The Olympics
The Olympics began in ancient times with four events known as the Isthmians, the Nemeans, the Pythians and the Olympic Games. Each was a religious festival. The four-year span was called the Olympiad, and historical records used the Olympics to keep time. The Olympiad was so well-loved that wars were even halted for the event.
An olive branch was the only official prize for an Olympic winner, but often some unofficial prizes were awarded by the winner's city-state. A winner from the city of Athens was allowed to live in the Pyrtaneum, a special hall for dignitaries. Other city-states exempted winners from taxes for the four years of an Olympiad, and the citizens of some areas donated prize money.
Athletes came to the city of Elis a month before the Games. They went through spiritual, moral and physical training as judges watched. The judges would decide which athletes were qualified to compete. Each had to swear that he was a freeborn Greek who had committed no sacrilege against the gods.
At first the Games took only one day during the festival. In 680 B.C. two days were added for horse racing and extended to five days in 632. Competition took place only three days. The first day of the games was for religious sacrifices, registration of athletes and taking the Olympic oath. Giving of prizes and sacrifices of thanksgiving took place on the fifth day.
Athletes in the original Olympic Games competed nude. At first competitors wore clothes, but one purposely lost his shorts in order to run more freely, and soon clothing was abolished. Women weren't permitted to watch the Games, but not because of the nudity. Olympia had been set aside for Zeus and was a sacred area for men. Women had their own sacred festivals where men were not allowed.
During the most popular years, the Olympic festival attracted people from as far away as Libya and Egypt. Artists became part of the festivities. Poets and writers recited their works, sculptors worked on statues, vendors sold food and traders sold livestock. The trip itself became a pilgrimage, and at age 70, Plato attended the festival.
Hippias was the first one to list winners in individual categories of the Olympic Games. The festival and its traditions lasted more than 1,000 years, until the Emperor Theodosius canceled them in 394 A.D.
The Games were revived in 1896 in an attempt to promote friendship. Once again the Games were held in Athens, Greece. Countries from all over the globe sent their young people to compete as their representatives. Athletes lived together in an Olympic Village at the site of the Games to allow them to get to know each other.
The Parthenon
Athens is known not only for the Olympics but also for many beautiful buildings. More than 2,500 years ago, Athens was attacked by an army from Persia (Iran). The invasion forced the people of Athens from their homes. Eventually they defeated their attackers and returned to their city, only to find it nearly destroyed. The Athenians began the enormous task of rebuilding the city. They began building the Parthenon about 447 B.C., two years after Athens was believed to have signed a treaty with Persia. The head designer of the new city was Pericles. He secured architects Iktinos and Kallikrates, along with the best sculptors and builders, to reconstruct the city. There were many great buildings, but the most famous structure still remaining is the Parthenon.
The Parthenon was a temple built to the goddess Athena on the ancient Acropolis hill and could be seen from all over Athens. A large statue of Athena stood inside the building. A famous frieze (sculpture formed in the rock that makes up the wall of the building, usually with a recurring pattern) decorated the outside. These sculptures depicted a council of the gods and wrapped around the entire temple.
The purpose of the temple changed when Europe turned it into a church for Christian worship. The Turks conquered Athens and turned the temple into a mosque. An Italian general caused the worst change when he went to war with the Turks. In 1687 Gen. Morosini fired on the Parthenon. He knew the city was using the building to store weapons. One shell hit the Parthenon, and all the gunpowder inside exploded, taking off the roof and destroying all the building's contents. The frieze fortunately survived the blast.
The Parthenon returned to prominence when an English politician removed portions of the frieze to decorate his home. He commissioned workmen to remove several of the statues, causing significant damage to the building. When he returned to England, Lord Elgin fell on hard times and offered to sell the statues, now called the Elgin Marbles, to the British government. At first members of Parliament were reluctant to purchase the statues, but in an effort to keep them safe, they finally purchased them and placed them in the British Museum. The Marbles of the Parthenon are still in the British Museum more than 150 years later.
The Athens Olympic Games of 2004 bring the beauties of the ancient city back to our thoughts. The Parthenon still plays a prominent role in the landscape of the city. The building has been under reconstruction for 20 years and is held up in places with scaffolding as restoration continues. As the Olympic Games draw closer, many restoration projects will be completed, but the Parthenon will probably not be one. Many had hoped portions of the frieze still in the British Museum would be returned for the games, but that seems unlikely.
The project is awesome in scope as each of the columns is removed and reassembled with reinforcement from rust-free titanium. The site of this massive reconstruction is the same Acropolis where the building first stood two millenia ago. Greeks call the hill "sacred rock." The restoration team is trying to keep the building intact and preserve the spirit of those who have touched its walls.
Athletes from throughout the world will meet in Athens for the 2004 Olympic Games in a city rich with culture and great memories yet to be enjoyed. There will be a number of state-of-the-art facilities for athletes and spectators beginning Aug. 13. However, visitors to Athens will still be drawn to an old building on a hill and will gaze at beauty tested over time, a temple to a goddess that would not die.
Resources: academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/Parthenon.html; harpy.uccs.edu/greek/parthenon.html; www.culture.gr/2/21/211/21107a/og/games.html; www.hol.gr/greece/olympic.htm; www.greece.org/parthenon/marbles; ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/Forgotten/parthenon.html; www.mistral.co.uk/hammerwood/elgin.htm.