Olympic Games in Rio have begun among much chaos and sound and fury. There was a sense of denial and refusal in the air and the hosts of this much celebrated event were not very keen to have it at the expense of themselves. This is a far cry from "Ancient Olymic Games" of Greece, that were a celebration of a rich civilization and an exhibition of national unity. A civilization, which wanted to showcase a grand spectacle of sports, something which was never thought of before. Modern Olympic Games don’t have much in common with the Ancient ones, however the motto of the Olympic (“Citius, Altius, Fortius”, which is Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger”) is still the same in spirit to that of Ancient Games, reminiscent of Homer’s “strive always to be the best, superior to others.”
First Olympic Games were held in Ancient Greece in 776 BC though the accuracy of this date is constantly being debated by historians and scholars. Ancient Games lasted for 1170 years, until Emperor Theodosius decreed in 393 A.D. that all such "pagan cults" be banned. Basically, a five day religious festival was organized in Ancient Greece and athletic competitions were a part of the ceremonies. The premise for the Games was the valley of Olympia in Elis. They were held every fourth year and this “Olympiad” system is still effective for many modern day world championships, including the football and cricket World Cup and the Olympic itself. Zeus, the supreme god of Greek mythology, was the presiding deity of the Ancient Olympic Games. Greek would erect Zeus idols and build his temples before the Games. Phidias’s magnificent sculptur of Zeus was one of those, which was held as one of the “Seven Wonders of Ancient World”. The awe-inspiring ivory-gold statues, situated in Olympia, was destroyed during the 5th century AD.
There can’t be anything Greek which doesn’t have a shroud of mythology wrapped around it. Ancient Olymic Games are no exception. Many myths owe their advent to the Olympic Games. Pelops myth is one of them. As the legend goes, Pelops was a prince from Lydia, who wanted to marry Hippodamia, the daughter of King Oinomaos of Pisa. Oinomaos would challenge his daughter's suitors to participate in a chariot race. Winner of the race would take Hippodamia as his wife. But the loser had to be beheaded, and the heads would be used as decoration for the palace of Oinomaos. With the help of his charioteer Myrtilos, Pelops plotted a grand conspiracy. They replaced the bronze linchpins of the King's chariot with linchpins made of wax. During the race, the wax melted and Oinomaos crashed to death. Pelops married Hippodamia and instituted the Olympic games to celebrate his victory. However, a different version of the myth refers to the Olympic games as funeral games in the memory of Oinomaos.
Classical poet Pindar’s "Tenth Olympian Ode" has an another mythical allusion to the origin of the Olympic Games. He vividly describs how Herakles had approached King Augeas of Elis and promised to clean the stables for the price of one-tenth of the king's cattle. Initially Augeas agreed but later he did not fulfill his promise. This prompted Herakles to wage a fierce war against him. As it happened, Herakles emerged a victor, sacked the city of Elis and instituted the Olympic Games in honor of his father, Zeus.
Some interesting aspects of the Ancient Olympics
Competition : At first the only Olympic event was a 200-yard race, called a stadium. Later, 24-stadia event began. In 708 BC wrestling became part of the Games.
Women : Women were not always part of Ancient Olympics. Married women were not allowed to participate in, or even to watch the Games. However, unmarried women could attend the competition.
War : The Olympic Games were held without interruptions in ancient Greece. Even in 480 BC during the Persian Wars, the Games went uninterrupted. Although a “sacred truce” was also instituted during the month of the Olympiad.
Calender : The Greek calendar was based on the “Olympiad” or the four year circle. When Greek historians referred to dates, they most often referred to a year within the Olympiad that the event occurred.