Original Olympic Games - Research Paper Example

Original Olympic Games Introduction: The history of Olympics is far more interesting and intriguing than anyone would imagine it to be. The role played by the Olympic events in the ancient Greece was in contrast from what it contributes today. This owes mainly to the difference in the underlying notion and the laying foundation between the two sets of events, separated by centuries of time span. Although, the spirit by which this festival was revived again in this present world involves replicating that same concept on which ancient Olympics originated. But unfortunately the cloning was not successful due to insufficient data and absence of actual essence of the festival. The fact that Olympics in ancient Greece, originated as a result of social, emotional and religious needs rather than a commercialized value is a major factor in the distinguished grade among two societies. The original Olympic festival in the time when Zeus was worshipped as god had an abundant social value as compared to today’s modern world Olympics. The Call: Let us look at the history of Olympics before we extend our debate on the above agenda. It was named after ‘Olympia’ a city in Greece located near the western coast of the Peloponnese, where these events started. According to many researchers and literature available it is estimated that these events started around 776 BC and remained until 395 AD (Swaddling 1984). The festival was announced once every four year and on hearing the call, Greek citizens from all over the world poured in for celebrations. By land all the spectators from the neighboring areas used to flood in Olympia, the venue for all these spectacular events. Olympia was situated along the river Alpheios mainly the northern bank. It was a remote area with nice natural habitats at the foot of a famous hill called ‘Kronos’ a name given in the honor of Cronus, father of Zeus (Swaddling 1984). So one of the possible routes was over the waters and thousands of enthusiasts also joined the sea caravan from as far as Africa and Spain. Therefore, it was a call no one could reject or ignore. Despite the fact that this was not an easy journey about 40000 Greek citizens used to witness this outstanding event. This shows nothing but their commitment and respect of this enormous occasion. The distance they had to travel was huge and the means of transport not even comparable to the present world. The festival was held normally during summer in the mid august or mid September which was the hottest time of the year. Many would question the logic of keeping such a strenuous event in such an extreme weather. But in my view, the time was suitable and carefully chosen. Most of the people during that age relied on growing crops and were farmers, this time of the year was ideal as they had just finished with the hard work of harvesting their crops and were free to relax and enjoy the celebrations. There were no proper roads and the pathway was rough with many obstacles as Olympia was a far isolated place. Robbery and mugging was just few of many fears on the way to their destination (Crowther 2007). However, there was a universal Olympic truce that kept hostile forces under control. One of the best possible ways to reach Olympus was by boat but again pirates and shipwreck were a constant threat. Still, their spirits were mountain high and they had only one common goal to be part of this auspicious event. Not Just a Sport: If we picture Olympics today, we think of a grand opening ceremony followed by hundreds of players participating in a sport contest. Representing their country they play for the honor of their homeland and for their own fame and pride. For the people of Greece, athletics was not only a sport it was a source of spiritual tranquility. As it is evident in many authentic literatures that in those ancient times athletic events were held at funerals as a ritual to gratify the spirit of the dead. In mainland Greece, when Mycenaean’s warrior Patroclus was killed by Hector, Trojan champion, eight sport contests was organized in his honor. These events are described in the two heroic poems written by Homer, Iliad and Odyssey. (Crowther 2007). From this we can deduce that these sporting events were incorporated in their customary lifestyle and were an integral part of Greeks ancient society even before the advent of prestigious Olympics. So for this ancient society athletics was not merely a recreational source and the social value of such games was much higher. Religious Impact: Religious believes were the main driving force behind such a huge event in Greece. According to the ancient Greek mythology Zeus is considered to be the supreme God. He is believed to be the father of gods and men, sky and thunder were under his command. The great event at the Olympiad was celebrated in the honor of Zeus. For many this event was not at all a usual gathering but a religious pilgrimage for obtaining the contentment from their supreme lord. Zeus was the son of Cronus and Rhea and was by far the most popular god in the Greek history. He is believed to rule Olympiad Mountains or Mt Olympos and he showered his blessings to the participants of the game. It was a common assumption that those competitors who used to win their contest were greatly favored by him and used to help them become victorious over others. Olympus was a home of more than 70 altars of different gods including Zeus. According to many historians the first athletic race was of a small duration and towards the altar of Zeus. The victorious will lit the fire considered to be sacred by making a sacrifice to the god. So it can be concluded that not only the origin of these events was deep rooted in religious believes but the direction in which the race was run had a religious aspect as well. Similar evidences of grand sacrifices were found by the historians. It is believed that during the games many offerings, mostly animal sacrifices, were made to the Olympic god Zeus in order to obtain his blessings and favor. Among many other religious statues and sacred articles, Olympus houses an important oracle; oracle of Zeus. As mentioned before lots of offerings in the form of sacrifices were burnt in the altar fire and a priest used to read the oracle and predict the future by interpreting what he saw in the fire. He also used to predict the most favored athletes in the eyes of Zeus indirectly predicting champions of the tournament. From all these historical evidences it can be argued that the evolution of Olympics in ancient Greece was an amalgamation and coalescence of spiritual and religious believes. Present Olympics: After an insight of the origin of ancient Olympics and its social values, let us discuss some aspects of our modern day Olympics and its founding principles before we analytically criticize the difference between them. As we know that the ancient Olympics was abolished in 394 AD and two earthquakes shattered Olympia, the place of these festivals in the fourth century AD (Girginove et al 2005). The remnants were washed away in river Kladeos and later flooded by river Alphaeos, hence, it was hidden from the world for a long time. So how was it discovered and what the initial impact of the discovery was, is a very important question because that will tell us on what grounds the modern Olympics was based on. The modern Olympics; where athlete participants from almost 200 countries display an act of physical abilities. A platform where people of many diverse cultures gather and share a common goal. To understand any underlying founding principles of this event will be the basis of our further argument. Olympism, a philosophy? If we analyze The Olympic Charter which marks the beginning of modern Olympics we will realize that these events originally were based on a philosophy and certain principles. As it is mentioned in fundamental principle 2: Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles. (Girginove et al 2005). From the above text it can be argued that the concept of Olympism does exist in the modern world and has a slightly different significance than the ancient Olympic games. The present philosophy revolves round the role of sport in the development of this world as it provides international understanding and establishes social and moral values (Girginove et al 2005). It has been understood that sporting events can act a medium that can bring nations together on a single platform. The ideology of liberalism and equality was further incorporated by De Coubertin who signifies the role of fairness, justice and respects for person which can be obtained through Olympics (Girginove et al 2005). Comparison: Now since we know the basis and founding principles of both ancient and modern Olympic Games it is very clear that both of these events have many unique social values. But I am still of my opinion that the social values placed by ancient games were far greater than the modern games. First of all the spirits in which these games were played is in contrast to each other. For example in ancient games the participants did not represent any country or region. They simply played for their own glory. As Greek athletes believed that the victory they receive is a favor and blessing from their God Zeus, they strive hard to prove that they are the favorites. Hence, all the ancient games there were no associated political interest, which is evident in today’s modern Olympics. In ancient games, it was the duty of the participants to come early to the venue and prepare the ground for the event. They were responsible for the chores regarding the stadium including plucking the wild weeds from ground. Most of their nights were spent under the stars (Swaddling 1984). Compare it to the present athletes who arrive on time and wait in their five star hotels until the final moment comes. Surely, the spirit in which these games were played was different in many perspectives. In the ancient times there was no other recreational activity as compared to our present world. Imagine no celebrations of Christmas, no Santa gifts or the parade of thanks giving. Practically, there was no ceremony where people can gather for their enjoyment. Therefore, for the people of Greece, Olympics were the only occasion where they could experience that glee and happiness that is essential for any healthy society. So if we see it in this perspective, obviously Olympics had a greater social value at that time which is almost negligible in current society that enjoys far greater occasions of jubilance and recreation. Many argue that ancient Olympic Games were only held for men and women were not part of the event (Wenn et al 2007). Though this is true but it was compensated by the events held for the virgin women in the other venue and Hera, wife of Zeus, was consider to bless the event. The most significant point in the favor of my argument is the respect of Olympics in ancient society. There is no other example of universal cease fire in the history of mankind as it was evident during ancient Olympic Games. No matter how ferocious and prolonged the battle had stormed it was stopped and arms were put down when this auspicious occasion arrived. Such was the respect and dignity of the ancient Olympics. We already described the way citizens of Greece endured all the pain to arrive for the occasion. Interestingly, most of the participants in the ancient Olympics were soldiers of war who left their duty at the battle field and came for the contest. For them it was more important to fulfill their religious obligation towards their god Zeus, in whose honor this event was celebrated, than to the duties imposed by the city or state such as war. Not only fighting was not allowed during the games the cease fire begins seven days prior to the onset of games and continued for the same period after the completion of the event (Wenn et al 2007). If we compare the present Olympic Games in this current perspective, we will realize that no such respect is given to it in our society. To prove this statement let’s look at the records of our modern Olympic games. Since its beginning in 1986 the event has been cancelled three times due to interruption by war. So in ancient Olympics it was the sacred games that cause any ongoing fighting to halt and compare it to the present society where war caused the termination of the event. This clearly proves that the Olympic Games had a far greater social value as compared to modern world. These events were held at the same venue for as long as 12 centuries without any other element hindering its way. Such was the devotion and importance of that event. It has only been a bit more than a century and our modern Olympics failed to happen on three occasions. Summary: Both ancient and modern Olympic Games have their own principles on which they were founded and had their own unique status in their society. The differences in their founding principle contribute to the contrast values of these events. As ancient games were not merely a sports festival and provided society with the only recreational opportunity during that time. In addition, ancient games had a more religious and spiritual values to their existence, which is not the case in our modern day Olympics. It was considered more as a pilgrimage than a gaming event and people bare many hardships to reach their desired destination. From all the evidences and arguments discussed above we can conclude that though they both had their values in the society ancient Olympic Games had more values than the present modern world Olympics. Works Cited Crowther, Nigel B. Sport in Ancient Times. Westport, Conn: Praeger Publishers, 2007. Print. Swaddling, Judith. The Ancient Olympic Games. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1984. Print. Girginov, Vassil, and S J. Parry. The Olympic Games Explained: A Student Guide to the Evolution of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Routledge, 2005. Print. Wenn, Stephen R, and Gerald P. Schaus. Onward to the Olympics: Historical Perspectives on the Olympic Games. Waterloo, Ont: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2007. Print. 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