Ancient and very strange sports. Forgotten sports One of the oldest sports games in the world
An ancient Mesoamerican sport called ulama, or pok-ta-pok, was a dangerous game that could cripple players, and often meant a death sentence for the losing team. The heart of this game, which was born three and a half thousand years ago, was a small rubber ball, the size of a volleyball. It was this ball that fascinated the whole of Europe and became the progenitor of all modern balls, from tennis to football.
A few years after the conquest of Mexico, in 1528, Hernán Cortes returned to the court of the Spanish King Carlos V with rich and exotic gifts. Among them was a wonderful drink made from cocoa beans, which later became hot chocolate. However, most of all, the courtiers were surprised by a simple object brought by the conquerors from the New World - a springy rubber ball.
The royal court watched in fascination as the gravity-defying ball ricocheted from one Aztec player to another. The captive Indians demonstrated to the courtiers their native sport - ulama. Without using their arms and legs, the Indians threw the ball to each other with the help of their hips and knees. The elastic ball, rushing at great speed between the players, was so unlike those lifeless leather bags filled with wool, down or even air, which the developed Europeans used to play early versions of tennis and football.
The Royal Historian of the time was just as much struck by the rubber ball that Christopher Columbus brought back from his second voyage to the New World. The historian even wrote that he could not figure out how, when hitting the ground, the ball gains enough strength to fly high into the air.
The oldest sport in the world
Looking at the springy ball and how skillfully the players controlled it, the Spaniards did not even suspect that they were watching a demonstration of the most ancient sport on earth. The game of ulama appeared three thousand years before the landing of the conquistadors in Mexico. Its creators were the ancient Olmecs, the natives who inhabited the territory of Mexico in the II-I millennium BC. e. From the Aztec language, the name of this tribe is translated as "rubber people".
In several places in Central America, archaeologists have found evidence confirming the antiquity of this sport: rubber balls made in the 17th century BC. e., terracotta figurines of players dating back to the 13th century BC. e., the ancient fields for playing pok-ta-pok, which were used first by the Olmecs, and then by their heirs, the Mayan and Aztec Indians.
Rules of the game
The playing fields were like long alleys, enclosed on both sides by a steep stone wall. From both "entrances" to the alley were located wider marginal zones. According to historians, the rules of the game depended on the historical period and on the region, but there were common features. For example, each team consisted of seven players, and points were earned if the opponent failed to recover the thrown ball, as in tennis, or if the ball was thrown into the opposition's end zone, as in American football. In some fields, basketball rings were attached to the walls at a height of three meters. Extra points were earned by players who managed to get the ball into the basket.
The players wore leather gloves to protect them from the rough stones that lined the walls and floor. The sports uniform also included leather clothing that protected the genital area, since the ball could weigh from one to four kilograms. The impact of such a rubber sphere, thrown with sufficient force, could easily cripple and even kill the player.
Familiar features?
The elements of this ancient game are familiar to many fans of modern sports. The cultural environment in which the games were practiced was also similar. Most of the matches were played during religious festivities. Spectators watching the game from the stands above the walls often feasted on festive snacks and a local alcoholic drink based on fermented corn - almost the equivalent of modern hot dogs with beer. Wealthy representatives of society took distinguished players under their wing, provided them with housing, food and created their own teams, inviting opponents to fight them.
More life
The ulama could not do without bets and a kind of bookmakers. According to historians, ulama was such a popular game that the Aztecs bet all their wealth, including houses, crops, children, and even their own freedom, on the victory of their favorite teams.
In some regions, the stakes were really too high and had nothing to do with gambling spectators. Playing fields were often dedicated to the gods, and it was customary on holidays to sacrifice the players of the losing team by beheading them on ritual stones.
The Spaniards, who found the sport too barbaric, banned it at the end of the 16th century. Today, ulama is practiced in a few outlying communities in Mexico, such as the province of Sinaloa, but the legacy of the game is all around us.
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People throughout the history of the development of civilization had to fight for survival. Whether hunting, distributing prey or in war, a person had to have good physical strength and dexterity in order to survive. For example, local tribes living in Australia still use the ancient method of hunting, which involves chasing an animal until it becomes exhausted.
People have always been forced to maintain and improve their physical form and in addition to improve their skills in archery, sword fighting, etc. Each nation had its favorite games. For example, among the American Indians, competitions in lifting weights, throwing a ball at a target, and running were held in high esteem.
The Aztecs, Mayans and some other tribes played a game somewhat reminiscent of modern basketball. Many African tribes held competitions in fencing with sticks, running, etc. Thus, we can safely say that the history of the development of sports has as ancient roots as our entire civilization.
The history of the development of sports in the ancient world
We have already found out that the history of the development of sports has more than one millennium, and now we will talk about this in a little more detail. Archaeologists managed to find traces of sports activities on the territory of states that existed in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. Today we can safely say that the first large-scale sports competitions were not the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece, but competitions in honor of the Babylonian deity Marduk.
The athletes participating in them competed in several disciplines: belt wrestling, sword fencing, javelin throwing, hunting, archery and chariot racing. In ancient India and Persia, fencing, horseback riding, ball and stick games, and chariot racing were held in high esteem.
Note that India has become the progenitor of such modern sports as polo, field hockey, chess and some others.
For the first time, schools were created in Persia, in which children were taught horse riding, archery, etc. Why not the progenitors of our modern youth sports schools? Scientists have found clay tablets, as well as paintings on the walls of the ancient Egyptian pyramids, which depict more than four hundred different sports that people practiced in those days. Of course, the peak of the history of the development of sports falls on Ancient Greece, in which the first Olympic Games were held.
History of sports development in Russia
For several centuries, the foundation of the history of the development of sports was laid on the territory of Russia. It is difficult to say exactly what year can be considered the beginning of the development of sports, because people have been doing it since ancient times. Chronicles often mention people with great physical strength, and this is an occasion to demonstrate it. According to documents found by archaeologists, in ancient Russia, almost no holiday was complete without competitions. If we talk about the history of the development of sports in Russia, we can distinguish three main stages:
- From ancient times to the October Revolution (1917).
- Soviet period.
- Since 1991.
Until the 18th century, due to frequent wars, military physical training was the main priority. We learned about this from various chronicles and epics, which were discovered in the territories of ancient settlements and have come down to us. Scientists date the first image of the fight of Russian wrestlers to 1197.
On the territory of feudal Russia there was no state program for the development of physical culture, and here everything was predetermined by folk amusements, for example, fisticuffs, various types of national martial arts, etc.
Starting from the second half of the 19th century until 1917, a very active stage in the development of physical culture can be distinguished. At this time, not only modern sports disciplines began to develop. But the foundation for the practice of physical education was also laid. It was then that the very progressive system of P. Lesgaft was created. This person was the first in our country who was able to formulate and provide a scientific justification for the main components of human physical education.
He also created the first institution whose task was to train teachers of physical culture. In fact, it was the first university in our country in sports and physical culture. Also, the beginning of the history of the development of sports, we are talking about professional competitions, can be considered 1889. At this time, the first speed skating championship was held.
Two years later, the first competition among cyclists took place. All these events are reflected in official documents. In the same years, private educational institutions for children began to be created, and sports organizations also appeared.
Since 1911, the Russian Olympic Committee began to function. A year earlier, the capital's football, ski and other sports leagues were organized. As a result, domestic athletes began attending international competitions. At the first three Olympic Games, domestic athletes did not take part due to lack of financial resources.
The first Olympics visited by Russian athletes were the games in London, held in 1908. In total, five athletes took part in them, and three of them managed to become Olympic medalists. Four years later, at the 5th Olympic Games, the delegation of domestic athletes was already 178 people. However, due to low readiness, the Russian team could not rise above 15th place in the overall standings. This is largely due to the notorious lack of finance.
After 1917, the Soviet government undertook to actively develop physical culture and sports. Now anyone could do their favorite sport, which was not the case in the days of Tsarist Russia. In 1920, the first institute of physical culture began to work, although it was a very difficult time for the young state.
Of course, developing sports after 1917, the authorities largely relied on the foundation that had already been laid. It should be noted that Vseobuch, which included physical education, had a strong influence on the history of the development of sports in the USSR. The first Soviet sports society was created in 1923 and it was named Dynamo. In those years, physical culture was taught in all educational institutions of the country.
In 1928, the first All-Union Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR took place. It should be noted that the same year the Olympic Games were held in Amsterdam. The bourgeois world was sure that the idea in the USSR was doomed to failure in advance. However, even before the start of the Spartakiad, a record was set - more than seven thousand athletes participated in all-Union competitions, while only a little more than three thousand athletes honored the Olympic Games with their attention.
The first Spartakiad became an important milestone in the history of the development of sports in our country. At the same time, excessive politicization of the development of sports slowed down this process. It was sports in the period of 30-50 years that became the only way for the USSR to prove the superiority of the communist system over capitalism. On the other hand, Soviet athletes won many prestigious international competitions in those years.
Even during the Great Patriotic War, competitions continued to be held. For example, in December 1941, a bandy championship was held, and in 1942, a traditional relay race took place on the Garden Ring. After the victory, the Soviet people craved sporting events. During 1945, more than a hundred records were set, 13 of which turned out to be world records.
In the post-war years, the country's leadership actively supported and developed the sport of high achievements. In many ways, the reason for this was the long-standing rivalry between the two political systems, but, nevertheless, the fact remains. Sports fans still remember the triumphant tour of the capital's Dynamo football players in England. Since 1946, the then most popular football in the USSR had a serious competitor - ice hockey. At that time it was customary to call it "Canadian hockey". Note that bandy continued to enjoy great prestige at that time.
After the war, the USSR joined various international sports organizations. The Olympic Committee in the country began to work in 1951. Moreover, at the same time with this event, serious preparations for the Olympic team began, because in 1952 the new Olympic Games were to be held.
On the eve of the 1952 Olympics, everyone gave the victory to the US team in advance, and what was the surprise of the world sports community when American athletes were forced to share their triumph with athletes from the Soviet Union.
Since 1970, the country's leadership decided to change the direction of development of physical culture and sports. Sports experts were sure that it was simply impossible to achieve positive results thanks to only two school physical education lessons during the week. After Russia gained sovereignty in 1991, the modern stage in the history of sports development begins.
On the history of the development of sports in the USSR, see this video:
The main types of sports games.
Experienced athletes and coaches know how important physical activity is for adults, children and teenagers. The ability to play, move for pleasure and compete is essential for growth and development, keeping the body in good physical shape. Sports games for children are the greatest gift that adults can give to children. While playing, the child improves health, develops coordination, learns to act in a team and receives a lot of positive emotions. It is especially useful to play together - children, parents and teachers. This is the best way to create friendly and trusting relationships.
Variety of sports games.
Playing sports have been around since time immemorial. On the frescoes of the Egyptian pyramids and the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, on the vases of ancient Greece and the wall paintings of ancient Crete, many figures are depicted engaged in outdoor games. Every nation has national sports entertainment. There are universal games popular in all countries of the world.
Any sports game is characterized by: the presence of rules; interaction with partners; competitiveness; physical activity; simplicity of content; strong emotional impact.
All gaming activities in sports can be divided into several groups:
Games are paired with a small variety of movements;
Team activities with a wide variety of movements;
Team games with great physical activity;
Military sports games;
Mind games.
Types of the first group - table tennis, badminton, etc. Teams are football, basketball, volleyball. Hockey and rugby require increased workload. Examples of military sports games are paintball, laser tag. Intellectual games - chess, checkers.
Football
One of the oldest sports. It is traditionally believed that football was invented in England in the Middle Ages. But the Chinese chronicles of the 3rd - 2nd centuries BC describe the "competition of Tsu Chu". Its meaning was to kick a leather ball stuffed with feathers and hair into a net stretched on a bamboo base. Approximate descriptions are found in ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek authors. Consequently, the British did not invent football, but only developed and popularized it. The rules of this sport have changed over time.
The main principles of football:
The game is played by two teams of 11 players each. The goal is to kick the ball into the opponent's goal. Footballers direct the ball only with their feet and head, it is forbidden to use their hands. The team that manages to score the ball more times wins.
Here are the roles:
Goalkeeper;
4 defenders;
3 midfielders;
3 attackers.
Basketball
Listing popular sports games, basketball is called the second after football. Unlike football, the origin of this game is known for sure. Basketball was invented by an American doctor, coach and priest - James Naismith. The basis of the new sport was the school entertainment “duck on the rock”. The very first basketball game in 1891 featured peach baskets and a soccer ball. The game was liked by the general public and soon spread throughout the world. Naismith's original rules have evolved since then.
But the main principles remain the same:
Two teams of 12 people participate;
From 3 to 5 people can play on the court at the same time;
Players must shoot the ball into the opponent's basket, and not allow the balls to be thrown into their own basket;
All actions with the ball are performed only with the hands;
You cannot hit the ball with your fist;
The ball is moved only by hitting it on the floor.
Volleyball
This sport, like basketball, was also artificially invented in the USA. Christian Association coach William Morgan came up with an original mix of basketball, tennis, handball and baseball. In 1895, the first game took place, at which the modern name was invented. For volleyball you need a platform with a net stretched across. The net is placed at a height of 2.43 m and 2.25 m for men and women, respectively. In teams of 5 people. Players change places as the ball is served. The goal of the game is to land the ball in the territory of the opposing team. Volleyball players use only their hands. It is forbidden to touch the mesh with your hands. No more than five parties are played up to 25 points each.
Children and adults all over the world love volleyball as it develops reactions, gives a feeling of friendship and team support. Characterizing various sports games, volleyball can be called the most democratic. This sport is available everywhere - in the yard, on the beach. Anyone can play, no special training is needed.
Sports games with a ball
Ball games, as seen in the example of football, basketball and volleyball described above, are the most dynamic and popular. Balls were invented at the dawn of human civilization. Many national sports and yard children's games use large, small, leather, rag, wooden, and alabaster balls. Modern sports games with a ball are mainly team games.
Military sports games
In our time, military sports games have become widespread, involving the inclusion of elements of combat tactics. Weapons are used here, army methods of moving around the playing space are used. Teams are formed according to the military principle: squad, platoon, etc. The scope of action is close to the usual for conducting real hostilities - a field, a forest. Teams can conduct defense, attack, reconnaissance. Military sports strategy involves the interaction of team members, creates a situation of combat. The group that hits all members of the opposing team wins.
The most famous games in our time are:
Paintball. Rival teams shoot paintballs at each other with air guns. The balls break on a live target and "mark" the achievement of the goal.
Olympic Games: Sports
Many of the games listed are featured in the Summer and Winter Olympics. The list expands every year. In recent years, the following were considered Olympic sports: badminton; basketball; water polo; volleyball; Beach volleyball; handball; table tennis; tennis; football; field hockey, curling; hockey.
Yard outdoor games
These days, many children and teenagers are addicted to computer games. This addictive hobby can perfectly develop fantasy, thinking and determination, but it sharply reduces physical activity and negates sociability. Parents of modern teenagers remember the wonderful children's sports games that they played for hours at summer camps, school sports clubs and just in the yards.
It:
Russian lapta;
Pioneerball;
Ali Baba;
Break chains;
Aram-shim-shim;
Santiki-wrappers-limpompo.
Everyone wants strong sensations. Some people find pleasure in such small things as a second glass of wine. Other people raise their dopamine levels through risky activities. As far as we know, humans have been participating in adrenaline-pumping activities for a long time. Here are ten extreme sports from the past that show our ancestors were willing to risk life and limb for a little pleasure.
1. Diving into the ground
Pentecost is one of the islands that form the state of Vanuatu in the South Pacific. The island's men perform a ritual that looks like madness to outsiders. Divers into the ground climb onto a platform of roughly hewn logs 25 meters high. At the top they tie a creeper to each leg. Then they jump from the tower.
This ritual is said to be around 1500 years old, although its exact origin is not known. According to one legend, a woman, driven to despair by her husband's constant sexual harassment, fled into the jungle. Running away from her husband chasing her, she climbed a tree. To save herself, she tied vines to her feet and jumped. The husband neglected this and died, falling to the ground. Now the men performing this ritual reminds them not to fall for the same trick. Diving into the ground is also associated with the yam harvest. Those who jump from the highest height will get the best harvest.
Despite the sheer danger of this activity, injuries from diving into the ground are surprisingly rare. The vines have good elasticity, and the soil under the tower is plowed to cushion the impact in the event of a hard landing.
2. Ancient polo
Polo is one of the oldest team sports in the world. In the ancient world, cavalry often played a decisive role in battles. The ability to turn a horse and steer it straight into the gaps could change the course of a battle. The game of polo probably developed from cavalry drills. One would think that the game eliminates danger, but a quick look at the history of polo reveals a list of bloody accidents.
Polo originated in the ancient Persian Empire before the 6th century BC. This game was popular among warriors. When Alexander the Great was about to set off to conquer Persia, the Persian king Darius sent him a stick and a polo ball, hinting that the young man should return to playing games.
This game has spread to Europe and Asia. In Samarkand you can still see the polo field of Tamerlane the Great. A variation of polo was also played in the Byzantine Empire, using netted poles instead of clubs.
The collision of high-speed horses, the use of long sticks that could get tangled in their legs, and poor protective equipment led to a dangerous game. The Byzantine emperor Manuel suffered a concussion in one of the games, but he got off lightly. Emperors Alexander and John of Trebizond died while playing polo.
3. Nestinarity
In different cities in Greece and Bulgaria, a ritual is performed each year that may be thousands of years old. In its current form, Nestinariststvo represents the Christian veneration of Saints Constantine and Athanasius. The worshipers take the icons of these saints and then pass through the mountain of burning firewood.
According to legend, when a church caught fire in Bulgaria, the villagers who were nearby heard from it the voices of the saints asking for help. Under the protection of the blessings of the saints, the villagers were able to safely carry the icons and relics of the saints out of the flames. Now they repeat the same feat and trust that it is divine grace that guides them safely across the coals.
Not everyone supports Nestinarity. Firewalking has been associated with the ancient worship of the god Dionysus, and some think that this ritual is of pagan origin and therefore should not be performed by devout Christians.
4. Florentine calcio
The ancient Romans had a ball game called Harpastum, which was apparently similar to modern rugby. The players passed the ball to each other and grabbed it in the air, preventing it from touching the ground. Roman commentators believed that it was the ideal physical exercise for young people. Florentine calcio, a game attributed to Harpastum, takes the physical interaction of rugby and discards all of its boring rules.
The Florentine (or historical) calcio was played in the central square of Florence in the 16th century. In this game, teams of 27 people oppose each other and try in every possible way to get the ball over the fence on both sides of the court. Players can wrestle, punch and kick to gain possession of the ball. To boost the morale of the event, a cannon is fired after every goal scored.
Previously, the winning team was rewarded with a cow. Now the winners get free food, and the losers go home to treat their injuries.
5. Knuttlake
Knuttleke was a Viking game, and that's enough to suggest the rough nature of the game. There is little reliable data about knuttlake, but there is some information in the Viking sagas that made it possible to make an approximate reconstruction of this game.
There were two teams of overweight Vikings with clubs. The club must have been shaped so that it could catch the ball, and, according to the sagas, it sometimes broke in anger. The ball used by the teams was small and hard enough to draw blood or knock a person down with a fairly strong throw. The location of the game is disputed. Most sources refer to a frozen pond or level ground during the winter, but this does not appear to have been a requirement.
Matches could last for several days - like modern cricket matches. But unlike cricket, players could be intercepted and hit while the ball was in play.
6 Chariot Race
Gaius Appuleius Diocles was the richest known sportsman who, during his career as a charioteer, amassed a fortune equivalent to today's billions of dollars. Considering the risks he faced, he probably deserved it.
The Romans loved chariot racing. Drawings of racing appeared everywhere in the city. Bets were made that amounted to fortunes. A huge hippodrome, the Circus Maximus, was built in Rome. It could accommodate over 150,000 spectators. Chariots drawn by two or four horses made seven circles around the circus. The key to victory was the capture of the inside track. Accidents were not uncommon, and according to the study of the graves of charioteers, their average lifespan was only 22 years.
Chariot racing is so dangerous that even playing it in movies can be deadly. In the 1926 film Ben Hur, there was a chariot race scene that cost the lives of five horses and one stuntman.
7. Water joust
Knightly duel is very dangerous. Some people took sharp sticks and attacked other people on horseback with the intention of knocking them out of the saddle with their sharp stick. At some point, it seemed to people that this sport was not dangerous enough, and they decided to add the danger of potential drowning to it.
In the 17th century in the south of France, teams of young people fought on the water. A team of bachelors in a blue boat attacked married men in a red boat. It was a noble fight. Two boats, propelled by ten rowers, were moving at full speed against each other, while the fighters, in armor and with a shield, stood on board trying to shoot down their opponents.
On the ancient Nile, water fights were competitions for real goals. The Nile fishermen fought for access to the water. On the frescoes you can find confirmation of the battles between the fishermen, the rules of which were not distinguished by sophistication. While most of the crew steered the boat, the fighters, armed with poles, tried to knock others into the water. Falling into the water, the fighter became a victim of hippos and crocodiles.
8. Pankration
In ancient Greece, pankration was an Olympic sport in which two men went head-to-head in a brutal duel with almost no rules. The only rules were that the wrestlers could not bite, gouge their eyes, or hit their genitals. Everything else was considered fair play if it resulted in a victory over the opponent. Losing was considered to be your admission of defeat.
Arrhichion won an unusual pankration victory at the ancient Olympic Games. His opponent applied a choke hold to him while he reached for his leg. Arrhichion managed to break his opponent's ankle. This, of course, forced him to give up. And then the judges found that Arrhichion had been strangled. Nevertheless, a victor's wreath was put on his corpse and carried through the streets.
9. "Plebeian" football
In England, starting from the 14th century, on Forgiveness Tuesday, young people liked to get together and play with the ball. Not only modern football, but also football hooliganism goes back to these games. The inflated pig bladder was made with the intention of returning it to your team's village. The goal caused great unrest. Self-mutilation was common, and even deaths occurred.
Usually hundreds of people played "plebeian" football, whole villages competed with each other. In big cities, this could be a competition between groups of apprentices who ran through narrow alleys and streets. In 1365, King Edward III banned football because it created inconvenience and distracted healthy people from archery practice. Football taught wrestling, but not quite the same kind.
During one match in Pont-l'Abbe, France, 40 people reportedly drowned in a pond when the ball fell into the water.
10. Cretan Bull Leaps
In 1400 BC on Crete, in the palace of Knossos of King Minos, a wall fresco was painted depicting a young man jumping over an attacking bull. Such images are not unique. Images and sculptures of people holding the horns of a bull have been found in the excavation sites of many objects of the Minoan culture.
According to some researchers, such images reflect rather than a real, but a mythical event. Many Cretan images show people using the horns of a bull to jump over the animal's back, which seems extremely risky. Others point to modern bullfights, during which young men regularly jump over bulls. It seems most likely that the bull-leaping was a ritual that actually took place in Crete.
Do not forget that ancient Crete was the habitat of the mythical Minotaur - half-man, half-bull, who demanded human sacrifices. Is it possible that the ritual of jumping over the bull, which no doubt cost the lives of many people, survived the myth of the Minotaur?
The ancient Olympic Games were fierce competitions in which athletes shed their blood and even gave their lives for glory and superiority, in order to avoid shame and defeat.
The participants in the games competed naked. Athletes were idealized, not least because of their physical perfection. They were extolled for their fearlessness, endurance and will to fight, bordering on suicide. In bloody fistfights and chariot races, few ever made it to the finish line.
The advent of the Olympic Games
It is no secret that for the ancient Olympians, the main thing was the will. In these competitions there was no place for civility, nobility, amateur sports exercises and modern Olympic ideals.
The first Olympians fought for the prize. Officially, the winner received a symbolic olive wreath, but they returned home as heroes and received unusual gifts.
They fought desperately for something that modern Olympians cannot understand - for immortality.
There was no afterlife in the Greek religion. hope for continuation of life after death could only through fame and valor, immortalized in sculpture and songs. Losing meant complete collapse.
In ancient games there were no silver and bronze medalists, the losers received no honors, they went home to their disappointed mothers, as the ancient Greek poet writes.
Little remains of the ancient Olympic Games. The festivities that once shocked these places cannot be returned. These columns once supported vaults, in whose honor the games were held. The now unremarkable field was the stadium where the competitions were held, 45 thousand Greeks gathered on it.
A tunnel has been preserved in which the steps of the Olympians were heard coming out onto the field. From the top of the trihedral column, the winged one, the goddess of victory, the symbol and spirit of the Olympic Games, looked at all this.
The origin can be called prehistoric, people lived here in stone houses around 2800 BC. Around 1000 B.C. Olympia became the temple of the god of thunder and lightning.
How did games come about?
from religious rituals. The first competition was run to the altar of Zeus – ritual offering of energy to god.
The first recorded games took place in 776 BC., they were held every 4 years continuously for 12 centuries.
All citizens could participate. Non-Greeks, whom the Greeks themselves called , were not allowed to participate, women and slaves were also not allowed.
Games were held in August on a full moon. Athletes arrived here 30 days before the opening to train for a month. They were closely followed by judges called.
To those who carefully prepared for the Olympiad, were not lazy and did not do anything reprehensible, the Hellanodics said boldly move forward. But if someone didn't train properly, they should have left.
In those times The whole ancient world came to the Olympics, 100 thousand people camped in fields and olive groves. They arrived here by land and by sea: from Africa, the territory of modern France and the southern coast of modern Russia. Often people came here from city-states that fought with each other: the Greeks were by nature quite quarrelsome.
Games were of great importance and respected, and therefore in honor of Zeus a truce was signed on the sacred disc, which protected all arriving guests for three months. Perhaps due to the fact that it was backed up by fearsome people, the truce was almost never broken: even the most sworn enemies could meet and compete at the Olympics in the world.
But on the first day of the Olympiad there were no competitions, it was a day of religious purification and parting words. The athletes were led to the sanctuary and meeting place. There was also a statue of Zeus with a lightning bolt in his hand.
Under the stern gaze of the god, the priest sacrificed the genitals of a bull, after which athletes swore the Solomonic oath Zeus: Compete fairly and follow the rules.
Everything was serious. The punishment for breaking the rules was severe. In the distance, athletes saw statues of Zeus, called zanes, erected with money received in the form of fines paid by violators of the competition rules.
The victory had to be earned not with money, but with the speed of the legs and the strength of the body - the prescriptions of the Olympiad read. But the crown of the winner was given with considerable blood.
Fist fight
The ancient Greeks admired the beauty and power of sports, but they were attracted by both savagery and violence: they saw this as a metaphor for life.
In Greek, competition sounds like "agon", from which the word agony comes. The concept of struggle is one of the central ones in Greek culture.. In the context of athletics, "agon" meant competition with pain, suffering, and fierce competition.
Without a doubt, in no other sport is there such a fierce struggle as in boxing, which originates in
Fisticuffs entered the program of the games in 688 BC, followed by wrestling and an even more violent sport -. All of them quickly became the favorite sports of the crowd because the risk of injury or even death was extremely high here, and the victims had to propitiate Zeus, because the fights were held in the sacred part of Olympia - in front of the 9-meter altar of Zeus, made from the ashes of sacrificial animals.
Modern boxers would be horrified by the rules of the competition, or rather, from their practical absence: there were no weight limits, there were no rounds, the rivals fought without a break, water, a coach in the corner of the ring and gloves - the fighters were left to their own devices.
They were winding rough leather straps around fists and wrists to increase the impact force. The skin cut into the enemy's flesh. The blows often came to the head, everything was spattered with blood, they fought non-stop until one of the opponents falls.
Starting from 146 BC. The Romans became the hosts of the Olympics. With them, the rivals began to insert three-centimeter metal spikes between the belts - it was more like a knife fight than a fistfight, some almost immediately dropped out of the competition, someone was very successful. Many beginners were slashed by these belt gloves Or rather, even torn to pieces.
To toughen up the fighting, they were held in August afternoons under the scorching Mediterranean sun. Thus, the contestants battled each other with blinding light, dehydration and heat.
How long did the fights last? Four hours or more, until one of the athletes gave up, for this it was enough to lift a finger.
But the defeat was far more humiliating than it is today: many wrestlers would rather die than lose.
The Spartans, fanatical soldiers, were trained to never give up, so they did not participate in fisticuffs, as defeat was a mortal disgrace.
Wrestlers were admired not only for the blows they could inflict on an opponent, but also for the pain they could endure. They valued from a physical and philosophical point of view the ability to withstand pain to such an extent that you will receive blow after blow under the scorching sun, heat, breathing dust - in this they saw virtue.
If the matter went to a draw, or there was a dead point in the duel, the judges could appear climax when the fighters had to exchange open blows. There is a famous story about two fighters getting to this point in a match - Krevg and Damoxena. Each had to deal a blow to the enemy. The first was Damoxenus, he used a karate piercing blow, pierced the opponent's flesh and tore out his intestines. Crewg was posthumously declared the winner., because the judges said that technically Damoxenus had given him not one blow, but five, because he used five fingers to pierce the enemy's body in several places at once.
The ancient fighters did not have the equipment for training, but they were not inferior in physical strength to their modern counterparts.
Pankration - fights without rules
Wrestling matches were almost a deadly battle, but for savagery - low blows and illegal holds- had its own sport, pankration.
Pankration was a very brutal event, it was the most cruel of all ancient competitions. They say about him that this is a mixture of unclean boxing with unclean wrestling: it was allowed to hit, push, choke, break bones - anything, no prohibitions.
Pankration appeared in 648 BC. It had only two rules: don't bite or gouge your eyes, but these prohibitions were not always respected. Competitors fought completely naked, blows to the genitals were forbidden, but even this rule was often violated.
Technique was not important in these ancient fights without rules, very soon they became most popular event at the olympiad.
Pankration was epitome of violence in an ancient sport, it was the most exciting and popular spectacle, and it gives us some idea of the spirit of mankind in those days.
Wrestling is a relatively civilized combat sport.
Wrestling was the only combat sport that can be called relatively civilized by today's standards, but even here the rules were not strict. Simply put, everything was used: a lot of what is forbidden today - chokeholds, breaking bones, tripping - everything was considered a normal technique.
The ancient fighters were well trained and trained in many tricks: throw over the shoulder, vise and various grips. The competition was held in special shallow hole.
There were two types of competitions: lying on the ground and standing. The wrestlers fought either standing on their feet - in this case, any three falls meant defeat, or the rivals fought in slippery mud, where it was difficult for them to stay on their feet. The duel continued, as in wrestling or pankration, until one of the participants gave up. Fights were often akin to torture.
In the 7th century BC e. judges realized the need to introduce ban on pinching fingers but it was often ignored. In the 5th century BC. Antikoziy won two victories in a row, breaking the fingers of his opponents.
Chariot racing is the most dangerous sport
But wrestlers weren't the only ones who risked their bodies and lives in the ancient Olympics.
Long before the advent of the Olympic Games, the Greeks liked to combine sports with sometimes even mortal danger. Bull jumping was a popular sport in the 2000s BC. Acrobats literally took the rushing bull by the horns, performing on his back.
The most dangerous Olympic sport was chariot racing. The chariots competed at the hippodrome, which is now an olive grove: the hippodrome was washed away when around 600 AD. river Altea suddenly changed course.
The racing strip of the hippodrome was about 135 meters long, 44 chariots fit in width, each of which was harnessed by 4 horses.
Tens of thousands of Greeks watched the races, which were real a test of mastery and stamina of nerves. 24 laps of 9 kilometers freely accommodated 160 horses kicking at the start.
The most difficult part of the course was the turn: the chariot had to be turned 180 degrees practically on the spot, i.e. the chariot turned on its own axis. It was at this point that most accidents occurred: chariots overturned, athletes were thrown out, and horses bumped and stumbled over each other.
The degree of danger of racing reached the point of absurdity, mainly due to the lack of dividing lines. The chariots often collided head-on. The poet writes that in one of the races 43 out of 44 chariots crashed, the winner was the only survivor on the field.
Zeus ruled Olympus, but the fate of the chariots rather depended on the god of horses, whose statue looked at the hippodrome. His name was, he inspired fear in the horses, so before the race, the participants tried to appease him.
The only element of order in this racing chaos was brought in at the start. The Greeks came up with an original mechanism to ensure fairness on the field: the bronze eagle of Zeus rose above the crowd, which meant the start of the race.
The chariots were small and had two wheels, they were open at the back, so that the charioteer was not protected in any way.
It was erected by participants almost as prestigious as the Olympic ones. The Greeks praised control and self-control in the midst of violence and chaos. The statue embodies these ideals.
Can women compete? Not as charioteers, but they could field their chariots.
On the pedestal, on which stood the statue of the king's daughter, there is an inscription: " Sparta kings are my fathers and brothers. Having defeated chariots on swift horses, I, kiniska erected this statue. I say with pride: I am the only one of all the women who received this wreath.
kiniska was the first woman to win the Olympics by sending his chariot to the games.
As today, boys were often used as jockeys in the horse races that followed the chariot races. The main thing here was the right combination of unstoppable and control. Jockeys rode on bareback horses driving them with only knees and a whip.
The horses were wild. In 512 B.C. a mare named Wind threw off the jockey, barely breaking into the field, ran without a rider and won the race.
The pentathlon is the most prestigious competition
Olympians trained here in palestra practicing fisticuffs and hand-to-hand combat. At the gymnasium they trained for the most prestigious competition among the ancient Olympic Games - pentathlon.
If the Greeks demonstrated fearlessness and fury in chariot races, then other Olympic ideals were valued in the pentathlon: balance, grace and comprehensive development.
The event was imbued with idealism, the Greeks attached great importance proportions and balance in man. We can see the embodiment of all this in pentathletes.
It was the pentathletes who served model of the ideal body when the ancient sculptors portrayed the gods. The Greeks appreciated correct proportions, the winner in the pentathlon was recognized the main athlete of the games.
He competed in five different competitions: running, jumping, discus throwing, javelin throwing and wrestling. Skill and ability to meet the deadlines were extremely important.
The pentathletes trained for years in the gymnasium in rhythm to the sound of the flute. Competitions in an interesting way differed from modern ones. For example, in javelin throwing, the Greeks used a loop in the middle of the shaft of the spear to enhance the throw. They threw a disc weighing 6 kilograms 800 grams - three times heavier than the modern one. Perhaps that is why they performed such perfect twists and throws that these techniques have survived to this day.
The most intriguing difference is in the long jump: the Greeks were holding loads from 2 to 7 kilograms to increase the momentum and increase the length of the jump.
Holding weights to jump further seems absurd. In fact, you can catch the momentum of the flying cargo and he will literally drag you through the air so that you feel the inertial force on yourself. It really adds length to the jump.
The length is unbelievable: the jump pit was designed to be 15 meters long, which is 6 meters more than the modern world record. Pentathletes, like all Olympians, competed naked.
nude olympiad
From the point of view of modern people nudity is the most amazing aspect ancient olympic games. All competitions were held without clothes: running, discus throwing, wrestling and everything else.
But why the participants began to act naked? History says that this has been the case since the 8th century BC. In 720, a runner named Arsip lost a loincloth during a race. He won and all the runners decided to compete naked. Gradually, this custom spread to other sports.
Modern scholars reject such explanations and point out that nudity and homosexuality were not considered shameful in Greek society. The very word "gymnasium", where the Greeks studied, meant "nudity".
Invented in the 600s BC. These were training facilities. And at the same time, the importance of homosexuality increased, it ceased to be a secret among the Greeks. Perhaps this is partly why nudity was introduced into the games.
Homosexuality was not only not shameful, it was even encouraged, because it is important for a man to marry a virgin and give birth to children. The only way to keep virgins intact was through homosexual relationships. The atmosphere at the Olympics was very electrified, they were the best men of the city-states: they were the most attractive, trained and there was a sexual attraction between them.
As well as between men and women who were allowed to watch nude games. Oddly enough, but married women were strictly forbidden to watch games, even just to cross the river Altis, which skirted the sacred place. Violation of the ban was punishable by death. Women caught on sacred ground were thrown into the abyss that yawned near the temple.
But young virgin girls could watch the games, despite the nakedness of the athletes and the brutality of the spectacle. Unmarried girls were allowed into the stadium because in a way they were ignorant, they needed to get used to the idea that a man would be part of their life. The best prelude was the performance of naked men.
One of the modern researchers said that such an order has developed so that married women do not see what they can no longer have, but teenage girls looked at the best of the best to know what to aim for.
Gerean games
The virgins could compete in their games, called Gereyami in honor of the wife of Zeus. Herey consisted of three races: for girls, teenage girls and young women, one lane in the Olympic stadium, shortened by one sixth in proportion to the female step.
Spartan girls trained from birth on a par with boys, so they were the leaders of the games.
Unlike men, girls did not compete naked: they wore short tunics, chitons, opening right breast.
Women's competitions were a ritual action, something like public demonstration of their strength and spirit before they were subdued by the bonds of marriage, and before they became women, it was a ritual passage.
Women's races were held on the day when men had a rest. It was a day of rituals and feasts that led to the climax of the religious part of the ancient games.
Art in Olympia
But people came to Olympus not only for the sake of games, they literally wanted to see people and show themselves: - here any of them could be found in the crowd. , the world's first professional historian, earned his fame here, reading their writings at the temple of Zeus.
People came to enjoy the works of art that decorated the temple. Those who saw this place for the first time were amazed at its beauty. Once upon a time, there were thousands of masterpieces on the site of these ruins, a "forest of sculptures", as one writer put it.
But only a few of them have survived to our times - those that archaeologists pulled out from under the cobblestones just over a century ago. Unfortunately, nothing remains of the legendary one that stood in the temple and was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
This statue took a myriad of gold and ivory. The whole body of Zeus was made of ivory, his throne was made of ivory, ebony and precious stones. Zeus' robe was entirely made of gold - gold foil.
Dozens of gutters in the form of lion heads decorated the temple and surrounded the statue. Outside, around the perimeter of the temple, sculptures depicted scenes from. Bright ornaments on the walls of some buildings of the complex made the temple even more dazzling.
The ruins, surrounded by 182 columns, were once a hotel Leonidio where only the richest people stayed. Of the hundreds of thousands who came to Olympus, only 50 guests could be accommodated here at the same time.
There is no trace left of the altar of Zeus. Once it was located between the temples of Zeus and, it was the main shrine Olympia Animals were sacrificed daily here. This altar in the form of a cone over 9 meters high was famous throughout Ancient Greece. It consisted entirely of the ashes of sacrificial animals. The altar was a symbol of worship to Zeus: the more sacrifices were made to him, the more honors he received, and this is a clear reminder of how many sacrifices were made to his divine essence.
The ashes were mixed with water and pressed into a mold. On the slope of this ashen mound were carved steps, along which the priests climbed to make another sacrificial offering.
At noon on the third day of games sacrifice became a special spectacle: a herd of bulls - a whole hundred - stabbed and burned in honor of Zeus. But in reality, only a small symbolic piece of each animal was given to the god.
They took the most useless animal parts, put them on an altar, and then burned them for the gods. 90% of the carcasses they butchered and cooked, and in the evening everyone got a piece. The meat was handed out to the crowd, it was a whole event.
Running is the first sport
An even bigger event was the next morning: the men's track race. The very first and once only sport was of particular importance to the Greeks, who named each Olympiad after the winners of the cross-country or sprint.
Treadmills practically did not differ from modern ones. There were notches on the starting line in which runners could rest their toes. The distance was about 180 meters long. According to legend, he could run just such a distance in one breath. On both sides, 45,000 roaring spectators sat on the slopes. Many of them camped here and cooked food at night.
Interestingly, even under the August heat, they watched games with their heads uncovered: hats were not allowed in the stadium because they could block someone's view.
Despite the wealth and prestige of the games, on the slopes of the hill never built shops like other stadiums. The Greeks wanted to keep the ancient democratic tradition of sitting on the grass. Only 12 stone thrones in the center were intended for Hellanodic judges. One more place to sit the only married woman who could be present at the stadium- priestess, the goddess of the harvest, who was once worshiped on Olympus before Zeus.
20 runners could compete at the same time in the stadium. The starting positions were drawn by lot, then they were called to the start one at a time. False starts were strictly prohibited: those who took off ahead of time, judges beat with rods.
In the 4th century BC. the Greeks invented the hysplex starting mechanism - wooden starting gate, guaranteeing a fair start.
What was the main difference between ancient races and modern ones? in starting positions. Such an arrangement of runners would have seemed strange to us, but we had to understand how everything was arranged: when the fencing board fell, the hands of the athletes dropped, the body leaned forward, the toes repelled from the depressions in the ground - the starting spurt was very powerful.
It is not known how fast the Greeks ran, they would not record the time, even if they had stopwatches. They never compared competitions with any records. For the Greeks, the idea and the meaning of the sport was in a duel between men, in the struggle and what they called the word "agon".
However, legends about speed survived. One of the statues says that Phlegius from Sparta did not run, but flew over the stadium. His speed was phenomenal, incalculable.
In addition to sprinting, the Greeks competed in double run, i.e. back and forth on a treadmill, as well as in Darikos - here it was necessary to run 20 times along a circular track 3800 meters long.
Ironically famous torch relay race were not included in the program of the Olympic Games, like those that the Greeks considered form of communication, being phenomenal distance runners. Immediately after the victory at Dorikos in 328, an athlete named Augeas ran from Olympus and home 97 kilometers in one day.
The last race of such a day was the most unusual: a grueling test of speed and strength in which Greek infantrymen, called , ran back and forth twice along the track of the stadium in full gear and equipment. Imagine what it's like to run 400 meters with 20 kilograms of weapons at the highest speed and turn around.
Interestingly, the hoplite race was held at the very end of the Olympiad, it meant end of the olympic truce and a return to hostility and hostilities. It was a reminder that the beauty of games had to come to an end, to be replaced by other important events.
Legends of the ancient Olympic Games
For more than 12 centuries, the best athletes of the ancient world have come to Olympia to compete in games that were the ultimate test of strength and agility.
What did the winners receive? Only a branch cut from an olive tree in the grove behind the Temple of Zeus. But as soon as they returned home, they were showered with gifts: free meals for the rest of your life and a reward for every victory, commensurate with the modern hundred thousand dollars.
Them worshiped like heroes or even the gods, even their sweat was awe-inspiring as a symbol of struggle. Athlete's sweat was an expensive commodity. It was collected along with the dust from the site during the competition, placed in bottles and sold as a magic potion.
A stone has been preserved that keeps the names of the winners of the Olympiad. Unfortunately, the statues of game legends, such as wrestler, winner of 6 olympiads in a row. He was so feared that the opponents immediately dropped out of the game, crushed by his fame. He was said to have superhuman strength. Ancient texts report that once Milo carried an adult bull through the stadium, then butchered it and ate it whole in a day.
Another Olympian was a famous strongman - the champion of pankration in 408 BC. He was known for his exploits outside the stadium: they said that Polidam fought with an adult lion and killed him with his bare hands as well stopped the chariot at full speed, grasping the back with one hand.
Among the runners was the best Leonid Rodossky. He was said to be fast as a god. He has won 3 races in 4 Olympiads in a row. He was revered as a god.
But the main Olympic record belongs to the jumper Fail, who participated in the 110th Olympiad. History says that the jumping pit was 15 meters long, which is unimaginable for us, because modern athletes jump a little more than 9 meters. They said that Fail jumped over that hole and landed at about 17 meters with such force that he broke both of his legs.
But Fail's jump is nothing compared to the time jump of the Olympiad itself. The temple also reflects an outstanding history. This round monument was erected by the king and his son in honor of the victory over the Greeks in 338 BC. They built this memorial in the heart of Olympia to show their strength and power.
So did the Romans a couple of centuries later, placing 21 golden shields around the Temple of Zeus when Greece became a Roman province. Thus, Olympia became the embodiment of Roman grandeur, and the Romans put a lot of effort into maintaining the sanctuary in decent condition: they built an aqueduct that brought water to one of the buildings, in addition, the Romans built baths there and a kind of club for athletes, discovered by German archaeologists only in 1995.
Only the winners of the games could be members of the club. The building was paved with marble tiles, even the walls were covered with it. There is evidence from ancient sources that similar clubs existed. The winning athlete in Olympia was immediately included in the circle of the elite.
The building was built by an emperor who considered himself a god. In 67 he took part in a chariot race. Driving a wagon drawn by 10 horses, Nero lost control and, having broken the chariot, did not finish the race. Nonetheless, he was declared the winner. A year after the emperor's death, this the decision was revised.
End of the ancient Olympic Games
How and when did the tradition of games end?
Until very recently, it was believed that the last Olympiad took place in 393 AD, when the emperor Theodosius I, who was a deeply religious Christian, put an end to all pagan traditions.
30 years later, in 426 AD his son completed what he started, setting fire to the sanctuary and Temple of Zeus.
However, scientists have found evidence that the tradition of games continued for almost a century up to 500 AD. This information was found on marble plaque found at the bottom of an ancient latrine. On it were inscriptions left by the hand of 14 different athletes - winners of the Olympiads. The last inscription belongs to the very end of the 4th century AD. Thus, it should be considered that the history of games should be extended for another 120 years.
The ancient games finally disappeared along with Olympia itself, destroyed by two earthquakes at the beginning of the 5th century. Subsequently, a small Christian village arose on the ruins, the inhabitants of which turned the only surviving building into a church - the workshop of the great sculptor who sculpted the once legendary statue of Zeus.
By the 6th century floods destroyed it along with everything what remained of ancient Olympia, hiding the ruins under an 8-meter layer of dirt and earth for a long 13 centuries.
The first excavations were carried out in 1829. German archaeologists arrived here in 1875 and since then the work has never stopped.
However, excavations were so difficult and costly that the stadium was freed from earth captivity only by the 1960s. The cost of excavating the hippodrome, hidden by groves, is so great that it will probably forever remain underground.
However, the spirit of this place is reborn, as revived in 1896 in the midst of excavations and the Olympic Games themselves. Every 4 years for 12 centuries here lit the olympic flame and this tradition has been revived in modern times. From here, in the hands of the runners, a fire begins its journey, symbolizing the beginning of games, games that will never be able to reach the scope and splendor of the Olympiads of the past.