 events. Since 1994, the Summer and Winter Olympic Games have been held separately and have alternated every two years
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| Ancient Olympic Games 19th-century illustration, "The Olympian Games." The Olympic Games date back to at least the eighth century B.C. Eonimages |
THE OLYMPICS IN ANCIENT GREECE
The first written records of the ancient Olympic Games date to 776 B.C., when a cook named Coroebus won the only event–a 192-meter footrace called the stade (the origin of the modern “stadium”)–to become the first Olympic champion. However, it is generally believed that the Games had been going on for many years by that time.
Legend has it that Heracles (the Roman Hercules), son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene, founded the Games, which by the end of the 6th century B.C had become the most famous of all Greek sporting festivals. The ancient Olympics were held every four years between August 6 and September 19 during a religious festival honoring Zeus. The Games were named for their location at Olympia, a sacred site located near the western coast of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. Their influence was so great that ancient historians began to measure time by the four-year increments in between Olympic Games, which were known as Olympiads.
The first written records of the ancient Olympic Games date to 776 B.C., when a cook named Coroebus won the only event–a 192-meter footrace called the stade (the origin of the modern “stadium”)–to become the first Olympic champion. However, it is generally believed that the Games had been going on for many years by that time.
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| Runners (ca. 500 BC) wikipedia |
Legend has it that Heracles (the Roman Hercules), son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene, founded the Games, which by the end of the 6th century B.C had become the most famous of all Greek sporting festivals. The ancient Olympics were held every four years between August 6 and September 19 during a religious festival honoring Zeus. The Games were named for their location at Olympia, a sacred site located near the western coast of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. Their influence was so great that ancient historians began to measure time by the four-year increments in between Olympic Games, which were known as Olympiads.
Time journalists from the publication conducted a brief survey of some new aspects regarding the beginnings of the Olympic Games. Archaeologists and historians spoke about the surprising events that marked the first editions of the Games, which were held in Greece at Olympia every four years from 776 BC and 393.
DECLINE AND REVIVAL OF THE OLYMPIC TRADITION
After the Roman Empire conquered Greece in the mid-2nd century B.C., the Games continued, but their standards and quality declined. In one notorious example from A.D. 67, the decadent Emperor Nero entered an Olympic chariot race, only to disgrace himself by declaring himself the winner even after he fell off his chariot during the event. In A.D. 393, Emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, called for a ban on all “pagan” festivals, ending the ancient Olympic tradition after nearly 12 centuries.
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| Nero |
It would be another 1,500 years before the Games would rise again, largely thanks to the efforts of Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937) of France. Dedicated to the promotion of physical education, the young baron became inspired by the idea of creating a modern Olympic Games after visiting the ancient Olympic site. In November 1892, at a meeting of the Union des Sports Athlétiques in Paris, Coubertin proposed the idea of reviving the Olympics as an international athletic competition held every four years. Two years later, he got the approval he needed to found the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which would become the governing body of the modern Olympic Games.
DECLINE AND REVIVAL OF THE OLYMPIC TRADITION
After the Roman Empire conquered Greece in the mid-2nd century B.C., the Games continued, but their standards and quality declined. In one notorious example from A.D. 67, the decadent Emperor Nero entered an Olympic chariot race, only to disgrace himself by declaring himself the winner even after he fell off his chariot during the event. In A.D. 393, Emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, called for a ban on all “pagan” festivals, ending the ancient Olympic tradition after nearly 12 centuries.
Olympics in Rio whose opening ceremony took place this night are marked by huge scandal doping meldonium athletes Russians - the Russian delegation at the Olympics is practically decimated - and leakage in terms of infrastructure flawed Brazilian city, all they somewhat overshadowing a sporting event. However, there is a reason for observers to sit still: as long as the stadium enjoys chairs on which to sit viewers and a head of state does not pay athletes can he be declared the winner, the odds edition of the Rio Olympics may not be as dramatic as in the past are great.
THE OLYMPICS THROUGH THE YEARS
The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. In the opening ceremony, King Georgios I and a crowd of 60,000 spectators welcomed 280 participants from 13 nations (all male), who would compete in 43 events, including track and field, gymnastics, swimming, wrestling, cycling, tennis, weightlifting, shooting and fencing.
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| George of Hellenes.jpg - Wikipedia |
All subsequent Olympiads have been numbered even when no Games take place (as in 1916, during World War I, and in 1940 and 1944, during World War II). The official symbol of the modern Games is five interlocking colored rings, representing the continents of North and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. The Olympic flag, featuring this symbol on a white background, flew for the first time at the Antwerp Games in 1920.
The Olympics truly took off as an international sporting event after 1924, when the VIII Games were held in Paris. Some 3,000 athletes (with more than 100 women among them) from 44 nations competed that year, and for the first time the Games featured a closing ceremony. The Winter Olympics debuted that year, including such events as figure skating, ice hockey, bobsledding and the biathlon. Eighty years later, when the 2004 Summer Olympics returned to Athens for the first time in more than a century, nearly 11,000 athletes from a record 201 countries competed. In a gesture that joined both ancient and modern Olympic traditions, the shotput competition that year was held at the site of the classical Games in Olympia.
Why they were organized Olympics?
While fans might be some idolize sports stars of participating in Rio, in the past, the religious play a key role in the conduct of the Games. Competitions were held inside a sanctuary built in honor of Zeus in Olympia, and were considered part of a religious festival held in honor of the supreme god.
The Olympics truly took off as an international sporting event after 1924, when the VIII Games were held in Paris. Some 3,000 athletes (with more than 100 women among them) from 44 nations competed that year, and for the first time the Games featured a closing ceremony. The Winter Olympics debuted that year, including such events as figure skating, ice hockey, bobsledding and the biathlon. Eighty years later, when the 2004 Summer Olympics returned to Athens for the first time in more than a century, nearly 11,000 athletes from a record 201 countries competed. In a gesture that joined both ancient and modern Olympic traditions, the shotput competition that year was held at the site of the classical Games in Olympia.
Why they were organized Olympics?
While fans might be some idolize sports stars of participating in Rio, in the past, the religious play a key role in the conduct of the Games. Competitions were held inside a sanctuary built in honor of Zeus in Olympia, and were considered part of a religious festival held in honor of the supreme god.
"People compete to please a god, a goddess or hero," said David Gilman Romano, a professor specializing in Greek archeology, who teaches at the University of Arizona.
Why it was discontinued in 393 of the Games?
Religious conflict led to the suspension Games in 393, when the Roman Empire took control of the region. Roman Emperor Theodosius considered that these were pagan sporting events.
What were your first sports practiced?
Edition 2016 athletes will compete in 42 different sports, but the Olympic Games in 776 BC began one sport, a race running the length of the stadium. Then there was a running race where two lengths of the stadium. A longer race distance was introduced later. They say javelin and long jump disc were at first accompanied by flute music. Then competitions were organized in the riding, such as racing chariots, and wrestling and boxing competitions. There is a hybrid sport, consisting of wrestling and boxing, which was called Pankration, which was considered a tactical opponent strangulation allowed.
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