The Olympics were initially a one-day event
until 684 BC, after which it became a three-day
event. Again, after the fifth century BC, it became
a five-day event. During the Ancient Olympics, any
type of game related to running was given
importance. The very first game in the Olympiad was
the "Stade race", a sprint of about 190 meters.
The "Pentathlon", unlike the modern pentathlon, was
an event consisting of five competitions, namely "Stadion"
or short foot race, Long Jump, Wrestling, Javelin
Throw and Discus Throw. All five of them were
considered beneficial for wars also and the training
for them was part of the military practice. The
athletes who used to compete in the pentathlon were
considered to be very skillful. Except Wrestling,
the rest four were held at the Stadion or the
stadium.
The Stade or Stadion race was an old foot race about
180 meters to 200 meter long. The place it was
conducted was known as Stadion; from which the
English word stadium was derived. It was very big
and at a time about twenty athletes could run. On
the blow of the trumpet, the runner stood in the
standing position with their arms stretched out,
unlike today's runners who take the crouch position
when about to start. Officials used to stand at the
start and at the end to see to it that there were no
false starts or any kind of cheating. In the case of
a tie, there used to be a re-run. Any runner who
broke the rules was punished. The winner of the
Stadion race was the champion of the whole Olympic
games.
The Diaulos race consisted of two Stades and was
four hundred meter long. The Dolichos race consisted
of seven to twenty four Stades. The other running
events were Hippios and Hoplitodromos.
Athletes of Javelin Throw, instead of holding the
shaft of the Javelin itself, used leather strap
called Amentum. Javelin was a spear like rod usually
made out of metal and wood. In Discus Throw, the
Discus was made of stone, iron, bronze or lead. This
game is like the modern freestyle Discus Throw. Five
throws were allowed to the Discus and Javelin Throw
athletes and the longest one was counted.
In the Long Jump, the participant to launch him or
her and to increase the range of jump used weights
called halters. The weights were held till the end
of the jump and at the end they were ejected
backwards. The jumps consisted of five different
leaps, which is more similar to the modern triple
jump. Here, too, the participants were given five
attempts and the longest jump was considered.
The Wrestling Ring was a sand pit and was held
outside the Temple of Zeus. It was a game of great
military importance as it was combated without
weapons. The winner was declared when the opponent
admits defeat.
The boxers initially wrapped Himantes or soft
straps, made out of Ox Hide, around their fingers,
knuckles, and wrists to be able to give a firm
punch. Later on the straps became hard which caused
major injuries. The Sphairai were similar to
Himantes and had pads inside to protect the
knuckles, but on the outside they were really hard.
After that Oxys were used which had many thick
leather bands wrapped around the hand and forearms.
The leather braces covered the complete hand so as
to give a stronger punch.
The old form of martial arts was known as Pankration
and was started in the Olympics of 648 BC. The word
Pankration was derived from two other words, pan and
kratos. Pan meant all and kratos meant strength. It
was a combination of boxing and wrestling. At that
time, this was one of the hardest sports.
Philosopher Plato had won this game twice.
The Equestrian events consisted of chariot and horse
races and were conducted in a flat and large open
space, called Hippodrome. In both of them, there was
great danger to both the driver and the horse,
because there was a big probability of getting
injured, which might even lead to death. The winner
of these events was rewarded with a slave woman and
a Cauldron (a big vessel).
