Olympia The Site of the Grecian games Part.IX

The religious awe surrounding the champions is hardly surprising considering the strength of mythology in ancient Greece. The physical qualities of the athletes were a diving gift, and the Greeks believed the Zeus helped those who helped themselves- through sound and rigorous training. “Never without effort comes that victory which is the reward of our exploits and the illumination of our life”, sang Pindar.

Statues of the evictors stood in the sanctuary alongside those of the gods. At least 200 such effigies once stood at Olympia. In 430BC, the Athenian Sculptor Phidias created a 15 m gold and ivory statue of Zeus on his throne for the god’s temple. This giant effigy, set with precious stones, became one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Celebrations in honour of Zeus and his champions continued for several days after the events, which were concluded by a banquet held for the athletes and guests of honor in the Prytaneion, or communal hall. Then the crowd would disperse. Tents and booths were packed up. The spectators, hawkers, and pedlars took to the roads, and peace would settle on the sacred precincts of Olympia.

After the Romans conquered Greece in the middle of the 2^nd century BC, the fixed programme of the Games suffered occasional interference. In AD 65 the emperor Nero insisted that music and drama be included among the sporting contests. He entered the chariot race himself – using a team of ten horses. He crashed, but still demanded the olive crown of victory. The following year the emperor committed suicide, and this 211^th Olympiad was struck for the records.

But such changes by the Roam overlords were rare. The Games continued until AD 393, when the devout Christian emperor Theodosius I suppressed them as a pagan abomination. Earthquakes in the 6^th century AD brought floods which deposited almost 5m of alluvial mud over Olympia.

The site lay relatively undisturbed until major excavations began in 1875. Partly as a result of the excitement at the findings, an enthusiastic French sports man, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, revived the Games as a showpiece for peaceful competition between nations. The 1896 Olympics included competitors from 13 countries. A century later, nearly 200 nations took part, a testimony to the spirit of international cooperation first created in ancient Greece.

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