History of the Olympics + Cartoon Fun by Brownielocks

Brownielocks and The 3 Bears
Present
Cartoon Fun
and
The History of the Olympics
(Note: Olympic theme midi plays once)

Since the Olympic games go way back to the early Greeks, to do an entire history on one page is a bit overwhelming. So, I'll give you a brief summation of how it all began, and then provide some further links for additional information.

So, how and why did it all begin?

In ancient Greece, they often combined religious festivals with sporting events, to honor certain gods. The Greeks held the following: The Pythian Games
The Nemean Games
The Isthmian Games
The Olympic Games

It was the last one, the Olympics, that were held for the Greek God Zeus and were also the most popular with the people. The first game is said to be held at Olympia, Greece in 776 B.C. and has been held every 4 years since = 1,168 years!

Then, Greece came under the rule of the Roman Empire and the Olympic games were declined, to the point where they actually declined in 393 B.C. by the Christian Roman Emperor, Theodosius I, who objected to what he felt were some "pagan rites" associated with the games.

In the beginning, the Olympic games were confined to just one day and one event. That event was a footrace that was the length of the stadium. Soon, additional races were added as the popularity grew, as well as discus and javelin throws (tosses), broad jumps, boxing, wrestling, chariot racing and a pentathlon. The pentathlon was composed of 5 different track and field competitions.

I guess for those who weren't so physically athletic, they also included competitions for poetry, dramatists and orators.

Soon, the length of the games extended to 5 days and the winners (often like today) were celebrated and considered national and local heroes.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France, and educator and scholar wanted to discourage professionalism in sports by holding amateur world championships. As a result, he's the one who is credited with reviving the Olympics as we know them today around the late 19th century.

The first Olympiad of modern times was held under the King of Greece in 1896 in a new stadium built for the purpose of Athens. Since that time, the games have been held in cities all over the world at 4-year intervals, with an exceptional lapse during World War I and World War II.

It wasn't until 1924 when the Olympics became seasonally separated into the Winter Olympics and the Summer Olympics.

Today's modern Olympics are normally set at resorts for the Winter games and in large cities for the Summer games. And to help hosting cities prepare, in 1994 the 4-year cycle became split where the games were 2 years apart between the seasons. An example is:
Winter Games in 1994 and and 1998, but the Summer Games in 1996 and 2000.

The Summer Olympic Games have right now 23 approved sports including archery, basketball, boxing, conoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, football (aka soccer), gymnastics, modern pentathlon, rowing, swimming, diving, volleyball, water polo, weight lifting, wrestling, and yachting. The newest summer sport of synchronized swimming was added due to popular demand.

The Winter Games include biathlon (skiing and shooting), bobsledding, ice hockey, luge, ice skating (figure and speed). During the last winter Olympics in 1998, winter snowboarding was accepted as an official winter competition.

About 160 countries compete and send thousands of athletes (male and female) to the Summer Olympics. The Winter Olympics are smaller as far as nations sending athletes. They have about 60 countries that participate. Countries that have an environment that fits a sport usually dominates a sport. But sometimes a country will challenge traditions. One good example was the Jamaican Bobsled team. Although it had no snow to practice, and it came in last, it won the hearts of the world with it's sincere efforts.

Television (and especially color!) has increased the popularity of the Olympics worldwide. And in some ways has also been the cause of it's commercialism that some complain about, often resulting in what some consider "prejudicial judging" because the common pattern is that only the medal winners (esp. those with the Gold) get offers for commercial product endorsements and potential financial earning power in their futures.

The Olympic Flame

=
The Olympic Symbol
of
Competition

As a personal comment about the torch...
During the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics I had the unique pleasure of actually having the torch run right in front of my office building when I worked in Goleta, California (it came down Hollister Avenue). The torch was as close as 5 feet from me. Although I did not recognize the runner during this section of the lap, I saw the torch! If you ever have a chance, I recommend you do also. It's a once in a lifetime experience.

Both the Summer and Winter Olympics open and close with ceremonies. The peak of each ceremony is the lighting of the Olympic flame and the putting out of the flame. The Olympic Flame is said to represent the "Olympic Spirit" of competition.

In the beginning, a cross-country runner would light the torch at Olympia, Greece and then carries the ignited torch with it's burning flame throughout the 15 days of the game. Thousands of runners representing each country between Greece (the home of the Olympics) and the current host country participate in this 4-week torch relay.
The newest tradition, which began with the summer Olympics in Los Angeles, CA (USA) was to have the torch carried across the country by people from all walks of life and have it arrive at the stadium just in time for the opening ceremonies.

Who lights the Olympic Flame is often kept a secret until the final moment. The same goes for who puts it out.
But the lighting of the flame is then followed by a really gala celebration of fireworks, musical entertainment, dance and large production numbers, as well as a parade of the nations and all it's competing athletes.




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