Greek+Olympics

=Greek Olympics =

By Moshe Rafailov
Restless

Overview
The Olympics were a major part of the Greek culture. There were two major Olympic games, the Isthmos game and the Pythian games. The Isthmos game is hosted once every two years at the Isthmos of Corinth. The Pythian games are held only once every four years at Olympia. Greek sculptor Pheidias, created a 42 foot statue of Zeus in honor of the Olympic games for him. The statue was made up of solid gold and ivory. The Olympics were trained for all year and many people of Sparta prepared for the games through training for war, to learn more about that look at Greek Politics and City States or Greek Culture.

Day 1,
As years went by, the one day event has become an event that is about one week long with many events in each day. This was not only an athletic event but also a religious one. Before the games would begin, the Greek's would hold a religious ceremony in honor of the god and would sacrifice 100 oxen. In order for themselves to do well in the events, each athletes would also sacrifice on their own time.

Day 2,
4 major events are held on day two. 1. Stadion - Runners sprint the length of the stadium, or 192 m. 2. Two Stade Race - Runners run two lengths of the stadium, or 384 m. 3. Long-distance Run - Runners run 7 to 24 lengths of the stadium, or 1,344 m to 4608 m. 4. Two to Four Stade Race - 2 - 4 lengths of stadium, or 384 m to 768 m). But, the runners are fully equipped with armor to build up their endurance and stamina.

Other Major Olympic Sports
Running was not their only sport! After day two, other sports, like wrestling, boxing, and the pancratium, were held.

Wrestling -
Wrestling used to be much different than now. The point of the game was to knock the other player either on his hip, back, or shoulder to the floor. Bitting or grabing in genetals was not permitted and illegal.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Boxing -
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Boxing has become the one of the most brutal sports during the Olympics. As the sport made its way to the Olympaid, the competitors first started out with soft leather gloves in order to minimize the blow. But as years went by, it has evolved to hard leather, with metal weight added. The match does not ent until one of the competitors surrender or call defeat.



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Minor Sports
One of their minor sports is horse racing. After horse racing, they have began smoething called the pentathlon. Is consists of many sports like sprinting, long jump, javelin hurling, and discus throwing. Many Greeks think that discus throwing is just as important as his strength. Discus throwing is a sport were competitors use a round disk made up of iron, bronze, or sometimes lead. The size depends on the age of the competitor. Javelin throwing is were the competitors use long sharp sticks and throwing it as far as possible for them. As for the long jumps, they use wieght to add it to their hight. As the run, they keep their weight in front. Once they are about to jump, they shift the weight behind them to propel them forward.

====Greek Olympics have began in 776 BC. and lasted over many centuries even until this day. Last olympic was at Beijing. Every four years we will grow in sports to find the most talented gymnists, skiiers, or maybe even runners all across the world. Now, thousands of people are training to become the Olympic Champions!====

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">References
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