The Ancient Greek Olympics

Podcast Transcript

Almost 3000 years ago, the Ancient Greeks established what was a unique method of honoring their gods: an athletic competition.

Men from city states all over the Greek world would come to Mount Olympus to compete. For those crowned champion, there were few honors greater.

Over the centuries, more and more competitions were added until one day, an emperor put an end to everything until its modern revival.

Learn more about the ancient Olympics, what they were, and how they were contested on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

I’ve done several episodes on the modern Olympics, including their founding.

The birth of the Modern Olympics was directly inspired by the Ancient Olympics, which were established by the Greeks almost 3000 years ago.

In this episode, I want to focus on those ancient games.

The Ancient Olympics were very different from the modern games in many ways.

First and foremost, they were a religious festival. The athletic competitions were held in honor of Zeus, the chief deity of the Greek pantheon.

Athletes competed not just for personal glory but as an offering to Zeus. Before the competitions began, athletes, trainers, and judges swore an oath to Zeus that they would compete honorably. Sacrifices were made throughout the festival, with the most important being the sacrifice of 100 oxen to Zeus at the end of the games.

The Olympics got their name from Mount Olympus, where they were held. Olympus was also the location of the Temple of Zeus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Olympics were a pan-Hellenic event that unified all the Greek city-states that followed the Greek religion. As each city-state was an independent entity, it was, at least to the Greeks, an international event.

The first Olympic Games are said to have taken place in the year 776 BC. Like the modern games, they took place every four years.

One of the traditions that was created during these first games was the Olympic Truce or ekecheiria.

The legend credits three kings, Iphitos of Elis, Cleisthenes of Pisa, and Lycurgus of Sparta, with founding the truce, supposedly under the guidance of the Oracle at Delphi. They agreed to halt warfare so that religious festivals and athletic competitions could proceed in peace.

The truce was proclaimed before each Olympic Games by heralds called spondophoroi, who traveled throughout the Greek world announcing the start of the cessation of combat. All city-states that accepted the truce were expected to suspend military actions, refrain from invading Olympia, and guarantee the safety of travelers.

The truce was enforced by Elis, the city-state that controlled Olympia. While the majority of the Greek world respected it, violations did occur, especially during times of intense rivalry or instability. In such cases, offenders could be fined, barred from participation, or condemned in public proclamations.

One famous violation occurred in 364 BC when the Arcadians seized control of Olympia and attempted to hold the games themselves. Another came in 420 BC, when the Spartans invaded Elis during the truce and were fined and excluded from the games.

Only free-born Greek men were permitted to compete in the ancient Olympics. Women were forbidden from participating or even attending the games, with one exception: the priestess of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, harvest, and fertility, who sat in a place of honor.

Later, married women were banned from watching the games, though unmarried women were sometimes allowed to attend.

Initially, the Olympics lasted just one day and featured only one event: the stadion race.

The stadion race was the original and most prestigious event of the ancient Olympic Games, consisting of a short sprint roughly 600 ancient feet in length. It took place on a straight track within the stadium at Olympia, and the distance of the race, approximately 192 meters or 210 yards, became a standardized unit of measurement in the Greek world.

The closest modern equivalent to the stadion would be the 200m.

The word stadion referred both to the length of the track and to the race itself. Greek geographers like Eratosthenes and Strabo widely used it to measure the distance between cities and regions, much like how we use miles or kilometers today.

The first Olympic champion in history was Coroebus of Elis. His win was important enough that the Greek traveler and geographer Pausanias mentioned his grave in the 2nd century, almost 900 years later.

Here I should note that historians such as ??Eusebius, about 1000 years later, believed he was just the first recorded champion, and there may have been several Olympics before 776 BC. However, by tradition, the 776 BC games are considered to be the first.

Over the decades and centuries that followed, more events were added.

The second event that was added was the Diaulos in 724 BC at the 14th Olympiad.

It was essentially a double-stadion race, meaning athletes sprinted two lengths of the stadium track, covering approximately 384 meters.

Runners began at the starting line, sprinted to the far end of the stadium, rounded a turning post, and returned to the starting point.

At the 15th Olympiad in 720 BC, the winner of the stadion was noteworthy because of how he won. The winner was named Orsippus. During the race his clohting supposedly came off which allowed him to run faster and win.

He is believed to be the person who introduced nudity to the games. Thereafter, all competitors competed naked.

Those same Olympics in 720 BC saw the introduction of the third event, the dolichos.

Unlike the short sprints, the dolichos required both endurance and strategy. Its length varied but typically ranged from 7 to 24 laps of the stadion, equating to approximately 1,400 to 4,800 meters (roughly 0.9 to 3 miles), depending on the location and era.

Athletes ran back and forth along the stadium track, turning around posts at each end. The race was likely inspired by the needs of military training and messenger duties, emphasizing stamina and pacing over explosive speed.

The games of 708 BC saw two major events added, which became staples of the Olympics: wrestling and the pentathlon.

Pale was the ancient Greek event of wrestling, one of the oldest and most respected Olympic sports. It emphasized technique and strength, with the goal of throwing one’s opponent to the ground.

A match was won when a wrestler scored three falls, each achieved by forcing any part of the opponent’s back, shoulders, or hips to touch the ground. Striking was not allowed, and various holds, locks, and trips were used.

Unlike modern wrestling, the match took place on sand, and there were no weight classes, so size and strength could be a major advantage.

The pentathlon was five events: the Stadion race, the long jump, the discus, the Javelin throw, and wrestling.

The discus was relatively similar to the modern event. Stone and iron discus discs have been found, but it is believed that most were made of bronze.

The long jump was believed to be a standing long jump, but the competitors would hold stone weights in their hands, which would be similar to modern kettlebells. They would swing these weights to get more distance in their jump.

Likewise, the javelin was often thrown with a leather strap to get more distance.

We don’t know how the scoring system worked to determine the champion of the pentathlon.

The games of 688 BC saw the addition of another combat sport event, boxing or Pygmachia.

Pygmachia was not like the modern sport of boxing. Fighters wore leather straps wrapped around their hands and wrists to protect themselves and inflict more damage.

There were no rounds, weight classes, or time limits—the fight continued until one boxer surrendered or was knocked out. Blows to the head and upper body were allowed, but grappling was not. Because matches could be brutal and prolonged, boxers relied on stamina, defense, and strategic targeting.

The 680 BC games saw another expansion of events with the introduction of the first equestrian event: the tethrippon or four-horse chariot race.

Held in a hippodrome, the race involved drivers (often slaves or hired professionals) standing in lightweight chariots pulled by four horses abreast.

The race typically consisted of 12 laps around the long, oval track—covering about 9 kilometers or 5.6 miles, with sharp turns around posts that were dangerous and often led to dramatic crashes.

Though the drivers raced, the victory was awarded to the horse owner, usually a wealthy aristocrat.

The 648 BC games saw the introduction of pankration.

Pankration was basically mixed martial arts. It was a combination of boxing and wrestling. It allowed almost any technique—punching, kicking, grappling, joint locks, and chokes—making it one of the most physically demanding and dangerous events.

Only two actions were prohibited: biting and gouging the eyes or orifices. Matches had no time limits and continued until one fighter submitted or was incapacitated.

There is one final event that is worth mentioning. The Hoplitodromos or race in armor was introduced in 520 BC .

Participants ran wearing military gear, typically a helmet, greaves, and a heavy shield. It was meant to simulate the speed and endurance needed by soldiers in battle.

The race was usually two lengths of the stadion.

While the Olympic games got most of the attention, they weren’t the only athletic games held in the Greek world.

The Pythian Games were held in Delphi every four years in honor of Apollo. These games included not only athletic events but also music, poetry, and drama competitions, reflecting Apollo’s patronage of the arts.

The Isthmian Games were held every two years near the Isthmus of Corinth in honor of Poseidon, featuring athletic contests similar to the Olympics.

The Nemean Games were biennial games held near the village of Nemea in honor of Zeus.

I should also note that there were also games for women.

The Heraean Games were athletic competitions held in honor of the goddess Hera, primarily featuring footraces for young unmarried women.

They took place at Olympia, like the men’s Olympic Games, but were held separately and likely at a different time.

Participants ran a shortened version of the stadion race of about 160 meters, or roughly 5/6 the length of the men’s race. The competitors wore short tunics that left one shoulder bare and raced with their hair loose, which distinguished them from male athletes.

After Rome conquered Greece in the 2nd century BC, the Olympics continued to be held, but there were major changes that took place.

The Romans introduced more entertainment-oriented elements, and sometimes incorporated gladiatorial-style displays or exotic exhibitions, aligning the games more with Roman tastes.

Roman emperors and elites began to participate as patrons and even competitors, using the games for self-promotion. The sanctity of amateur athleticism declined as professional athletes and imperial favoritism rose.

Nero famously competed in the Olympics and won every event.

Finally, Roman citizens from across the empire could compete, which broadened the scope but diluted the originally Panhellenic nature of the games.

As pagan rituals fell out of favor with the rise of Christianity, the religious significance of honoring Zeus faded. By the 4th century, with increasing Christian influence, the games were seen as pagan relics.

The ancient Olympics ended in 393 when Emperor Theodosius I banned all pagan festivals. Earthquakes later destroyed the site at Olympia, and the games were largely forgotten for nearly 1,500 years.

Interest in the ancient Olympics was rekindled during the Renaissance and later grew throughout the 19th century. This culminated in the revival of the Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 by Pierre de Coubertin.

For over 1,000 years, the Ancient Olympics served as a unifying force for the entire Greek and later Roman world. The Modern Olympics, while quite different, serve as a link to the athletic competition created to honor Zeus almost 3000 years ago.