The country where the Olympic Games originated. Olympic Games

When and where did the Olympic Games appear? And who is the founder of the Olympic Games, you will learn from this article.

Brief history of the Olympic Games

The Olympic Games originated in Ancient Greece, because the inherent athleticism of the Greeks became the reason for the emergence of sports games. The founder of the Olympic Games is King Oenomaus, who organized sports games for those who wanted to marry his daughter Hippodamia. According to legend, he was predicted that the cause of death would be his son-in-law. Therefore, young people who won certain competitions died. Only the cunning Pelops overtook Oenomaus in chariots. So much so that the king broke his neck and died. The prediction came true, and Pelops, having become king, established the organization of the Olympic Games in Olympia every 4 years.

At Olympia, the site of the first Olympic Games, it is believed that the first competition took place in 776 BC. The name of the one who was the first winner of the games in Ancient Greece – Koreb from Elis, who won the race.

Olympic Games in ancient Greece sports

For the first 13 games, the only sport in which the participants competed was running. Afterwards there was the pentathlon. It included running, javelin throwing, long jump, discus throwing, and wrestling. A little later they added a chariot race and a fist fight.

The modern program of the Olympic Games includes 7 winter and 28 summer sports, that is, 15 and 41 disciplines, respectively. It all depends on the season.

Once the Romans annexed Greece to Rome, the number of nationalities that could take part in the games increased. Gladiator fights were added to the competition program. But in 394 AD, Emperor Theodosius I, a fan of Christianity, canceled the Olympic Games, considering them entertainment for pagans.

The Olympic Games have sunk into oblivion for 15 centuries. The first to take a step towards reviving forgotten competitions was the Benedictine monk Bernard de Montfaucon. He was interested in the history and culture of Ancient Greece and insisted that excavations should be carried out in the place where the famous Olympia had once been.

In 1766, Richard Chandler found the ruins of unknown ancient structures near Mount Kronos. It was part of the temple wall. In 1824, Lord Stanhof, an archaeologist, began excavations on the banks of the Alpheus. In 1828, the baton of excavations at Olympia was picked up by the French, and in 1875 by the Germans.

Pierre de Coubertin, a French statesman, insisted that the Olympic Games must be resumed. And in 1896, the first revived Olympic Games were held in Athens, which are still popular today.

We hope that from this article you learned where and when the Olympic Games originated.

In Hellas (Ancient Greece) they were one of the most revered holidays, and later not only of Hellas, but of the entire ancient world. Well, today you can hardly meet a person who has not heard at least something about these games. In this article we will look at the history of the Olympic Games briefly but to the point. According to Greek mythology, the founder of the game was the equally famous hero Hercules. The first reliable sources about the games include records of the names of the winners of the games that took place in 776 BC. The games were held in the Altis district, which was sacred to the ancient Greeks, also called Olympia. The games were held every four years, and they lasted five days. According to tradition, they began with a pompous procession, as well as a sacrifice for the god Zeus. And finally, on a measured field (“stadium” in Greek), which could accommodate 40,000 spectators, sports competitions began.

The competition program included: fist fights, running, running with weapons, javelin throwing, discus throwing and competitions in chariots drawn by four horses. Later, from the 4th century BC, not only athletes, but also speakers, historians, poets, musicians, playwrights and actors began to participate in the games. Not everyone could attend the games, much less participate in them. Slaves, women, and persons on trial for certain crimes could not take part in the games, even as spectators. Once it turned out that the famous fist fighter was trained by his mother, wearing men's clothing, and since then athletes and coaches were required to appear completely naked at competitions.

Those who won the Olympic Games received great respect and honor. Monuments were erected to the winners, poets composed laudatory odes in their honor, they were pompously greeted in their homeland and awarded with wreaths made from olive branches. But the privileges did not end there; they were provided with food for life at state expense, exempted from taxes and given large financial sums. During the games, any hostilities between the warring Greek powers ceased. These were considered a real holiday of peace and served to strengthen cultural ties among the Greek states.

The Olympic Games continued until 394 AD, and were banned as a pagan holiday by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, at the insistence of the Christian clergy.

However, in 1894, the rebirth of the Olympic Games took place, it was then that the International Sports Congress took place in Paris. 34 countries were represented at the congress (including Russia). At the congress it was decided to resume the Olympic Games. As a result, the new Olympic Games opened in Athens on April 5, 1896, which have since been held every 4 years. However, due to wars, some of them did not take place: in 1916, 1940, 1944.

The modern Olympic Games are the largest complex event these days. There is no permanent program of games, as it changes regularly. As a rule, the program contains more than 20 summer sports. For example, the program of the XVI Games for men included: gymnastics, athletics, freestyle and classic wrestling, diving, weightlifting, swimming, boxing, rowing, modern pentathlon, kayaking and canoeing, skeet and bullet shooting, equestrian sports, water polo, cycling, fencing, sailing, basketball, football, grass hockey. And the women competed in fencing, kayaking, swimming, diving, gymnastics, and athletics.

This is the history of the Olympic Games briefly outlined in this article. It should also be noted that in these games there is no official team championship, but only competitions. The winner in any sport becomes the owner of a gold medal, the one who takes second place receives a silver medal, and for third place a bronze medal is given.

The Olympic Games were first held in Ancient Greece around 776 BC. They got their name from the ancient Greek city of Olympia, where they were held once every 4 years.

The Olympic Games were competitions in sports such as chariot riding, pentathlon, and martial arts. The Olympic Games were also of a religious nature, as they were dedicated to the supreme ancient Greek god Zeus, who enjoyed special respect among the Greeks, being the god of thunder and lightning.

History of the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece

During the Olympic Games, the Greeks declared a temporary truce with the countries with which they were involved in military conflicts. Each Olympic Games was a real holiday for the Greek people. The Olympics were a kind of ideological reflection of the cult of the body and perfection of the spirit, which was actively promoted in Ancient Greece.

Honors were given to the hero of the Olympics. There was a rather interesting tradition: the winner of the Olympics solemnly entered the city in a chariot, but not through the main gate, but through an opening in the wall, which was immediately closed after that, so as not to let the victorious spirit of the Olympics out of the city. The winner was dressed in a red cloak, and on his head was a wreath of laurel leaves, which was a symbol of victory.

The center of the Olympic competition was the holy circle of Zeus, which was a grove along the Alpheus River. The Olympic Games were hosted by the Greeks more than three hundred times. According to Greek mythology, the stadium at Olympia, where the Olympic Games were held, was built by Hercules in honor of the victory of Zeus over his father Kronos.

Olympic flame

An indispensable attribute of the Olympic Games was the Olympic flame. In Ancient Greece, there was a cult of Prometheus, who stole the sacred fire from Olympus and gave it to people, for which he paid with years of incredible suffering. In honor of Prometheus, the ancient Greeks lit the Olympic flame. Also, to honor Prometheus, running competitions were held, where each runner held a lit torch with fire in his hands. The winner of such a competition was awarded the honor of lighting a fire for sacrifice to Zeus, which was then considered a very important mission.

The Olympic Games in ancient Greece were watched not only by its inhabitants. During the games, a huge number of representatives from other countries came to Olympia. Impressed by the Olympic Games, many of them tried to organize similar competitions in their country, but, alas, they could not achieve the scale of Olympia anywhere.

The Olympic Games ended with the arrival of Christianity in Greece. Such events were considered nothing more than paganism. But, despite the fact that the Olympic Games were stopped at one time, this wonderful event did not sink into oblivion.

Revival of the Olympic Games

Since 1896, after a long break, the Olympic Games were held in Athens. The range of sports has expanded significantly. Since 1896, the Olympic Games have been held once every four years. During the First and Second World Wars, for obvious reasons, the games were not held.

The Olympic Games have become not only a kind of tribute to traditions, they still represent a bright, exciting spectacle that attracts the attention of the world community. Cities are fighting for the honor of hosting the Olympic Games for decades to come, and for the athletes who participate in them, this is not only worldwide fame, but also a well-deserved reward for years of work in sports.

The Olympic Games are the largest sporting event loved by many. Millions of people watch them on TV, thousands come to the cities where the competition is held to see the strongest, most dexterous and fastest athletes with their own eyes. Every professional athlete dreams of not only winning, but at least getting into the Olympic arena. However, not many people know how they were created games, when they first took place and what the original concept of this competition was.

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Legends about the origin

Many legends and myths have come down to us about the origin of these competitions, which have different plots and histories. However, one thing is certain: their homeland is Ancient Greece.

How the first competitions were held

The beginning of the first of them dates back to 776 BC. This date is very ancient, and it might not have survived to this day if not for the tradition of the Greeks: they engraved the names of the winners of the competition on columns specially erected for this. Thanks to these buildings we know not only the time when the games began, but also the name of the first winner. This man's name was Korab, and he was a resident of Ellida. It is interesting that the concept of the first thirteen games was very different from the subsequent ones, because initially there was only one competition - running a distance of one hundred and ninety-two meters.

At first, only the indigenous residents of the city of Pisa and Elis had the right to take part. However, the popularity of the competition soon grew so much that other large policies began to contribute to their development.

There were laws according to which not every person could take part in the Olympic Games. Women did not have this right, slaves and foreign inhabitants called barbarians. And anyone who wanted to become a full participant had to submit an application to the meeting of judges a whole year before the start of the competition. Moreover, before the actual start of the competition, potential participants were required to provide proof that since registration they had worked hard on their physical fitness, performing various types of exercises, training in long-distance running and maintaining athletic shape.

Ancient games concept

Starting from the fourteenth, various sports began to be actively introduced into the games program.

The winners of the Olympics got literally everything they wanted. Their names were immortalized in history for centuries, and during their lifetime they were honored as demigods until old age. Moreover, after his death, each Olympiad participant was ranked among the minor gods.

For a long time, these competitions, without which it was previously impossible to imagine life, were forgotten. The thing is that after Emperor Theodosius came to power and the strengthening of the Christian faith, games began to be considered one of the manifestations of paganism, for which they were abolished in three hundred and ninety-four BC.

Renaissance

Fortunately, the games have not sunk into oblivion. We owe their revival to the famous writer and public figure, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the creator of the modern concept of the Olympic Games. It happened in 1894, when, on the initiative of Coubertin, an international athletic congress was convened. During it, a decision was made to revive the games according to the standard of antiquity, as well as to establish the work of the IOC, that is, the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC began its existence on June 23 of the same year, and Demetrius Vikelas was appointed its first head, and Pierre Coubertin, already familiar to us, was its secretary. At the same time, Congress developed the rules and regulations under which the games would exist.

The first modern Olympic Games

It is not surprising that Athens was chosen to host the first modern games, since Greece is the origin of these competitions. It's interesting to note that Greece is a country, in which they were carried out in three centuries.

The first major competitions of modern times were opened on April 6, 1896. More than three hundred athletes took part in them, and the number of sets of awards exceeded four dozen. At the first games competitions were held in the following sports disciplines:

The games ended by the fifteenth of April. The awards were distributed as follows:

• The overall winner, collecting the largest number of medals, namely forty-six, of which ten were gold, was Greece.
• The USA took second place with a decent margin from the winner, collecting twenty awards.
• Germany collected thirteen medals and finished in third place.
• But Bulgaria, Chile and Sweden left the competition with nothing.

The success of the competition was so enormous that the rulers of Athens immediately offered to hold the games on their territory. However, according to the rules established by the IOC, the venue must change every four years.

Unexpectedly, the next two terms were quite difficult for the Olympics, because the venues where they were held hosted world exhibitions, which made it difficult to receive guests. Due to the combination of these events, the organizers were afraid that the popularity of the games would quickly decline, however, everything was quite the opposite. People fell in love with such large competitions, and then, on the initiative of the same Coubertin, traditions began to form, their flag and emblem were created.

Traditions of the Games and their symbols

The most famous symbol looks like five rings of the same size and intertwined with each other. They come in the following sequence: blue, yellow, black, green and red. Such a simple emblem carries a deep meaning, showing the union of five continents and the meeting of people from all over the world. It is interesting that each Olympic committee has developed its own emblem, however, the five rings are certainly its main part.

The games flag appeared in 1894 and was approved by the IOC. The white flag features the five traditional rings. And the motto of the competition is: faster, higher, stronger.

Another symbol of the Olympics is fire. The lighting of the Olympic flame has become a traditional ritual before the start of any games. It is lit in the city where the competition is held and remains there until it ends. This was done back in ancient times, however, the custom did not return to us immediately, but only in 1928.

An integral part of the symbolism of these large-scale competitions is the Olympic mascot. Each country has its own. The issue of the appearance of mascots arose at the next IOC meeting in 1972. By committee decision it could be any person, animal or any mythical creature that would not only fully reflect the identity of the country, but also speak about modern Olympic values.

The emergence of winter games

In 1924, it was decided to establish winter competitions. Initially, they were held in the same year as the summer ones, however, later it was decided to move them two years relative to the summer ones. France became the host of the first Winter Games. Surprisingly, only half as many spectators were interested in them as expected, and not all tickets were sold out. Despite previous failures, the Winter Olympics became more and more popular with the fans, and they soon gained the same popularity as the summer ones.

Interesting facts from history

One of the most striking and massive events on the planet are the Olympic Games. Any athlete who manages to take the podium at the Olympic competitions receives the status of an Olympic champion for life and his achievements remain in the world history of sports for centuries. Where and how did the Olympic Games originate and what is their history? Let's try to take a brief excursion into the history of the origin and holding of the Olympic Games.

Story

The Olympic Games originated in Ancient Greece, where they were not only a sports, but also a religious festival. Information about the holding of the very first games and their origin has not been preserved, but there are several legends that describe this event. The first documented date for the celebration of the Olympic Games is 776 BC. e. Despite the fact that the games were held before, it is generally accepted that they were established by Hercules. In 394 AD, with the advent of Christianity as the official religion, the Olympic Games were banned by Emperor Theodosius I, as they began to be viewed as a kind of pagan phenomenon. And yet, despite the ban on games, they have not disappeared completely. In Europe, competitions were held locally that were somewhat reminiscent of the Olympic Games. After some time, the games were resumed thanks to Panagiotis Soutsos, who proposed this idea, and thanks to public figure Evangelis Zappas, who brought it to life.

The first modern Olympic Games took place in 1896 in the country where they originated - Greece, Athens. To organize the Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was created, whose first president was Demetrius Vikelas. Despite the fact that only 241 athletes from 14 countries took part in the first Games of our time, they were a huge success, becoming a significant sporting event in Greece. Initially, it was intended that the Games would always be held in their homeland, but the Olympic Committee introduced a decision that the location would change every 4 years.

The II Olympic Games of 1900, held in France, in Paris, and the III Olympic Games of 1904, held in the USA, in St. Louis (Missouri), were less successful, as a result of which the Olympic movement as a whole experienced its first crisis after a significant success. Since the Games were combined with World Exhibitions, they did not generate much interest among spectators, and sports competitions lasted for months.

In 1906, the so-called “intermediate” Olympic Games were held again in Athens (Greece). At first, the IOC supported the holding of these Games, but now they are not recognized as Olympic Games. There is an opinion among some sports historians that the 1906 Games were a kind of salvation of the Olympic idea, which did not allow the Games to lose their meaning and become “unnecessary.”

All rules, principles and regulations are determined by the Charter of the Olympic Games, approved in Paris in 1894 by the International Sports Congress. The Olympiads have been counted since the first Games (I Olympiad - 1896-99). Even if the games are not held, the Olympics receives its own serial number, for example the VI Games in 1916-19, the XII Games in 1940-43 and the XIII in 1944-47. The Olympic Games are symbolized by five rings of different colors fastened together (Olympic rings), denoting the unification of the five parts of the world - the top row: blue - Europe, black - Africa, red - America, and the bottom row: yellow - Asia, green - Australia. The selection of venues for the Olympics is carried out by the IOC. All organizational issues related to the Games are decided not by the selected country, but by the city. The duration of the Games is approximately 16-18 days.

The Olympic Games, like any strictly organized event, have their own specific traditions and rituals

Here are some of them:

Before the opening and closing of the games, theatrical performances are held that present to the audience the appearance and culture of the country and city in which they are held;

The ceremonial passage through the central stadium of athletes and members of delegations. Athletes from each country march in separate groups in alphabetical order by country name in the language of the country in which the Games are being held or in the official language of the IOC (English or French). Each group is preceded by a representative of the host country, who carries a sign with the name of the corresponding country. He is followed by a standard bearer carrying the flag of his country. This highly honorable mission is usually granted to the most respected and titled athletes;

Without fail, the President of the International Olympic Committee makes welcoming speeches. Also, the speech is made by the head of state in which the Games are being held;

The flag of Greece is raised as the country in which the Olympic Games originated. Her national anthem is played;

The flag of the country in which the Games are being held is raised and its national anthem is also performed; - one of the outstanding athletes of the host country of the Games takes an oath on behalf of all participants about fair fight and competitions that will comply with all the principles and rules of the sport;

The opening ceremony ends with the lighting and relay of the Olympic torch. The initial part of the relay passes through the cities of Greece, the final part - through the cities of the country in which the games are being held. The torch with fire is delivered to the city that organizes the Games on the opening day. The fire burns until the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games;

The closing ceremony is also accompanied by theatrical performances, a speech by the IOC President, the passage of participants, etc. The IOC President announces the closing of the Olympics, followed by the playing of the national anthem, the Olympic anthem, and the lowering of the flags. At the end of the ceremony the Olympic flame goes out.

Each country taking part in the Olympic Games develops its own official emblem and mascot of the Games, which become part of the souvenirs.

The following sports are included in the Olympic Games program:

A: Crossbow sport

B: Badminton, Basketball, Running, Skating, Bobsleigh, Biathlon, Billiards, Boxing, Freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling

IN: Cycling, Water polo, Volleyball

G: Handball, Sports gymnastics, Rhythmic gymnastics, Alpine skiing, Rowing, Kayaking and canoeing

D: Judo

TO: Curling, Equestrianism

L: Athletics ,Ski race , skiing

N: Table tennis

P: Sailing,Swimming, Diving , ,Ski jumping

WITH: Luge,