History and Facts

1. Sports competitions were organized at Olympia and were named after their location, hence the name of the “Olympic” Games.

2. The first Ancient Olympic Games was held in 776 BC at Olympia.

3. Games were in celebration of the Greek gods.

4. When viewing a sculpture or a scene painted on a vase, it is easy to identify the athlete by his nakedness. For both training and competitions, athletes were always nude, to highlight the ideal of harmony between the body and the mind.

5. At the modern Olympic Games, the first, second and third- placed athletes are rewarded with gold, silver and bronze medals respectively. At the Ancient Olympic Games, there was only one winner whose prize was a wreath (crown of leaves).

6. The Torch Relay begins in Olympia, Greece. It is carried from country to country to the host city. The flame is then used to light up the cauldron in the stadium during the opening ceremony.

7. The Ancient Greeks considered that it was the gods who decided to grant victory to an athlete. Victory was often represented in the form of a winged femalecharacter known as Nike, which means “victory” in Greek. Nike, the Messenger of the Gods, flew down to the chosen person to bring them their divine reward in the form of a wreath or ribbon.

Extract from The Olympic Museum. ‘Olympic Games in Antiquity’ .2nd Edition 2007.