Olympics

The modern Olympic games are organized as a group of modern international athletic contests held as separate winter and summer competitions every four years in a different city. The Olympian games in ancient times were a Pan-Hellenic festival in ancient Greece consisting of athletic games and contests of choral poetry and dance (Olympic Games: American Heritage). I think the Olympic games are a way to bring the world together. It was first celebrated in 776 B.C. and held periodically until A.D. 393 on the plain of Olympia in honor of the Olympian Zeus (Crystal). The ancient Olympic games and the tradition it created in Greece had a great impact on the tradition, ceremony, and spirit of the modern Olympic games. The Olympics blends sport with culture and education, and creates a way of life based on the happiness found from putting forth oneÐ''s greatest efforts in physical competition. The games also represent a good example of respect for worldwide basic moral principles. At time political rivalries have disrupted the games but over time it's major emphasis has given support to the games.

"The ancient Olympic games began in 776 B.C. and the only contest was the foot-race for men"(Ludwig 26). "In 724 B.C., a double-stade race was added and then, four years later, a distance race of approximately three miles. During the next century, the schedule broadened considerably. Wrestling, boxing, chariot races, races in armor, the grueling pentathlon, and the crippling pankration became Olympic events"(Schaap 29). The games slowly declined and were eliminated around 400 A.D., but they were revived in the late 19th century by Pierre de Coubertin (Mandell 71). The first ancient and modern games were held in Athens, Greece. The modern Olympic movement and the regulation of the games are directed by the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland (Olympic Games: Britannica 7). This is where the competitions in the games changed and now some of the competitions include archery, baseball, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, diving, fencing, field hockey, football, gymnastics, handball, judo, the pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, track and field, the triathlon, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, and wrestling. The winter games include the biathlon, bobsledding, ice hockey, lugeing, skeleton sledding, snowboarding, ice skating, and skiing (Olympic Games: Britannica 13). Events are added and dropped periodically, but changing the games does not change the ideas and traditions of the Olympics (Mandell 92).

At the end of the 19th century in France, an educator by the name of Pierre de Coubertin, was motivated by the ideal of peace and came up with the idea of reviving the Greek tradition of the Olympic games from the Olympiad, which were the ancient summer games, in order to bring nations together in peace (Mandell 73). In 1894, he founded the International Olympic Committee to organize the games (Olympic Games: Britannica 7). In 1896, the first modern Olympic games occurred in Athens with about 250 athletes from 14 different countries all competing for medals. The winter sports grew in popularity and caused the introduction of the Olympic Winter games in 1924 in Chamonix, France (Olympic Games: Columbia). The summer and winter games, or the Games of the Olympiad, took place every four years. Starting in 1992, the winter and summer games were held alternately, every two years, bringing the world even closer. The Olympics have come a long way thanks to Pierre de Coubertin and his ideals of peace between nations because that is what the Olympics wants to bring, peace between nations (Mandell 76).

The history of the ancient games reveal the purpose of the games. Records cannot confirm games earlier than 776 B.C., but suitorÐ''s races are frequently mentioned in Greek legend and mythology (Ludwig 26). In the city of Olympia, in honor of Zeus, for four days every fourth summer, the Olympic games were the oldest and most important of four great ancient Greek athletic festivals. They reached their height in the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. and after that, they became more professionalized until the Roman period, during which time they were criticized heavily (Ludwig 34). For the Greeks, the games were nationalistic in spirit and people and states were said to have been prouder of the Olympic victories than that of battles won (Ludwig 41). There were certain restrictions put on athletes who competed in the games. Women, foreigners, slaves, and dishonored people could not compete. The contestants were required to train for ten months before the games (Ludwig 41). The officials were in charge of the games and had to take an oath that they had fulfilled the training requirements before they could participate (Ludwig 41).

The nature and character of the games, as far as who was allowed to participate has changed over time. In the beginning, the Olympic games were confined to running, but over time new events were added such as the long run, the pentathlon, long jump, wrestling, discus and spear throwing, boxing, and others. When loincloth, the uniform of the games, was abandoned, athletes began competing naked. Greek women, who were not allowed to participate or watch the Olympic games, held their own games called the Heraea. Although they were discontinued in time, winning was of mutual importance for male and female contestants. The winners were crowned with chaplets of wild olive, and also were awarded numerous honors, valuable gifts, and privileges (Ludwig 26).

The modern revival of the Olympic games is credited to Pierre de Coubertin, but in the beginning in Athens in 1896, and the meetings that followed in 1900 and 1904 made the games unsuccessful because of poor organization and because there was no worldwide representation (Mandell 53). In London in 1908, the first successful meeting of the Olympic organization was held and since then the games have been held in cities throughout the world. There were no Olympic games in 1916 because of World War I, and 1940 and 1944 were prevented because of World War II (Olympic Games: Britannica 13). Now the number of competing nations and athletes and events has increased steadily from 241 contestants of 14 nations in 1896 to about 11,000 competitors of 202 countries in the 2004 summer Olympics in Athens. The Olympics put world cooperation and athletic excellence on the same page. Just as in ancient Greece, nationalistic passion has caused intense rivalries that at times threatened the continuance of the games. For example, between 1952 and 1988 there was a rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union that ended in each nation boycotting the games hosted in Moscow in 1980 and Los Angeles in 1984 (Ludwig 79). These rivalries have been occurring