Daily 13

Please read http://ow.ly/156BA and write a blog post comparing the Ancient Greek Olympics to the Games this coming weekend!

                The Ancient Greek Olympics had many similarities and difference compared to our common Olympic Games. The Greeks’ dedicated the games to Zeus. They sacrificed oxen and gave the games a religious importance. The common Olympic Games do not have a religious significance. The Greeks considered the games to be connected to military training. The great runners were considered perfect soldiers. The common Olympics have no military significance. They are a test for talent in a sport. The first events the Greeks participated in were running, then boxing, wrestling, and pancration, which is a combination of the events. They later added pentathlon, chariot racing, and equestrian events. The Olympics today have many more games. We also have sports teams. The games in Greece were not team games, they were individual games. The individuals who won were considered heroes. They would represent their town with pride. This is very similar to the athletes today. The athletes would earn a wreath and money in Ancient Greece. Winners today earn a medal. They have their national anthem played and earn a lot of pride. In the Greek games, cheating was not tolerated at all. This is the same for the Olympics today. The Greeks tried not to involve politics but they did not succeed. Politics are not directly involved in the Olympics, but they have an indirect component. Poets wrote odes and poems for the games as entertainment. Today, there are opening and closing ceremonies, people sing and dance, and the countries are represent through their national anthems and songs. The Greeks also competed naked. Today, that is not the case. Women and men were separated. Most married women did not attend the games. They had their own games devoted to Hera. Unmarried women may have attended in search for a husband. Today, the Olympic Games are divided into men and women categories but they are done at the same time, in generally the same place. Men do not go up against women or vice versa. Some people in Ancient Greece were not fans of the games. They believed the athletes were harming their bodies because of the eating, sleeping, and training habits. People and doctors today are concerned with the athletes’ habits and many are checked for steroids or other drugs to enhance their playing abilities. The Olympic Games, in both Ancient Greece and today, are similar and different in their own unique ways.