The Olympics started in 776 BC in Olympia and are still played today, every four years. The Olympics were a dedication to the Gods and where young people could show off their accomplishments through a sport. The games started as a one day competition. They then grew to three days & then five days. The summer Olympics and the winter Olympics are held separately. There’s a two year gap between both of the Olympics.
The participants in the Olympics today allow both genders to play, but back then, only free males could play in the ancient Olympics. They weren’t selected due to ability, but if they were free, meaning not slaves or workers, they could simply just walk in and play in the games. The Olympics originally were an event for young people to show of their accomplishments. I find it interesting because in the modern games today, the athletes train their whole life for the Olympics, so the competition is outstanding. I wonder if the ancient Olympics were really competitive at the games. I also wonder if the quality of the games back then was high because anyone could compete. So, one person could be really slow or really weak, which would make me think it is probably not the case but it is interesting to think about how they were all those years ago. That’s my opinion and facts about who played and how they were chosen.
Most of us know what we play today in the Olympics but do you know what they played in the Ancient Olympics? If you don’t, good, because I’m going to tell you! One set of games that the Olympians played is the track and field events. The track events included running, jumping, discus throw, and shot put. These are all the track events that we basically play today. We still run in the Olympics which is one of the most popular events. This has probably become so popular because of Usain Bolt. He is the fastest man in the world & runs like lightning! And, we still do the all field events. In my opinion these are all very hard to do & require a lot of strength & dedication.
Another set of events were the fighting events which include wrestling, pankration, and boxing. Do you know what wrestling is? It’s when two people go head to head to pin each other down. Boxing is another one of the fighting events that people really know. Boxing today is extremely popular, with people wanting to watch fighters like Mayweather and Pacquiao. I think boxing was basically the same in the Ancient Olympics except they might not have gloves. I think the people really enjoyed watching this sport. Pankration is the last fighting event out of the fighting events. Pankration is a mix between boxing and wrestling. It’s kind of like UFC - mixed martial arts, so it was probably quite brutal back in the ancient Olympics. I wouldn’t want to see that fight because today UFC is harsh but there are safety restrictions and I can’t actually imagine that there were restrictions back then. Well, I enjoyed learning about the fighting events and I hope you did too.
The last event out the Ancient Olympic games are the Equestrian events. The Equestrian events were probably the events that not many people knew about. I think it is the same in today’s Olympics. Equestrian events are horse racing and chariot races. These events took place in the Hippodrome (a flat, wide, open space). Horse racing is a sport that most people know about today. Chariot races do not take place in the Olympics today. It’s similar to horse racing except the person is on a chariot with a whip. It’s basically the same as a horse race as the rider who is standing on his chariot & the horse have to get to the other side of the Hippodrome first before the other Chariots. So, I have explained every event that took place at the Ancient Olympics. I hope you enjoyed learning about the Ancient Olympic events as much as I did!
So, I’ve talked about what they played in the Ancient Olympics, now I’m going to talk about the team sports that are played in today’s Olympics, that did not take place in the Ancient Olympics. I can’t really tell you all of them because there are so many of them, so, I’m just going to tell you about those ones that I think are the popular ones. Two popular sports are Basketball and Soccer. I know when you think of the Olympics you don’t think of Basketball and Soccer but these are huge and extremely popular events. It’s big honor just to be able to play in the Olympics. Even though the US win every time for Basketball, it’s still fun to watch. Those are some team sports that we play today that we didn’t play back then.
Some big solo sports that we play today that we didn’t play in the Ancient Olympics are Swimming and Gymnastics. Today, everyone loves watching swimming but back then they didn’t have swimming as an Olympic sport. Imagine an Olympics without Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte! That would be hugely missed because Phelps has the most medals in the history of the Olympics. Gymnastics has some amazing contestants. I don’t know much about Gymnastics but I do know it’s ridiculously hard . These are some big solo sports that they didn’t have back in the Ancient games.
So, we’ve talked about the games, what we played in the Ancient Olympics and what we play today in the Modern games. So, lets talk about how the Ancient Olympics has affected and influenced us today. One of the most important ways that the Ancient Olympics has affected us is the Olympic calendar. We have kept the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics. As I mentioned before, it has given us the the track events like running and shot put. Hugely important sports today. It has also given us the ability to have live sports. Without the Ancient Olympics we probably wouldn’t have known how to put sports in stadiums. It is thanks to the Greeks that we are where we are today & have such amazing games, that are enjoyed by so many people around the world. So, I’ve told you everything, I mean EVERYTHING, so goodbye and thank you for reading.
The participants in the Olympics today allow both genders to play, but back then, only free males could play in the ancient Olympics. They weren’t selected due to ability, but if they were free, meaning not slaves or workers, they could simply just walk in and play in the games. The Olympics originally were an event for young people to show of their accomplishments. I find it interesting because in the modern games today, the athletes train their whole life for the Olympics, so the competition is outstanding. I wonder if the ancient Olympics were really competitive at the games. I also wonder if the quality of the games back then was high because anyone could compete. So, one person could be really slow or really weak, which would make me think it is probably not the case but it is interesting to think about how they were all those years ago. That’s my opinion and facts about who played and how they were chosen.
Most of us know what we play today in the Olympics but do you know what they played in the Ancient Olympics? If you don’t, good, because I’m going to tell you! One set of games that the Olympians played is the track and field events. The track events included running, jumping, discus throw, and shot put. These are all the track events that we basically play today. We still run in the Olympics which is one of the most popular events. This has probably become so popular because of Usain Bolt. He is the fastest man in the world & runs like lightning! And, we still do the all field events. In my opinion these are all very hard to do & require a lot of strength & dedication.
Another set of events were the fighting events which include wrestling, pankration, and boxing. Do you know what wrestling is? It’s when two people go head to head to pin each other down. Boxing is another one of the fighting events that people really know. Boxing today is extremely popular, with people wanting to watch fighters like Mayweather and Pacquiao. I think boxing was basically the same in the Ancient Olympics except they might not have gloves. I think the people really enjoyed watching this sport. Pankration is the last fighting event out of the fighting events. Pankration is a mix between boxing and wrestling. It’s kind of like UFC - mixed martial arts, so it was probably quite brutal back in the ancient Olympics. I wouldn’t want to see that fight because today UFC is harsh but there are safety restrictions and I can’t actually imagine that there were restrictions back then. Well, I enjoyed learning about the fighting events and I hope you did too.
The last event out the Ancient Olympic games are the Equestrian events. The Equestrian events were probably the events that not many people knew about. I think it is the same in today’s Olympics. Equestrian events are horse racing and chariot races. These events took place in the Hippodrome (a flat, wide, open space). Horse racing is a sport that most people know about today. Chariot races do not take place in the Olympics today. It’s similar to horse racing except the person is on a chariot with a whip. It’s basically the same as a horse race as the rider who is standing on his chariot & the horse have to get to the other side of the Hippodrome first before the other Chariots. So, I have explained every event that took place at the Ancient Olympics. I hope you enjoyed learning about the Ancient Olympic events as much as I did!
So, I’ve talked about what they played in the Ancient Olympics, now I’m going to talk about the team sports that are played in today’s Olympics, that did not take place in the Ancient Olympics. I can’t really tell you all of them because there are so many of them, so, I’m just going to tell you about those ones that I think are the popular ones. Two popular sports are Basketball and Soccer. I know when you think of the Olympics you don’t think of Basketball and Soccer but these are huge and extremely popular events. It’s big honor just to be able to play in the Olympics. Even though the US win every time for Basketball, it’s still fun to watch. Those are some team sports that we play today that we didn’t play back then.
Some big solo sports that we play today that we didn’t play in the Ancient Olympics are Swimming and Gymnastics. Today, everyone loves watching swimming but back then they didn’t have swimming as an Olympic sport. Imagine an Olympics without Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte! That would be hugely missed because Phelps has the most medals in the history of the Olympics. Gymnastics has some amazing contestants. I don’t know much about Gymnastics but I do know it’s ridiculously hard . These are some big solo sports that they didn’t have back in the Ancient games.
So, we’ve talked about the games, what we played in the Ancient Olympics and what we play today in the Modern games. So, lets talk about how the Ancient Olympics has affected and influenced us today. One of the most important ways that the Ancient Olympics has affected us is the Olympic calendar. We have kept the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics. As I mentioned before, it has given us the the track events like running and shot put. Hugely important sports today. It has also given us the ability to have live sports. Without the Ancient Olympics we probably wouldn’t have known how to put sports in stadiums. It is thanks to the Greeks that we are where we are today & have such amazing games, that are enjoyed by so many people around the world. So, I’ve told you everything, I mean EVERYTHING, so goodbye and thank you for reading.