Greek life was dominated by religion and so it is not surprising that the temples of ancient Greece were the biggest and most beautiful. They also had a political purpose as they were often built to celebrate civic power and pride, or offer thanksgiving to the patron deity of a city for success in war.

The Greeks developed three architectural systems, called orders, each with their own distinctive proportions and detailing. The Greek orders are: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.

Acropolis

Acropolis in Greek means "The Sacred Rock, the high city". All around the world the Acropolis of Athens is known as 'The Acropolis'. There are many Acropolises in Greece but the Acropolis of Athens is the best known. The Acropolis is primarily dedicated to the Goddess Athena. But humans from the prehistoric era have populated the Acropolis and the caves around it. Situated in the middle of Athens, many myths, festivals and important events are connected to the sacred Acropolis. The Acropolis echoes the grandeur and the power of the Athenian empire.
Geographical Description

Acropolis rock has been a part of Earth since the Late Cretaceous period. Built of limestone it is based on the Attica plateau and includes the Likavitos hill, the Philopappos hill, the hill of the Nymphs, and the Pnyx. The Acropolis is also known as the Cecropia, after a mythological half serpent-man Cecrops who is considered the first Athenian King. With a height of about 70 meters and 300 meters long, it is 150 meters wide. Many human inhabitants have made constructions here since the Mycenaean era resulting in the flat top table of the Acropolis. As there was spring water and caves in abundance, the place was perfect for human habitation.
History of Acropolis
Neolithic Era

Human occupancy of Acropolis and Attica has been dated back to 6 BC i.e. during the Neolithic Era. Many unique works of arts and architecture prove that inhabitation around Attica started in the Upper Paleolithic period while the caves in Acropolis and Klepsythra springs were occupied from the Neolithic Period.
Mycenaean Era

In the Mycenaean Era, during the 13th century a well-built wall was constructed around the hill of Acropolis where the king resided and he controlled the small settlements around the fortress. These walls that were created by the Mycenaean kings were around eight meters high and constructed their palaces inside these walls. These walls consisted of two barricades. The walls are built in a typical Mycenaean style consisting of a wall, barricade and a tower on right hand side for defense. Today very little remains of these walls and palaces.
The Dark Ages

The Acropolis has seen no major destruction during the Mycenaean Era. The Acropolis successfully resisted the attack by the Dorians, a fact, which is supported by Athenian folklore. Therefore the palaces and walls show no signs of fire or attack. But the Kylons and the Pisistratus had overtaken the Acropolis, suggesting power transfer. It is during this period that the 9-gate wall 'Enneapylon' was built around the water spring 'Clepsydra'.
The 'Sacred Acropolis' Era

The Acropolis became a sacred place in the 6th century BC when a temple dedicated 'Athenia Polias' was built in the northeastern side of the hill. The 'Athenia Polias' temple is made up of limestone and many artifacts and documents were found from this area. The temple is also known as 'Bluebeard temple' after the 3-headed serpent whose beard was blue. In the late 6th century BC another temple was built known as the 'Archaios Naos' or the Old Temple, which was built by the Peisistratos. The Acropolis flourished during the Peisistratos rule when many religious festivals and memorials were recognized. Many artifacts and works of art bear inscription describing the splendor of Athens during the archaic period. The 'Bluebeard temple' was destroyed when the Athenians defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. A much larger and grander building was built which is known to be the "Older Parthenon". The Mycenaean gate was also destroyed and replaced by the 'Old Propylon' monument, which was used for religious purposes. The "Older Parthenon" construction remained unfinished because the Persians once again attacked Attica in 480 BC and destroyed Attica and its monuments. Whatever artifacts were remaining, were buried by the Athenians (to save them) in the small, natural caves and 2 new walls were built around Acropolis. These walls were known as the 'The wall of Themistokles' and 'The wall of Kimon'. Whatever artifacts were buried by the Athenians during the war, and survived, are known today as the 'Persian Debris'.
The Golden Age of Athens

Whatever chief and sacred temples were built in and around Acropolis and Attica was during the Golden Age of Athens i.e. from 460 BC to 430 BC. Pericles was responsible for most of these structures. Pericles was an ambitious man. The constructions lasted for about half a century. Phidias, a sculptor and Ictinus and Callicrates, who were architechts, were in charge of these constructions. Workers who were laborers on these constructions were paid 1 drachma a day. Temples and monuments such as the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the temple of Athena Nike were built during this time. The temples on the north of Acropolis housed earlier sects and Olympian Gods and those at the south were dedicated to the Goddess Athena and her forms such as Polias, Parthenos, Pallas, Promachos, Ergane and Nike. No major structures were constructed from 404 BC to the 1st century BC during the Peloponnesian Era. In the 7th century BC a small temple dedicated to Augustus and Rome was built east of the Acropolis. In spite of many Roman invasions of Greece, the Acropolis has retained its charm and has been saved from destruction and looting.
Advent of Christianity
As time passed, natural degradation and human interference both affected the Acropolis. As Christianity was introduced, the monuments were converted into churches. All the structures were renamed and served as churches and cathedrals. During the medieval period, some of the structures became residences or headquarters for kings such as the Frankish or Turkish rulers. Due to reasons such as wars, invasions and attacks important structures such as the Parthenon, etc were destroyed leading to a tragic loss of history. It was only during the late 20th century that the Acropolis was excavated properly and paid attention to. The excavation and restoration process is ongoing. The artifacts and works of arts can be seen at the Acropolis Museum.

Sculpture and Art in Ancient Greece

Greek art and sculpture has had a profound effect throughout the ages. Many of the styles have been reproduced and copied by some of what the modern day audiences would class as some of the finest artists to have ever lived e.g. Michelangelo. Western art and sculpture derived from Roman art, while in the East, Alexander the Greats conquest gave birth to Greco-Buddhist art, which has even had an influence as far as Japan all of which stem from ancient Greek art. The Greeks used many different types of materials in their sculptures including stone, marble and limestone as these were abundant in Greece. Other materials such as clay were also used but due to their brittle nature very few have survived. Greek sculptures are very important as the vast majority of them tell us a story about Gods, Heroes, Events, Mythical Creatures and Greek culture in general. Many of the statues that have survived are actually of Roman origin. Like many people today the Romans had a deep respect for Greek sculptures and many were copied. If the Romans had not made these copies, many of the Greek Legends and stories that we know today would have been lost to antiquity. Greek sculptures are mainly divided into 7 time periods - Mycenaean Art, Sub-Mycenaean or Dark Age, Proto-Geometric, Geometric Art, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic.

Mycenaean art is the first era in which we find surviving examples of Greek art. This era dates from around 1550 BC to 1200 BC on the Greek mainland. During this period there were two separate civilisations living on the mainland, the Greeks and the Mycenaeans. The Greeks at the time learnt a lot from the Mycenaeans, who where more technologically advanced. The Greeks learnt how to build gates and tombs (such as Agamemnon's tomb in the 'Bee-hive') and how to use different metals in art, using Mycenaean techniques. The famous Cyclopean Wall of Mycenae before the lion gate is a good example of their masonry skills. The Mycenaeans were also fantastic goldsmiths which can be seen from finds such as 'Agamemnon's Death Mask' found in a grave dating back to the 16th Century. Other items such as ivory figures (the head of a warrior with boars' tuck helmet) and a Rock Crystal 'sauceboat' dating between the 16th and 13th Century show they could craft out of other materials as well.

Around 1200 BC, attributed to the Homeric Fall of Troy, seems to be the down fall of Mycenaean art, this time period being known as the Sub-Mycenaean or the Dark Ages. This time period lasted from around 1100 to 1025 BC and very few examples of statutes or art have been found. The few items that have been found show no new methods or innovation. This is probably due to the constant wars and invasions which crippled the growth of their civilisation during that time.

The next phase (ca. 1025 - 900 BC) is known as the Proto-Geometric art era. We begin to find pottery starting to be decorated with simple shapes, wavy lines and black hands. It is thought that this time period was the Greeks' first expression of reviving their civilisation. With the invention of faster pottery wheels and other innovations it is believed that experimenting with pottery began. Notable examples of this era have a broad horizontal band about the neck and belly, concentric circles applied with a compass and multiple brushes. They are mainly of abstract elements.

Geometric Art dates from around 900 - 700 BC and was a dramatic transformation that led to the establishment of primary Greek institutions such as the Greek city - state (polis) and the Greek alphabet. Sculptures and carvings began to be made representing each city states' heroes and past legends including animals and humans. The growth of new trade routes and the opportunities for colonisation permitted Greek art to flourish. Large temples and sanctuaries were built in tribute to the Gods and were furnished with precious statues and art. The armed warrior, the chariot, and the horse are the most familiar symbols of the Geometric period. The only thing that was yet to emerge from this newly burgeoning Greek passion for the arts was the solid stone statue.

With the newly established trade routes in the Levant and the Nile Delta we begin to see an amalgamation of Greek and oriental art. This led to the Archaic age (ca. 700 - 450 BC) which showed a more naturalistic style reflecting significant influence from the Near East and Egypt. This is known as the Orientalising Phase (735 - 650 BC) and happened gradually. Many Greek artists began to assimilate ideas from their Eastern counterparts, starting to use palmette and lotus compositions, animal hunts and such composite beasts as griffins (part bird, part lion), sphinxes (part woman, part winged lion), and sirens (part woman, part bird). Competition between the Greek artists throughout the Greek mainland and colonies began to emerge to see who could produce the greatest and most innovative marvels. Sculptors in the Aegean islands, notably on Naxos and Samos, carved large-scale statues in marble. Goldsmiths on Rhodes specialized in fine jewellery, while bronze workers on Crete fashioned armour and plaques decorated with superb reliefs. The prominent artistic centres of mainland Greece, notably Sparta, Corinth, and Athens, also exhibited significant regional variation. Sparta and its neighbours in Laconia produced remarkable ivory carvings and distinctive bronzes. Corinthian artisans invented a style of silhouetted forms that focused on tapestry-like patterns of small animals and plant motifs. By contrast, the vase painters of Athens were more inclined to illustrate mythological scenes. Despite the differences in dialect - even the way the alphabet was written varied from region to region at this time - the Greek language was a major unifying factor in Greece as it is today with English speaking countries. Huge sanctuaries and temples were built and decorated with the finest motifs, as competition was fierce in the Greek world to surpass previous works of art. The Archaic age was best known for the emergence of stone statues of humans, such as the limestone kouros (male) and kore (female) statues. Statue of Kouros c.590 BC

These new statues showed young humans naked and always with a smile on their face. The main aim was to try and show perfection in human form, however, the majority of statues came across as rigid and unnatural. Despite these flaws it was the Greeks who first invented the free standing statues during this era. Athens, by 550 BC, had perfected the use of 'black figure pottery' which it subsequently successfully exported throughout the Greek world. Among the great painters of Attic black-figure vases, Sophilos, Kleitias, Nearchos, Lydos, Exekias, and the Amasis Painter experimented with a variety of techniques to overcome the limitations of black-figure painting with its emphasis on silhouette and incised detail. The consequent invention of the red-figure technique, which offered greater opportunities for drawing and eventually superseded black-figure, is conventionally dated about 530 B.C. and attributed to the workshop of the potter Andokides.

Classical Art (480 - 323 BC) was created during a "golden age", from the time Athens rose to prominence and Greek expansion, right up until the death of Alexander the Great. The Classical age could be seen as a turning point in art and produced some of the most exquisite sculptures known today. It was during this age that sculptors had mastered marble and began creating statues that showed joyous freedom of movement and expression, while celebrating mankind as an independent entity (atomo).

Discobolos, Ancient Greek Statue

The best example showing freedom of movement is the Discobolos (The Discus Thrower) by Myron in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome. This is one of the most famous classic Greek statues from this period. The Classical age also saw the first time human anatomy was deemed worthy of being portrayed in a statue and for ever immortalised in stone and bronze. Portraying people in a static and stiff position had now been replaced with the more modern 'snap-shot' three-dimensional movements, so that people could admire the human body for its aesthetic values. It was the first time that humans could be seen as almost God-Like, which meant that the human body became the subject of study for the first time. In ancient Greece, a long intellectual evolution had reached its logical conclusion during the classical era when 'man as a living organism on this planet acquired the importance it deserved and gods became human through marble and bronze'. With the rise of democracy and philosophy it changed the face of art literally. From the Classical period all the Greek statues from this time period showed a lack of expression, whereas, the depiction of 'barbarians' show a dramatic facial expression.

This was because the Greeks believed that suppression of the emotions was a noble characteristic of all civilised men, while the public display of human emotion was a sign of barbarism. Logic and reason was to dominate human expression even during the most dramatic situations. Temples and sanctuaries cried out for more and more lavish and monumental statues bringing the legends and Gods to life, such as the famous motifs from the Parthenon (unfortunately only a few fragments remain). Statues at funerals also evolved from the rigid un-human like statues of the past to new modern pieces that showed more detail and more family orientated scenes, such as the Family group on a grave marker from Athens, National Archaeological Museum. The greatest statues of this age were the Statue of Zeus at Olympia and the Statue of Athena at the Parthenon, both of which were designed by Phidias. Smaller copies of these statues still exist but the originals unfortunately were so awe-inspiring that they were stolen by the Byzantium Emperors from the Parthenon and later destroyed in what is thought to have been a fire. The sculptures of Greece more than any other art form are the pure expression of freedom, self-consciousness and self-determination. These were the values that motivated the inhabitants of Ancient Greece to defeat mighty Persia and led them to the development of a model of society that ensured the dignity of every man within it.

The Hellenistic Era (323 - 31 BC) began around the death of Alexander the Great and ended with the battle of Actium in 31 BC. The Hellenistic period saw dramatic changes compared to previous logic. The artists of the Hellenistic period did not stick to classical conventions and rules but turned to a more experimental movement and a sense of freedom that allowed the artist to explore his subjects from different unique points of view.

Charioteer of Delphi
The easiest way to explain this is to look at the 'Charioteer of Delphi' and the 'Boy Jockey' statues. The first statue is from the classical period and shows greatness and humility whereas the latter is from the Hellenistic era which shows a greater expression of power and energy. Artists were also able to take ideas from a much wider area as the Greek empire was at its peak, reaching even as far as India. This led to a number of new art styles emerging such as Greco-Bactrian, Indo-Greek and Greco-Buddhist. With the emergence of Rome it was now more acceptable to make sculptures of normal people and animals, with sculptors less obliged to make figures heroic and physically perfect. New Hellenistic cities started to spread in places like Egypt and Syria, all of which wanted statues depicting Greek Gods and Heroes to be placed in their temples. This led to more and more statues and items of pottery being mass-produced, resulting in a poorer quality of product. That said, vast improvements in techniques and materials allowed one of the largest and most magnificent creations in human endeavour, the 'Colossus of Rhodes' to be built. Unfortunately, the combined effects of looting and various earthquakes destroyed the statue, thought to have been as big as the Statue of Liberty. Some of the best known Hellenistic sculptures are Dying Gaul, the Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, all of which depict a classical hero but have a Hellenistic twist which shows a more sensuous and emotional taste.

The Parthenon

Work began on the Parthenon, built on the Acropolis, in 447 BC to replace an existing temple which was destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC and cost 469 silver talents to build. The work began under the orders of Pericles to show the wealth and exuberance of Athenian power. The name of the building most likely came from a cult statue of Athena Parthenos housed in the eastern room of the building. This magnificent structure was built of ivory and gold and was sculptured by the renowned sculptor Phidias. As with most buildings on the Acropolis it was dedicated to Athena to thank the Goddess for their success. The Parthenon was finally finished in 432 BC and was to show the world the dominance and power of Athens. The vast majority of the money used in the construction came from the Delian League funds. The Delian League was a treaty between the Greek states in league against the Persian Empire. However two years before work started on the Parthenon, the Athenians had struck a peace treaty with the Persians ending the war, although the League continued to exist. It is believed that because of this the league stopped being a mutual defence against Persia but part of the Athenian Empire. This theory was reinforced when Athens moved the Leagues treasury from the Pan-Hellenic sanctuary at Delos to the Parthenon (Opisthodomos room). Not only was the Parthenon a magnificent structure to look at, but it also showed Athenian dominance over the rest of the Greek peninsula and that Athens was its Greek imperial master.

The five main instigators of the design and construction on the Parthenon were Pericles, Phidias, Kalamis, Ictinus and Calibrates. Pericles was the leading Athenian statesman at the time, Phidias and Kalamis were in charge of the design of the sculptures and decorations, and Ictinus and Calibrates were the main architects. The vast majority of the 469 silver talents spent on the Parthenon went on transporting the stone from Mount Pantelakos, which was about 16 kilometres from Athens, to the Acropolis. It is thought there are around 13400 stones in the building. The Parthenon is a clear example of Doric design with Ionic architectural features. The architects used a clever visual effect in their design of the building. The curvature of the Stylobate, the taper of the Naos walls (housing the cult statue) and the Entasis of the columns allow the visual effect to make the temple appear more symmetrical than it actually is. This design was so renowned it has been copied centuries later, even the Romans incorporated it into the design of their buildings, and a good example of this can be seen at the Roman library at Ephesus. Measured at the top step, the dimensions of the base of the Parthenon are 69.5 meters by 30.9 meters (228.0 x 101.4 ft). The Cella was 29.8 meters long by 19.2 meters wide (97.8 x 63.0 ft), with internal Doric colonnades in two tiers, structurally necessary to support the roof. On the exterior, the Doric columns measure 1.9 meters (6.2 ft) in diameter and are 10.4 meters (34.1 ft) high. The corner columns are slightly larger in diameter. The Stylobate has an upward curvature towards its centre of 60 millimetres (2.36 in) on the east and west ends, and of 110 millimetres (4.33 in) on the sides.

Inside the Cella it was made up of both old and new elements. There was a double pi-shaped colonnade which held the statue Athena Parthenos. The statue showed Athena dressed in full armour holding Nike (Goddess of Victory) to the Athenians in her right hand. In the west room (Opisthodomos) were 4 Ionic columns. The two sloped wooden roofs had marble tiles with false lion shaped spouts in the corners and false palmette shaped antefixes running along the edge. The room also held large marble statues placed on corner pediments, which were adorned with depictions of Athena's life. The East Pediment showed Athena's birth from Zeus' head whilst the Olympian Gods watched. The West pediment portrayed the dispute between Athena and Poseidon over control of Athens in front of Heroes, the Gods and the mythical Kings of Attica. The Outer Colonnade was made up of 92 metopes alternating with Triglyphs that were placed above the epistyle underneath the architrave, all of which held reliefs, (Trojan War on the northern side, Centauromachy on the southern side, Amazonomachy on the western side and Gigantomachy on the eastern side). The Frieze (dated 442-438 BC), which ran along the top of the Opisthodomos, Pronaos and the Cella was of the Ionic order and showed the greatest Athenian festival 'Panathinaia'. The festival held a procession from the Dipylon Gate in the Koromikos to the Acropolis. The procession was held yearly and had a special procession every fourth year. Athenians and foreigners came together at the festival, with all paying tribute and offering sacrifices to Athena.

The Parthenon had been kept in relatively good condition right up until the 19th century. During this time it had seen a number of changes. For nearly a thousand years the Parthenon was still used as a temple to Athena until as late as the 4th Century AD. By this time Athens had been turned into a province of the Roman Empire and had lost most of its former glory. Unfortunately sometime in the 5th Century the Parthenon was raided by a Roman Emperor and the statue of the cult image of Athena was stolen and taken to Constantinople where it was later destroyed during the crusades (around 1204 AD). After the looting by the Roman Emperors the building itself was still intact and was turned into a church in the 5th Century AD by the Christians. The Byzantine Christians converted the Parthenon in honour of Parthena Maria (Virgin Mary), or the Church of the Theotokos (Mother of God), which it remained for around 250 years. Turning the temple into a church meant that the building was still kept in good condition apart from a bit a restructuring internally; for example a few of the columns were removed as well as some of the marble statues. It also meant that statues and other motifs depicting more than one god were either removed or destroyed. The Ottomans converted the Parthenon from a church to a mosque (ca. 1460s). Again the Parthenon was well maintained and looked after until the late 17th Century. In 1687 the Venetians, under Francesco Morosini, attacked the Ottomans in Athens. The Acropolis had been fortified by the Ottomans (as well as the Athenians over a century before). The building was also used as a gunpowder store and when the Parthenon took a direct hit from a mortar fired by the Venetians from the Hill of Philopappus, the gunpowder exploded and destroyed a large part of the building. Morosini and his men soon plundered the building, looting what they could find and destroying the rest, leaving the partial ruins that can be seen today. As most of the sculptures and depictions were either looted or destroyed we only know what they looked like from drawings by Jacques Carrey, a Flemish artist in 1674. What was left was further damaged in 1801 when many of the depictions and remaining antiques were forcibly removed by the British Ambassador at Constantinople, the Earl of Elgin, under orders to make casts and drawings by the Sultan.

It was only in 1975 that a concertive effort was made by the Greek government, with help from Europe, to try and restore the damage caused by the explosion as well as the modern day damage caused by pollution. Unfortunately the Parthenon will never be restored to its former glory; however, in time we will hopefully be able to have a better idea of what it once looked like.

Hellenistic

The transition from the Classical to the Hellenistic period occurred during the 4th century BC. Following the conquests of Alexander the Great (336 BC to 323 BC), Greek culture spread as far as India, as revealed by the excavations of Ai-Khanoum in eastern Afghanistan, and the civilization of the Greco-Bactrians and the Indo-Greeks. Greco-Buddhist art represented a syncretism between Greek art and the visual expression of Buddhism.

Thus Greek art became more diverse and more influenced by the cultures of the peoples drawn into the Greek orbit. In the view of most art historians, it also declined in quality and originality; this, however, is a subjective judgement which artists and art-lovers of the time would not have shared. New centres of Greek culture, particularly in sculpture, developed in Alexandria, Antioch, Pergamum, and other cities. By the 2nd century the rising power of Rome had also absorbed much of the Greek tradition and an increasing proportion of its products as well.

During this period sculpture became more and more naturalistic. Common people, women, children, animals and domestic scenes became acceptable subjects for sculpture, which was commissioned by wealthy families for the adornment of their homes and gardens. Realistic portraits of men and women of all ages were produced, and sculptors no longer felt obliged to depict people as ideals of beauty or physical perfection. At the same time, the new Hellenistic cities springing up all over Egypt, Syria, and Anatolia required statues depicting the gods and heroes of Greece for their temples and public places. This made sculpture, like pottery, an industry, with the consequent standardisation and some lowering of quality. For these reasons many more Hellenistic statues have survived than is the case with the Classical period.

Some of the best known Hellenistic sculptures are the Winged Victory of Samothrace (2nd or 1st century BC), the statue of Aphrodite from the island of Melos known as the Venus de Milo (mid 2nd century BC), the Dying Gaul (about 230 BC), and the monumental group Laocoön and his Sons (late 1st century BC). All these statues depict Classical themes, but their treatment is far more sensuous and emotional than the austere taste of the Classical period would have allowed or its technical skills permitted.

Discoveries made since the end of the 19th century surrounding the (now submerged) ancient Egyptian city of Heracleum include a 4th century BC, unusually sensual, detailed and feministic (as opposed to deified) depiction of Isis, marking a combination of Egyptian and Hellenistic forms beginning around the time of Egypt's conquest by Alexander the Great.

Hellenistic sculpture was also marked by an increase in scale, which culminated in the Colossus of Rhodes (late 3rd century), which was the same size as the Statue of Liberty. The combined effect of earthquakes and looting have destroyed this as well as other very large works of this period.

Olympic Games

The Greeks invented athletic contests and held them in honour of their gods. The Isthmos game were staged every two years at the Isthmos of Corinth. The Pythian games took place every four years near Delphi. The most famous games held at Olympia, South- West of Greece, which took place every four years. The ancient Olympics seem to have begun in the early 700 BC, in honour of Zeus. No women were allowed to watch the games and only Greek nationals could participate. One of the ancient wonders was a statue of Zeus at Olympia, made of gold and ivory by a Greek sculptor Pheidias. This was placed inside a Temple, although it was a towering 42 feet high.

The games at Olympia were greatly expanded from a one-day festival of athletics and wrestling to, in 472 BC, five days with many events. The order of the events is not precisely known, but the first day of the festival was devoted to sacrifices. On the Middle Day of the festival 100 oxen were sacrificed in honor of a God. Athletes also often prayed and made small sacrifices themselves.

On the second day, the foot-race, the main event of the games, took place in the stadium, an oblong area enclosed by sloping banks of earth.

At Olympia there were 4 different types of races; The first was stadion, the oldest event of the Games, where runners sprinted for 1 stade, the length of the stadium(192m). The other races were a 2-stade race (384 m.), and a long-distance run which ranged from 7 to 24 stades (1,344 m. to 4,608 m.).The fourth type of race involved runners wearing full amour, which was 2-4 stade race (384 m. to 768 m.), used to build up speed and stamina for military purposes.

On other days, wrestling, boxing, and the pancratium, a combination of the two, were held. In wrestling, the aim was to throw the opponent to the ground three times, on either his hip, back or shoulder. In ancient Greek wrestling biting and genital holds were illegal.

Boxing became more and more brutal; at first the pugilists wound straps of soft leather over their fingers as a means of deadening the blows, but in later times hard leather, sometimes weighted with metal, was used. In the pancratium, the most rigorous of the sports, the contest continued until one or the other of the participants acknowledged defeat.

Horse-racing, in which each entrant owned his horse, was confined to the wealthy but was nevertheless a popular attraction. The course was 6 laps of the track, with separate races for whereupon the rider would have no stirrups. It was only wealthy people that could pay for such training, equipment, and feed of both the rider and the horses. So whichever horse won it was not the rider who was awarded the Olive wreath but the owner. There were also Chariot races, that consisted of both 2-horse and 4-horse chariot races, with separate races for chariots drawn by foals. There was also a race was between carts drawn by a team of 2 mules, which was 12 laps of the stadium track.

After the horse-racing came the pentathlon, a series of five events: sprinting, long-jumping, javelin-hurling, discus-throwing, and wrestling.

The ancient Greeks considered the rhythm and precision of an athlete throwing the discus as important as his strength.

The discus was a circle shaped stone, iron, bronze, or lead. There were different sizes according to age groups. The javelin was a long wooden stick shape with spear head, similar height to that of a person. In the middle was bound a thong for a hurler's fingers to grip and guide to the correct angle it was thrown.

To Jump long distances athletes used lead or stone weights to increase the length of the jump. These weights were known as 'halteres' were held in front of the athlete during his ascent, and then swung behind his back and dropped during his descent to help propel him.

The Games

The ancient Olympic Games were primarily a part of a religious festival in honour of Zeus, the father of the Greek gods and goddesses. The festival and the games were held in Olympia, a rural sanctuary site in the western Peloponnesos.

The Greeks that came to the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia shared the same religious beliefs and spoke the same language. The athletes were all male citizens of the city-states from every corner of the Greek world, coming from as far away as Iberia (Spain) in the west and the Black Sea (Turkey) in the east.

The sanctuary was named in antiquity after Mt. Olympos, the highest mountain in mainland Greece. In Greek mythology, Mt. Olympos was the home of the greatest of the Greek gods and goddesses.

The ancient Olympic Games began in the year 776 BC, when Koroibos, a cook from the nearby city of Elis, won the stadion race, a foot race 600 feet long. The stadion track at Olympia is shown here. According to some literary traditions, this was the only athletic event of the games for the first 13 Olympic festivals or until 724 BC. From 776 BC, the Games were held in Olympia every four years for almost 12 centuries.

Contrary evidence, both literary and archaeological, suggests that the games may have existed at Olympia much earlier than this date, perhaps as early as the 10th or 9th century BC.

The Marathon

The marathon was NOT an event of the ancient Olympic Games. The marathon is a modern event that was first introduced in the Modern Olympic Games of 1896 in Athens, a race from Marathon northeast of Athens to the Olympic Stadium, a distance of 40 kilometers.

The race commemorates the run of Pheidippides, an ancient "day-runner" who carried the news of the Persian landing at Marathon of 490 B.C. to Sparta (a distance of 149 miles) in order to enlist help for the battle. According to the fifth century B.C. ancient Greek historian Herodotus, Pheidippides delivered the news to the Spartans the next day.

The distance of the modern marathon was standardized as 26 miles 385 yards or 42.195 km. in 1908 when the Olympic Games were held in London. The distance was the exact measurement between Windsor Castle, the start of the race, and the finish line inside White City Stadium.

Nudity at the Games

There are two stories relating to the question of nudity at the ancient Olympic Games. One story states that it was a runner from Megara, Orsippos or Orrhippos who, in 720 B.C. was the first to run naked in the stadion race when he lost his shorts in the race. Another tradition is that it was the Spartans who introduced nudity to the Olympic Games in the 8th century B.C. as it was a Spartan tradition. It is not clear if the very first recorded victor at Olympia, Koroibos, who won the stadion race in 776 B.C. wore shorts or not. It seems fairly clear that by the late 8th century nudity was common for the male contestants.

From Ancient to Modern

Although the ancient Games were staged in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BC through 393 AD, it took 1503 years for the Olympics to return. The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. The man responsible for its rebirth was a Frenchman named Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who presented the idea in 1894. His original thought was to unveil the modern Games in 1900 in his native Paris, but delegates from 34 countries were so enthralled with the concept that they convinced him to move the Games up to 1896 and have Athens serve as the first host.

The Olympic Flame

The idea of the Olympic torch or Olympic Flame was first inaugurated in the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. There was no torch relay in the ancient Olympic Games. There were known, however, torch relays in other ancient Greek athletic festivals including those held at Athens. The modern Olympic torch relay was first instituted at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

The Olympic Oath: was introduced in 1920.

Chariot race of the funeral games of Patroklos: our first glimpse of organized Greek athletics where prizes are awarded. Note the cauldron and the tripod. (Detail from the Francois Vase, ca. 570 BC, Museo Archeologico, Florence.)

Zeus! Obverse ("heads") of silver tetradrachm, minted by Philip II of Macedonia ca. 350 BC to commemorate his victory in the horse race at Olympia.

The Politics Of The Olympic Games

The celebration of the Olympic Games in antiquity was an occasion for citizens of scattered Greek city-states to assemble. At the Games they discussed important political issues, celebrated common military victories and even formed political and military alliances.

But the Games were not only a forum in which to discuss political events; they were also the cause of political conflict.

Control of the Sanctuary and the Games brought with it prestige, economic advantages and, most importantly, political influence. As early as the 7th century BC we hear of disputes over the control of the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia between the city of Elis (30 miles to the north) and the small neighbouring town of Pisa.

In 668 BC, according to Pausanias (a 2nd century AD Greek traveller), the powerful tyrant of Argos (named Pheidon) was asked by the town of Pisa to capture the Sanctuary of Zeus from the city-state of Elis. Pheidon, with his army of well-trained hoplites (armed soldiers), marched across the Peloponnesos, secured the Sanctuary for the town of Pisa, and personally presided over the conduct of the games. But Pisa's control of the Sanctuary was brief: by the next year Elis had regained control.