The history of the Olympic Games has 1169 years. Naturally, for more than a thousand years of existence, the program of games and the conditions for their conduct have not remained unchanged. But the main traditions for a long time sacredly preserved. One of them is the timing of the games.

The Olympic holiday has always been celebrated every four years, in leap year, in the "sacred" month of hieromenia, which began on the first full moon after the summer solstice, that is, in late June - early July. It was repeated every 1417 days, which made up one Olympiad. According to the Olympics, the ancient Greeks kept their own calendar.

As we see, Olympic Games did not have a fixed exact date. Therefore, every time at the end of the spring of the first Olympic year, special envoys were sent to all Greek states - heralds. They notified the people about the start time of the next Games, invited them to Olympia and proclaimed the traditional call: "Let there be light without murders and crimes, without wars and saber-rattling." And throughout Greece, based on the treaty of the legendary Ifit, a sacred truce was established - ekecheria. For the duration of the ekecheria, which lasted about three months, all wars ceased throughout Greece, and everyone who entered the territory of Elis was not supposed to have weapons. Ekeheria extended to the numerous guests who followed the games from all over Hellas, and to the participants in the competition themselves. The Greeks firmly believed that they were all guests of Zeus and were under his protection.

What was Olympia - the venue for the games? It was a large complex of religious and sports facilities. The heart of Olympia was a sacred grove - Altis. In the southwestern part of Altis stood the majestic temple of Zeus, built by the architect Libon in the 5th century BC. e. -- unique monument antique architecture. On the pediments of the temple, the figure of Apollo was installed and scenes from the 12 labors of Hercules were depicted. Inside the temple, a grandiose statue of Zeus sitting on the throne was installed - the creation of the brilliant sculptor Phidias, which went down in history as one of the wonders of the world. The height of the statue reached almost 13 meters. The throne was carved from cedar wood and decorated with carvings and precious stones. The face and hands of Zeus were made of ivory, hair - of pure gold. The wreath on his head was also gold. On right hand Zeus was the winged goddess of Victory Nike, in her left hand was a scepter crowned with an eagle. The sculpture towered in front of a marble basin filled with olive oil. This gave the statue a unique brilliance and grandeur. Levek P.A. Hellenistic world - M.: Nauka, 1989, p. 63.

To the north of the temple of Zeus was a hill surrounded by a fence - Pelopion - the sanctuary of Pelops. And behind the temple grew a sacred olive tree, planted, according to legend, by Hercules himself. On Altis Square there was another temple, smaller and more modest in appearance, built in honor of Zeus's wife Hera. There was a disk with the text of the agreement on ekecherii. At the end of Altis, on the terraces of Kronos Hill, there were many treasuries where the jewels brought as a gift to the gods were kept. Throughout Altis Square there were statues of Zeus, other gods and heroes of Greek mythology, as well as sculptures of the winners of the Olympic Games.

At the foot of Kronos Hill there was a stadium connected to Altis by a 32-meter crypt tunnel, through which the competitors and judges went to it. The stadium itself was a compacted and sanded area measuring approximately 214 × 30 m. The starting point for the runners was lined with stone slabs 80 cm wide. The slabs were cut across by two parallel small grooves at a distance of approximately 16 cm from each other, presumably to support the legs runners. At the ends of the stadium, small pillars about a meter high were dug into the ground at a distance of 124-141 cm from each other, apparently dividing the tracks at the start and finish points. There were no tribunes, spectators, and they were recruited up to 50 thousand people, were placed directly on the slopes of Kronos Hill in tents, tents, or even just on the ground. For the judges and the most distinguished guests, there was a special marble platform with chairs.

For equestrian competitions, one of the largest Greek hippodromes was built, the length of the racetrack of which was 1154 m. In the middle of the hippodrome there were stalls for teams, and between them was an altar to Poseidon, the patron saint of horse breeding. The hippodrome had an original starting device in the form of an eagle with outstretched wings and a dolphin. At the moment of launch, the eagle "flyed" up, and the dolphin "dived" down. In the far part of the hippodrome, on the most dangerous section of the chariot turn, another altar was built - to the evil horse demon Taraxippus ("horse horror"), where the charioteers participating in the races brought gifts to appease the demon. According to a manuscript found in Constantinople, the hippodrome adjoined the stadium, and the judges, sitting on a dais, had only to turn their chairs to be on the start line of horse races.

Among the sports facilities of Olympia were also the gymnasium and the palaestra, located along the Kladei. The gymnasium, with an area of ​​200x120 m, was surrounded by a colonnade. Inside, tracks for running, places for throwing, jumping and wrestling were arranged. Shady alleys were laid along, where athletes rested after exercise. The alleys were decorated with marble sculptures of the most famous Olympionists. There was also a building of the palaestra measuring 66.35x66.76 m. The palaestra had rooms for ball games, with bags for training fist fighters, rooms for massage, lubricating the body with oil and sprinkling with sand - this is what the athletes did before the exercises. There were baths and baths where they could take a warm or cool bath. From the south, a hotel for the accommodation of athletes arriving at the Games adjoined the gymnasium and the palestra. There were also other office and utility rooms.

Who were the participants in the Olympic Games? According to the rules established in Olympia, only free-born men of Hellenic origin could participate in the competitions, except for those who had ever been tried or guilty of dishonest acts. At first, only adult athletes participated in the competition, but from the 37th Olympiad (632 BC), this right was granted to young men.

Slaves could not compete. It is known that they were allowed only as riders in equestrian competitions, where the winner was not the rider, but the owner of the horse.

It was forbidden to participate in the holiday and foreigners - barbarians, as the Greeks called them.

The limitation of the participants to only free-born Greeks is explained by the fact that the Olympic Games were, for all their cult origin, a review, a test physical training Greek athlete warriors. Speaking in competitions, they demonstrated to the whole of Greece the power of the armies of their policies, the warriors of which could only be free Greeks. The participants of the Games acted as representatives of the policies, and their victory in the competition was perceived as a triumph of one or another policy. Naturally, neither slaves nor foreigners had anything to do with it.

But not all Greek citizens were given free birth to participate in the Games. A number of requirements for the participants, in fact, made it impossible for working poor Greeks - small landowners, merchants or artisans - to compete. According to the Olympic rules, each athlete who expressed a desire to participate in the festival had to prove that he had been systematically preparing for competitions for at least 10 months before the games. In addition, he was obliged to arrive in Elis a month before the start of the games and, under the guidance of gymnastics teachers - gymnasium arches, continue training. He had to take part in the sacrificial ceremonies, paying at his own expense all these expenses, including the round-trip travel, food, hotel accommodation, etc. Thus, participation in the Olympic competitions was associated with a long break from work and with considerable expenses, that was available only to wealthy citizens. Nevertheless, there are cases when there were poor people among the participants and winners of the Games. Their content was taken over by policies interested in being represented by talented athletes.

The rules of the Olympic Games did not allow women to compete. Moreover, under threat of execution, they were forbidden to attend them even as spectators. Only one - the priestess of the goddess Demeter - was allowed to attend the feast. The perpetrators of the violation were severely punished: they were thrown into the abyss from Mount Tipaion, which rose along the road to the sea. This taboo was a consequence of the patriarchal worship of Zeus, and no one dared to break it. Women could only exhibit teams or horses for equestrian competitions, but they themselves were not present. And yet, in the history of the Games, there is a case when this prohibition was violated. It happened at the Games of the 94th Olympiad in 404 BC. e. Callifateria, or, as many people called her, Ferenika, made her way to the stadium in the clothes of a gymnasium to see the performance of her son Peycedor, a participant in youth fistfighting competitions. When her son won the victory, she, unable to restrain her joy, rushed to congratulate him and was exposed. Severe punishment awaited her, but given that she was the daughter of the famous Olympian Diagoras, whose sons were also Olympic champions, she was spared her life. And so that similar situations would not arise in the future, the gymnasiums were also ordered to be naked at the stadium.

But the ban on women visiting Olympia was only valid for the duration of the games. Here, in Olympia, after their completion, in September, competitions were held for unmarried girls in honor of Zeus's wife Hera - the heroides. According to legend, they were founded by Hippodamia. The girls competed in running for a distance equal to 5/6 of the length of the Olympic stadium. Petrov M.K. ancient culture. - M.: ROSSPEN, 1997, p. 252.

The leadership of the Olympic Games was entrusted to the judges - the Hellanodics. They were chosen by lot a year before the competition from among the most honorable citizens of Elis. For 10 months they underwent special training, carefully studying all the rules related to the Games. The duties of the Hellanodics were very responsible, and the rights were almost unlimited. All other organizers of the Games and their assistants were subordinate to them. Their word was decisive and final. They determined the procedure for organizing the holiday, monitored the preparation of competition sites, the selection of participants, kept a record of those wishing to participate in competitions and checked their right to do so. With the advent of the Games, they watched the course of the competition, the exact observance of the rules, and those guilty of conspiracy, bribery, causing deliberate mutilation were severely punished, imposing a fine or expelling them altogether. By the way, figurines of gods were built with “penalty money”, they were called zanami. Inscriptions were carved on the zan: “Olympic glory is obtained not with money, but with the speed of legs and strength.” The Hellanodiki awarded awards and presented them to the winners. The position of the Hellanodics was honorary, they wore purple clothes and occupied specially designated places in the stadium for them.

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 athleticism inherent in the Greeks became the reason for the emergence of sports games. The founder of the Olympic Games is King Enomai, who organized sports games for those who wanted to take his daughter Hippodamia as a wife. According to legend, he was predicted that his son-in-law would be the cause of death. Therefore, young people who won in 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, becoming king, established every 4 years to organize the Olympic Games in Olympia.

It is believed that in Olympia, the place where the first Olympic Games were held, the first competitions took place in 776 BC. The name of that 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. Then there was the pentathlon. It included running, javelin throwing, long jump, discus throwing, wrestling. A little later, a chariot race and fisticuffs were added.

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

As soon as the Romans annexed Greece to Rome, the number of nationalities that could take part in the games increased. Gladiator fights have been added to the program of competitions. But in 394 AD, Emperor Theodosius I, an admirer of Christianity, canceled the Olympic Games, considering them entertainment for the pagans.

The Olympic Games have sunk into oblivion for as long as 15 centuries. The first who took a step towards the revival of 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 once stood.

In 1766, Richard Chandler found the ruins of unknown structures of antiquity 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 the excavations of Olympia was picked up by the French, and in 1875 by the Germans.

Pierre de Coubertin statesman France insisted that the Olympic Games should be restarted. And in 1896, the first revived Olympic Games were held in Athens, which are still popular today.

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

The Olympic Games were first held in Ancient Greece around 776 BC. They got their name from ancient Greek city Olympia, which was held 1 time in 4 years.

The Olympic Games were a competition 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 was especially respected by the Greeks, being the god of thunder and lightning.

History of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece

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

Honors were given to the hero of the Olympics. There was quite interesting tradition: the winner of the Olympiad solemnly entered the city on a chariot, but not through the main gate, but through an opening in the wall, which was closed immediately after that so as not to let the victorious spirit of the Olympiad out of the city. The winner was dressed in a red cloak, and on his head he had 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 course of the Alpheus River. The Olympic Games were hosted by the Greeks more than three hundred times. According to Greek mythology, the stadium in Olympia, where the Olympic Games were held, was built by Hercules in honor of the victory of Zeus over his father Kronos.

olympic fire

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, in order to honor Prometheus, running competitions were organized, where each runner held a lit torch with fire in his hands. The winner of such a competition was honored to light 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. For the period of the games in Olympia gathered great amount representatives of other states. Impressed by the Olympic Games, many of them tried to organize such competitions in their country, but, alas, they could not reach the scale of Olympia anywhere.

The Olympic Games ended with the advent of Christianity in the lands of Greece. Such events were considered nothing more than paganism. But, despite the fact that the Olympic Games were stopped at one time, this wonderful action 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, to which the attention of the world community is closely riveted. Cities for decades to come are fighting for the honor of hosting the Olympic Games, and for the athlete who participates in them, this is not only world fame, but also a well-deserved reward for years of work in sports.

In Paris, in the Great Hall of the Sorbonne, a commission has gathered to revive the Olympic Games. Her general secretary became Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Then the International Olympic Committee (IOC) took shape, which included the most authoritative and independent citizens of different countries.

The first Olympic Games of modern times were originally planned to be held at the same stadium in Olympia, where the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece were held. However, this required too much restoration work, and the first revived Olympic competitions took place in Athens, the capital of Greece.

On April 6, 1896, at the restored ancient stadium in Athens, the Greek King George declared the first modern Olympic Games open. The opening ceremony was attended by 60 thousand spectators.

The date of the ceremony was not chosen by chance - on this day, Easter Monday coincided in three directions of Christianity at once - in Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. This first opening ceremony of the Games established two Olympic traditions - the opening of the Games by the head of state where the competitions take place, and the singing of the Olympic anthem. However, such indispensable attributes modern Games, as the parade of the participating countries, the ceremony of lighting the Olympic flame and the recitation of the Olympic oath, was not; they were introduced later. There was no Olympic village, the invited athletes provided themselves with housing.

241 athletes from 14 countries took part in the Games of the I Olympiad: Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Hungary (at the time of the Games, Hungary was part of Austria-Hungary, but Hungarian athletes competed separately), Germany, Greece, Denmark, Italy , USA, France, Chile, Switzerland, Sweden.

Russian athletes were quite actively preparing for the Olympics, however, due to lack of funds, the Russian team was not sent to the Games.

As in ancient times, only men took part in the competitions of the first modern Olympiad.

The program of the first Games included nine sports - classical wrestling, cycling, gymnastics, Athletics, swimming, bullet shooting, tennis, weightlifting and fencing. 43 sets of awards were played.

According to ancient tradition, the Games began with athletics competitions.

Athletics competitions became the most massive - 63 athletes from 9 countries took part in 12 events. The largest number species - 9 - won by representatives of the United States.

First Olympic champion was the American athlete James Connolly, who won the triple jump with a score of 13 meters 71 centimeters.

Wrestling competitions were held without uniform approved rules for wrestling, there were also no weight categories. The style in which the athletes competed was close to today's Greco-Roman, but it was allowed to grab an opponent by the legs. Only one set of medals was played among five athletes, and only two of them competed exclusively in wrestling - the rest took part in competitions in other disciplines.

Since there were no artificial pools in Athens, swimming competitions were held in an open bay near the city of Piraeus; the start and finish were marked with ropes attached to the floats. The competition aroused great interest - by the beginning of the first swim, about 40 thousand spectators had gathered on the shore. About 25 swimmers from six countries took part, most naval officers and sailors of the Greek merchant fleet.

The medals were played in four types, all heats were held in "freestyle" - it was allowed to swim in any way, changing it along the distance. At that time, the most popular swimming methods were breaststroke, overarm (an improved way of swimming on the side) and "trend-style". At the insistence of the organizers of the Games, the program also included an applied type of swimming - 100 meters in sailor's clothes. Only Greek sailors participated in it.

In cycling, six sets of medals were played - five on the track and one on the road. Track races were held at the Neo Faliron velodrome specially built for the Games.

Eight sets of awards were played in artistic gymnastics competitions. Competitions were held outdoors, at the Marble Stadium.

In shooting, five sets of awards were played - two in rifle shooting and three in pistol shooting.

Tennis competitions were held on the courts of the Athens Tennis Club. Two tournaments were held - in singles and doubles. At the 1896 Games, there was not yet a requirement that all team members represent one country, and some couples were international.

Weightlifting competitions were held without division into weight categories and included two disciplines: squeezing a ball bar with two hands and lifting a dumbbell with one hand.

In fencing, three sets of awards were played. Fencing became the only sport where professionals were also admitted: separate competitions were held among "maestro" - fencing teachers ("maestro" were also admitted to the 1900 Games, after which this practice ceased).

The culmination of the Olympic Games was the marathon. Unlike all subsequent Olympic competitions in marathon running, the length of the marathon distance at the Games of the I Olympiad was 40 kilometers. classic length marathon distance - 42 kilometers 195 meters. The first with a result of 2 hours 58 minutes 50 seconds finished the Greek postman Spyridon Louis, who after this success became national hero. In addition to the Olympic awards, he received a gold cup, established by the French academician Michel Breal, who insisted on the inclusion of marathon running in the Games program, a barrel of wine, a voucher for free meals throughout the year, free tailoring of dresses and use of hairdresser services throughout life, 10 centners of chocolate, 10 cows and 30 sheep.

The winners were awarded on the closing day of the Games - April 15, 1896. Since the Games of the I Olympiad, a tradition of performance in honor of the winner has been established national anthem and lifting national flag. The winner was crowned with a laurel wreath, he was awarded silver medal, an olive branch cut in the Sacred Grove of Olympia, and a diploma made by a Greek artist. The second place winners received bronze medals.

Third-place finishers were not counted at the time, and only later were included by the International Olympic Committee in the country medal standings, however, not all medalists were accurately identified.

The greatest number of medals was won by the Greek team - 45 (10 gold, 17 silver, 18 bronze). The second was the US team - 20 awards (11 + 7 + 2). The third place was taken by the German team — 13 (6+5+2).

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

Interest in a harmonious developed body was observed in ancient Greece. Physical exercise here were elevated to a cult. With their help, thousands of Greeks improved their body, making it proportional, flexible, fast and strong. As a result, in 776 BC, the first Olympic Games of antiquity took place at the temple of Zeus on Mount Olympia. For more than four hundred years they have been the biggest sporting events of the time. The cult of the body reached its peak in Sparta, after which interest in it began to undeservedly, but steadily fall. And for many centuries, until the end of the nineteenth century, a harmonious, healthy body was relegated to the background.

Olympic Games- the greatest of the Hellenic national festivals. They took place in Olympia and, according to ancient legend, originated in the time of Kronos, in honor of the Idean Hercules. According to this legend, Rhea gave the newborn Zeus to the Idean Dactyls (Kuretes). Hercules, the eldest of the brothers, defeated everyone in the run and was awarded a wild olive wreath for his victory. At the same time, Hercules established competitions, which were to take place after 5 years, according to the number of idea brothers who arrived in Olympia. There were also other legends about the origin of the national holiday, which dated it to one or another mythical era. First historical fact associated with the Olympic Games is their renewal by the king of Elis Ifit and the legislator of Sparta, Lycurgus, whose names were inscribed on a disk stored in Gereon (in Olympia). Since that time (according to some data, the year of the resumption of the games is 884, according to others - 828), the interval between two consecutive celebrations of the games was four years or an Olympiad; but, as a chronological era, 776 BC was accepted in the history of Greece. Resuming the Olympic Games, Ifit established a sacred truce for the duration of their celebration, which was announced by special heralds, first in Elis, and then in the rest of Greece. At this time, it was impossible to wage war not only in Elis, but also in other parts of Hellas. Using the same motive of the holiness of the place, the Eleans achieved agreement among the Peloponnesian regions to consider Elis a country against which it was impossible to open hostilities. Subsequently, however, the Eleans themselves more than once attacked the neighboring regions.

Only pure-blooded Hellenes who had not undergone atymia could participate in the festive competitions; barbarians could only be spectators. An exception was made in favor of the Romans, who, as masters of the land, could change religious customs at will. Women, except for the priestess of Demeter, freedmen and slaves were not allowed to compete even as spectators under pain of death. The number of spectators and performers was very large; very many used this time to make trade and other transactions, and poets and artists - to acquaint the public with their works. From different states of Greece, special deputies were sent to the holidays, who competed with each other in the abundance of offerings, to maintain the honor of their city. The holiday took place on the first full moon after the summer solstice, that is, it fell on the Attic month of Hecatombeon, and lasted five days, of which one part was devoted to competitions, and the other to religious rites, with sacrifices, processions and public feasts in honor of the winners. Competitions consisted of 24 departments; adults took part in 18, boys took part in 6; never all departments were executed at once.

The program of the ancient games included: running at various distances, running for endurance and fully armed warrior, Greco-Roman wrestling and pankration (wrestling without rules), fisticuffs, chariot races and pentathlon (pentathlon, which included running, long jump, javelin and discus throwing, wrestling), horse racing, in which the rider had to jump to the ground and run after a horse, a contest between heralds and trumpeters. IN fight only the finalists participated - the two best athletes according to the results of the previous four disciplines. There were rules, of course, but they were very liberal. Only men and only Greeks were allowed to participate in the Olympic Games. But not only amateur athletes, as is commonly believed. Until 472, all competitions took place on one day, and later they were distributed over all days of the holiday. The judges who watched the course of the competitions and awarded awards to the winners were appointed by lot from among the Eleans and were in charge of organizing the entire holiday. The Hellanodics, the judges, were at first 2, then 9, still later 10; from the 103rd Olympiad (368 BC), there were 13 of them, according to the number of Eleatic phyla, in the 104th Olympiad their number was reduced to 8, and finally from the 108th Olympiad they were considered 10 people. They wore purple clothes and had special seats on the stage. Before speaking to the crowd, all who wished to take part in the competition had to prove to the Hellanodics that the 10 months preceding the competition were devoted by them preliminary preparation. And take an oath in front of the statue of Zeus. Fathers, brothers and gymnastic teachers who wished to compete also had to swear that they would not be guilty of any crime. For 30 days, all those wishing to compete had to first show their skills in front of the Hellanodics in the Olympic Gymnasium. The order of the competition was announced to the public by means of a white sign. Before the competition, all those who wished to participate in it took out a lot to determine the order in which they would go to the fight, after which the herald announced publicly the name and country of the contestant. In those distant times, at the Olympics, only the winner in certain types competitions - Olympionik. A wreath of wild olive served as a reward for victory; the winner was placed on a bronze tripod and palm branches were given to him. The winner, in addition to honor for himself personally, also glorified his state, which provided him with various benefits and privileges for this; since 540, the Eleians allowed him to put a statue in Altis. Upon his return home, he was given a triumph, composed in honor of his song and awarded different ways; in Athens, the Olympic winner had the right to live on public account.

The Olympics exalted man, for the Olympics reflected a worldview, the cornerstone of which was the cult of the perfection of the spirit and body, the idealization of harmoniously developed person- thinker and athlete. Olympionics - the winner of the games - were paid honors by their compatriots, which were awarded to the gods, monuments were created in their honor during their lifetime, laudatory odes were composed, feasts were arranged. The Olympic hero rode into hometown on a chariot, dressed in purple, crowned with a wreath, he entered not through an ordinary gate, but through a hole in the wall, which was sealed up on the same day so that the Olympic victory would enter the city and never leave it.

One of the poetic myths of ancient Greece tells how the Olympic Stadium came into existence. Approximately in the 17th century. BC e. Heracles of Crete and his four brothers landed on the Peloponnesian peninsula. There, at the hill with the tomb of the titan Kronos, according to legend, defeated in the fight by the son of Zeus, Hercules, in honor of the victory of his father over his grandfather, organized a competition with his brothers on the run. To do this, on the site at the foot of the hill, he measured the distance of 11 stages, which corresponded to 600 of his feet. an impromptu running track 192 m 27 cm long and served as the basis for the future Olympic Stadium. For three centuries, it was in this primitive arena that the games, later called the Olympic Games, were far from regularly held.

Gradually, the Olympics won the recognition of all the states located on the Peloponnesian Peninsula, and by 776 BC. e. acquired a general character. It was from this date that the tradition began to perpetuate the names of the winners.

On the eve of the grand opening of the Games, an ancient tent city was spread out near the stadium on the banks of the Alfei River. In addition to many sports fans, merchants of various goods and owners of entertainment establishments rushed here. So even in ancient times, the care of preparing for the games involved the most diverse social strata of the Greek population in organizational matters. The Greek festival dedicated to the glorification of physical strength and the unity of a nation that worships the deified beauty of man. The Olympic Games, as their popularity grew, influenced the center of Olympia - Altis. For more than 11 centuries, pan-Greek games have been held in Olympia. Similar games were held in other centers of the country, but none of them could be compared with the Olympic ones.

The Games were also attended by statesmen, writers, poets, historians, philosophers. For example, famous commander and the statesman Alcibiades competed several times in chariot races and pankration competitions. Plutarch recalled how Alcibiades once bit an opponent during a pankration. “You bite like a woman,” he exclaimed. But Alcibiades objected: “Not like a woman, but like a lion!” The outstanding ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras participated in fisticuffs. The Olympic Games reached their peak during the so-called “golden age” of Greece (500-400 BC). But gradually, with the collapse of the ancient Greek society, the Olympics more and more lost their significance.

History testifies that in other cities of Hellas there was a cult of Prometheus, and Prometheus was held in his honor - competitions of runners with burning torches.

The figure of this titan remains today one of the most vivid images V Greek mythology. The expression "Promethean fire" means striving for high goals in the fight against evil. Didn't the ancients put the same meaning when they lit the Olympic flame in the Altis grove about three thousand years ago?