The ancient competition, naturally, was significantly different from our modern sports events. There were far fewer athletic events and only free Greeks (and sometimes boys) were allowed to compete in the games. There was no team competition, and the stress on individual achievement through public competition was related to the Greek ideal of excellence, called Arete. Like our modern athlete, men who competed successfully would win fame, honor, and oftentimes rewards for themselves and for their city or state.

Wrestling was the last event in the Pentathlon. The wrestlers were painted with olive oil then dusted with a special powder to make it easier to grip. The object of upright wrestling was to throw the opponent to the ground. Three falls equaled a loss for the opponent. The match would continue without rest until one man emerged victorious. And oddity by our modern standards was that there was no weight distinction between the wrestlers. The question of how the Pentathlon winner was determined remains unsolved. It is not known whether the victor needed to win all five events or only a combination of some of them to be declared the winner.

Yet, even 3000 years since the Olympic games started in Greece, it is now a world wide spectacle. Though our ideology, execution, and rules of the Olympic games are different from the past the spirit of the games still goes on. It just shows the impressionable creativity of the Ancient Greeks.

In the afternoon of day 2 the five events of the Pentathlon were contested The Pentathlon consisted of the discus throw, long jump, javelin throw, stade (running) race and upright wrestling. Running and wrestling were also separate events but long jumping, the discus and the javelin were unique to the Pentathlon. The discus was originally made of stone and then later of iron, lead or bronze. The Greek technique of throwing the discus was much the same as ours is today. The athlete would spin in a circle and release the discus while at maximum speed. The forefinger would be used to spin the discus, which would keep it stable during flight.

The javelin was a wooden pole about a man's height with either a sharpened end or an attached metal point. The main difference between the ancient and modern javelin is that the ancient athletes attached a thong, a leather strap that formed a loop, at the center of gravity of the javelin which increased the accuracy and the distance of the javelin throw.

The biggest difference between the ancient and modern games is that the ancient games originally flourished in the context of a highly sacred religious festival. Olympia, a religious center devoted to Zeus, over time became the most important site for the ancient games. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the statue of Zeus by Pheidias, stood inside the Olympia temple of Zeus.

Some topics in this essay:
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