The Origins Of The Olympic Games

For more than a millennium, the ancient Olympics captured the imaginations of the Greeks, until a Christianized Rome terminated the competitions in the fourth century AD. But the Olympic ideal did not die and this book is a succinct history of the ancient Olympics and their modern resurgence. Classics professor David Young, who has researched the subject for over 25 years, reveals how the ancient Olympics evolved from modest beginnings into a grand festival, attracting hundreds of highly trained athletes, tens of thousands of spectators, and the finest artists and poets.

Published in association with the International Olympic Committee, The History of the Olympic Games: Faster, Higher, Stronger brings the glorious story of the world's biggest sporting event to life. Featuring hundreds of stunning photographs from every iteration of the modern summer Games, as well as rare documents and memorabilia from the archives of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, this is a celebration of sporting history like no other. From its humble beginnings under the auspices of Pierre de Coubertin to the modern extravaganza that has showcased legendary athletes such as Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Jesse Owens and many more, every edition of the Games is rendered here in fascinating detail, alongside rarely seen artworks and artefacts. Revised, updated and in an exciting new format, The History of the Olympic Games: Faster, Higher, Stronger is the definitive illustrated volume on the world's greatest sporting spectacle. Written with the full co-operation of the International Olympic Committee.

“A people’s history of the Olympics.”—New York Times Book Review A Boston Globe Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year The Games is best-selling sportswriter David Goldblatt’s sweeping, definitive history of the modern Olympics. Goldblatt brilliantly traces their history from the reinvention of the Games in Athens in 1896 to Rio in 2016, revealing how the Olympics developed into a global colossus and highlighting how they have been buffeted by (and affected by) domestic and international conflicts. Along the way, Goldblatt reveals the origins of beloved Olympic traditions (winners’ medals, the torch relay, the eternal flame) and popular events (gymnastics, alpine skiing, the marathon). And he delivers memorable portraits of Olympic icons from Jesse Owens to Nadia Comaneci, the Dream Team to Usain Bolt.

The Olympic Games have had two lives—the first lasted for a millennium with celebrations every four years at Olympia to honour the god Zeus. The second has blossomed over the past century, from a simple start in Athens in 1896 to a dazzling return to Greece in 2004. Onward to the Olympics provides both an overview and an array of insights into aspects of the Games’ history. Leading North American archaeologists and historians of sport explore the origins of the Games, compare the ancient and the modern, discuss the organization and financing of such massive athletic festivals, and examine the participation ,or the troubling lack of it, by women. Onward to the Olympics bridges the historical divide between the ancient and the modern and concludes with a thought-provoking final essay that attempts to predict the future of the Olympics over the twenty-first century.

Travel back in time to Ancient Greece to discover the origins of the Olympic Games. Bright, bold and dynamic artwork bring to life the origins of the Olympic Games. Find out about the legend behind the games, the original events and the excitement that filled Olympia during the Olympic Festival. See how the competitors used to train and learn about each of the original events that took place, including chariot racing, wrestling, the discuss, javelin and boxing. Get the Olympic buzz from all the excitement of the hippodrome, Olympic ceremonies and celebrations, and learn about the importance of the Heraia - the competition for women organised by women. This book provides a brilliant and striking introduction to the Ancient Olympics for children aged 7+.

Traces the history of the modern Olympics from 1896 to 2000, contrasting the ideal of the game with the often politicized reality.

*Includes pictures. *Includes ancient accounts about the Games. *Includes a bibliography for further reading. "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well."- Epictetus "Many are the sights to be seen in Greece, and many are the wonders to be heard; but on nothing does Heaven bestow more care than on the Eleusinian rites and the Olympic games." - Pausanias While they are still well-known, the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece are more relevant today than most people know, and the ways in which athletic sports pervade contemporary culture is comparable only to the spirit of athleticism in Hellenic Greece. Today, a large section of the media industry is devoted exclusively to sports, and in some nations, sports even figures as a critical component of their identity. In America, the Super Bowl could be considered a holiday of sorts, and of course, today's Olympic Games capture the attention of millions and millions of people around the world for two weeks. The Ancient Olympic Games were all these things and then some. It was a ritualized spectacle of great cultural importance in Greece, as well as an international communion that celebrated both diversity and unity, but most importantly, it was an ode to the strength of the human body and a paean to the vigor of the human spirit. For over a thousand years, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD, competitors and spectators traveled from all over Europe and Asia Minor to attend the legendary contests, bringing with them not only their passion for athletics but also their poetry, music, arts, and ideas. The ancient historian Strabo captured the spirit well when he described the Olympics: ..". the glory of the temple persisted ... on account both of the festal assembly and of the Olympian Games, in which the prize was a crown and which were regarded as sacred, the greatest games in the world. The temple was adorned by its numerous offerings, which were dedicated there from all parts of Greece." Despite their international character, the Ancient Olympic Games belonged exclusively to the Greeks, even though prior to Alexander the Great, Ancient Greece consisted mostly of small city-states that warred constantly with each other. The Olympic Games served to assemble them and allow them to appreciate the commonality of their customs, gods, language, and other cultural characteristics, the very things that made them Greek. The historian Pausanias explained just how important the games were to the Greeks and their sense of pride by discussing one of the Olympics' best athletes: "Sotades at the ninety-ninth Festival was victorious in the long race and proclaimed a Cretan, as in fact he was. But at the next Festival he made himself an Ephesian, being bribed to do so by the Ephesian people. For this act he was banished by the Cretans." The Ancient Olympic Games: The History and Legacy of Antiquity's Most Famous Sports Competitions examines the origins of the games, highlights the competitions, and looks at the history and legacy of the events that spawned today's modern Olympics. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Ancient Olympics like never before, in no time at all.

Here Nigel Spivey paints a portrait of the Greek Olympics as they really were--fierce contexts between bitter rivals, in which victors won kudos and rewards, and losers faced scorn and even assault. Bitterly Contested and often bloody, the ancient Olympics were no an idealistic celebration of unity, but a clash of military powers in an arena not far removed from the battlefield. The author explores what the events were, the rules for competitors, training and diet, the pervasiveness of cheating and bribery, the prizes on offer, the exclusion of "barbarians," and protocols on pederasty. He also peels back the mythology surrounding the games today and investigates where our current conception of the Olympics has come from and how the Greek notions of beauty and competitiveness have influenced our modern culture.