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The Greek athletic games, otherwise commonly recognized as the Panhellenic Games, were an integral part of Greek life. They combined religion, sport, and music into extravagant festivals involving peoples throughout Mediterranean. Not only did they attract thousands of participants and spectators to their venues, but they also promoted solidarity among the various Greek city-states. By the Classical period, their influence was felt throughout Greece. There were four main games: the Olympic Games, Pythian Games, Nemean Games, and Isthmian Games. The games at Olympia were the oldest and most famous of these. They all began quite humbly as religious ceremonies. While the games had a small religious aspect throughout their history, this role diminished as time progressed. Mythological evidence suggests that the athletic events originally served as entertainment for humans and gods and were loosely associated with sacrificial offerings. At first they were purely local events most likely spanning two or three days, consisting only of dancing, running, and wrestling
As time passed, the number of competitors and events increased substantially until the games had become week long festivals involving athletes from across the Greek world. The first record of the Olympic Games comes from Hippias of Elis in the fifth century BCE, though the first Olympic victory is dated to 776 BCE (this assumes that the games were conducted every fourth year). The most commonly held legend associated with its inception was that Herakles founded them as a tribute to celebrate Zeus' victory over Kronos in the Titanomachy. Herakles, who was associated with great athletic strength, later became the official patron of the games. Now you
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In Pindar's first Olympian victory Ode we have another version of the Games' origins as he gives reference to Pelops, who he beleives to have been the founder. In this ode we have the narrative about the punishment of Tantalus and the return of Pelops to earth. Pelops invoked Poseidon and participated in a race with Oenomaus and won over his opponent. The award was Oenomaus' daughter, Hippodameia. In the end of the end Pindar tells us of the fame the Pelops had at Olympia. Its official site was densely populated during the Mycenaean Period and though it was not the center of Classical Greek life, its early history and topography made it an excellent site for the most prominent of the Panhellenic games. Like all of the athletic games, the Olympics had rather humble beginnings.
The first recorded games took place in 776 BCE and were a purely local event that last only one day. Having a ritualistic purpose, they consisted of sacrifices to Zeus in the morning followed by simple running races in the afternoon. The first winner, Coroebus of Elis, probably did little training and only received a small material prize for his efforts. His victory was significant, however, in that it headed a long list of winners which serves as our only record of much of the games' history. Recording the winners' names became a strong tradition, and much of the glory of victory was in the virtual immortality that this brought. As the games evolved, the sporting element came to overshadow the sacral element; by the fifth century BCE, the two were essentially autonomous. This separation generally coincided with the increased scope and following of the games. The first winners came from the surrounding towns, but by the sixth century, competitors journeyed from various parts of Greece and beyond. Until 720, all winners came from the city-states of the Peloponnese but by 688, competitors from Asia Minor began to compete.
The cities with the most winners over the history of the games included the south Italian city of Croton, Athens, Miletus in Asia Minor, and the island of Naxos. Timeline: 776 - first games 724 - 2 lap race added 728 - endurance running race added 708 - pentathlon added (consists of running, jumping, discus, javelin, wrestling) 688 - boxing added 680 - chariot racing added 648 - horseback riding and pankration added Winners at the games received wreaths made from the branches of a sacred olive tree. Interestingly, the branches had to be cut with a golden knife by a boy whose parents were still living This wreath was supposed to grant its wearer protection from Zeus.
Though the wreath had almost no material value, its significance can be attributed to the fame attained by its winner. An Olympic champion brought glory not only to the athlete, but also to his homeland. A bronze tripod given as a prize before wreaths became customary (6th Century BCE).
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