Future Olympiads in the world. The history of the Olympic Games from ancient greece to the present

Olympic Games - the most significant in the world sport competitions. They are held every four years. Every athlete dreams of winning these competitions. The origins of the Olympic Games date back to ancient times. They were carried out as early as the seventh century BC. Why were the ancient Olympic Games called the holidays of the world? In which country were they held for the first time?

The myth of the birth of the Olympic Games

In ancient times, these were the greatest national festivals. Who is the founder of the ancient Olympic Games is unknown. Myths and legends played a significant role in the social and cultural life of the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that the birth of the Olympic Games dates back to the time of Kronos, the son of the first god Uranus. In the competition between mythical heroes, Hercules won the race, for which he was awarded an olive wreath. Subsequently, the winner insisted that sports competitions be held every five years. This is the legend. There are, of course, other legends about the origin of the Olympic Games.

The Iliad by Homer belongs to the historical sources confirming the holding of these festivities in Ancient Greece. This book mentions a chariot race organized by the inhabitants of Elis, the region in the Peloponnese where Olympia was located.

Sacred truce

King Iphit was a mere mortal who played a significant role in the development of the ancient Greek Olympic Games. During his reign, the interval between the competitions was already four years. Having resumed the Olympic Games, Ifit declared a sacred truce. That is, during these festivities it was impossible to wage a war. And not only in Elis, but also in other parts of Hellas.

Elis was considered a sacred place. It was impossible to wage war with her. True, later the Eleans themselves invaded the neighboring regions more than once. Why were the ancient Olympic Games called the holidays of the world? Firstly, the holding of these competitions was associated with the names of the gods who highly revered by the ancient Greeks. Secondly, the aforementioned truce was announced for a month, which had a special name - ἱερομηνία.

Scientists have not yet come to a consensus about sports in the Olympic Games held by the Hellenes. It is believed that initially athletes competed only in running. Later, wrestling and chariot racing were added to the sports in the Olympic Games.

Participants

Among the citizens in ancient Greece were those who were subjected to public dishonor and contempt of others, that is, atimia. They could not become participants in the competition. Respected Greeks only. Of course, barbarians, who could only be spectators, did not take part in the ancient Olympic Games. An exception was made only in favor of the Romans. At the ancient Greek Olympics, a woman did not even have the right to be present if she was not a priestess of the goddess Demeter.

The number of spectators and participants was enormous. If at the first Olympic Games in Ancient Greece (776 BC) only running competitions were held, then other sports appeared later. And over time, poets and artists got the opportunity to compete in their skills. During the festivities, even the deputies competed with each other in the abundance of offerings to mythical deities.

It is known from the history of the Olympic Games that these events had a rather important social and cultural significance. Transactions were made between merchants, artists and poets introduced the public to their creations.

Competitions were held on the first full moon after the summer solstice. Lasted five days. A certain part of the time was devoted to rituals with sacrifices and a public feast.

Types of competitions

The history of the Olympic Games, as already mentioned, is full of legends and legends. However, there is reliable information regarding the types of competitions. At the first Olympic Games in Ancient Greece, athletes competed in running. This sport was represented by the following varieties:

• Distance running.
• Double run.
• Long run.
• Running fully armed.

The first fist fight took place at the 23rd Olympiad. Later, the ancient Greeks added martial arts such as pankration, wrestling. It was said above that women were not allowed to take part in competitions. However, in 688 BC, special competitions were created for the most purposeful residents in Ancient Greece. The only one a sport in which they could compete, there were horse races.

In the fourth century BC, a competition between trumpeters and heralds was added to the program of the Olympic Games - the Hellenes believed that aesthetic pleasure and sports had a logical connection. Artists exhibited their works in the market square. Poets and writers, as mentioned above, read their writings. Statues of the winners were sometimes ordered to sculptors after the end of the Games, lyricists composed songs of praise in honor of the most powerful and dexterous.

Ellanodons

What were the names of the judges who watched the competition and awarded the winners. Hellenodons were appointed by lot. The judges not only presented the award, but also supervised the arrangement of the entire event. At the first Olympic Games, there were only two of them, then nine, even later ten. Starting from 368 BC, there were twelve Hellenodons. However, later the number of judges decreased. The Ellanodons wore special purple clothing.

How did the competition begin? The athletes proved to the spectators and judges that the previous months had been devoted exclusively to preliminary preparation. They took an oath in front of the statue of the main ancient Greek god - Zeus. The relatives of those wishing to compete - fathers and brothers - also took an oath. A month before the competition, athletes demonstrated their skills in front of the judges at the Olympic Gymnasium.

The order of the competition was established by lot. Then the herald publicly announced the name of the competitor. Where did the Olympic Games take place?

Sanctuary of Ancient Greece

Where the Olympic Games took place is clear from the name. Olympia is located in the northwestern part of the Peloponnesian Peninsula. It was once located here temple-cultural complex and sacred grove of Zeus. On the territory of the ancient Greek sanctuary, there were religious buildings, monuments, sports facilities and houses in which participants and guests lived. This site was the center of Greek art until the fourth century BC. Later they were burned by order of Theodosius II.

The Olympic stadium was built gradually. He became the first in Ancient Greece. In the fifth century BC, this stadium hosted about forty thousand spectators. For training, a gymnasium was used - a structure whose treadmill was equal in length to that of the stadium itself. Another site for preliminary preparation - palestra... It was a square structure with a courtyard. Mostly athletes trained here, who competed in wrestling and fistfights.

Leonidoion, which performed the functions, was built in the fifth century BC by the project of an architect famous in Ancient Greece. The huge building consisted of a courtyard surrounded by columns and included many rooms. The Olympic Games played an important role in the religious life of the Hellenes. That is why the locals built several temples and sanctuaries here. The structures fell into disrepair after an earthquake in the sixth century. Finally, the racetrack was destroyed during the flood.

The last Olympic Games in Ancient Greece took place in 394. Banned by Emperor Theodosius. In the Christian era, these events were regarded as pagan. The revival of the Olympic Games took place two millennia later. Although already in the 17th century, competitions resembling the Olympic ones were held repeatedly in England, France and Greece.

Revival of ancient Greek traditions

The predecessors of the modern Olympic Games were the Olympias, held in the middle of the 19th century. But they, of course, were not so large-scale and had little in common with the competitions, which nowadays take place every four years. French Pierre de Coubertin played a significant role in the revival of the Olympic Games. Why did Europeans suddenly remember the traditions of the ancient Greeks?

In the middle of the 17th century, archaeological research was carried out in Olympia, as a result of which scientists discovered the remains of temple structures. The work continued for over ten years. At this time, everything related to Antiquity was popular in Europe. Many public and cultural figures have become infected with the desire to revive the Olympic traditions. At the same time, the greatest interest in the culture of sports competitions in Ancient Greece was shown by the French, although archaeological discoveries belonged to the Germans. This can be easily explained.

In 1871, the French army was defeated, which significantly undermined the patriotic spirit in society. Pierre de Coubertin believed that the reason was the poor physical training of the soldiers. He did not try to inspire his compatriots to fight Germany and other European powers. The French public figure talked a lot about the need to improve physical culture, but also advocated overcoming national egoism and establishing international understanding.

The first Olympic Games: modern times

In June 1894, a congress was held at the Sorbonne, at which Coubertin presented his thoughts on the need to revive ancient Greek traditions to the world community. His ideas were supported. On the last day of the congress, it was decided to hold the Olympic Games in two years. They were supposed to take place in Athens. The International Competition Committee was chaired by Demetrius Vikelas. Pierre de Coubertin took over as Secretary General.

The 1896 Olympic Games became the world's largest sporting event. Greek statesmen have put forward a proposal to host the Olympic Games exclusively in their homeland. However, the committee decided otherwise. The venue of the Games changes every four years.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Olympic movement was not widely popular. This is partly due to the fact that the World Exhibition was held in Paris at that time. Some historians believe that the Olympic ideas were saved thanks to the intermediate games of 1906, held again in Athens.

Differences between the modern Games and the ancient Greek ones

The competitions were resumed on the model of ancient sports competitions. The modern Olympic Games unite athletes from all states, in relation to individuals, discrimination on religious, racial or political grounds is not allowed. This, perhaps, is the main difference between the modern Games and the ancient Greek ones.

What did the modern Olympic Games borrow from the ancient Greek ones? First of all, the name itself. The frequency of the competitions was also borrowed. One of the purposes of the modern Olympic Games is to serve the world, to establish mutual understanding between countries. This is in tune with the ideas of the ancient Greeks about a temporary truce during the days of the competition. The Olympic flame and torch are symbols of the Olympics, which, of course, arose in antiquity. The ancient Greeks also borrowed some terms and rules for conducting competitions.

There are, of course, several significant differences between the modern Games and the ancient ones. The ancient Greeks held sports exclusively in Olympia. Today the Games are organized each time in a different city. In ancient Greece, there was no such thing as the "Winter Olympics". And the competitions were different. In antiquity in the Olympic the games were attended not only by athletes, but also by poets.

Symbolism

Everyone knows what the symbol of the Olympic Games looks like. Five interconnected rings in black, blue, red, yellow and green. However, few people know that these elements do not belong to any particular continent. sounds in Latin, translated into Russian means "faster, higher, stronger." The flag is a white cloth with rings. He has been rising in all Games since 1920.

Both the opening and closing of the Games are accompanied by a grandiose, colorful ceremony. The best organizers of public events are involved in the development of the script. Famous actors and singers strive to participate in this spectacle. The broadcast of this international event attracts tens of millions of viewers around the world to television screens.

If the ancient Greeks believed that in honor of the Olympic Games, it was worth suspending any hostilities, then in the twentieth century the opposite happened. Sports competitions were canceled due to armed conflicts. The games were not held in 1916, 1940, 1944. In Russia, the Olympics were held twice. In 1980 in Moscow and in 2014 in Sochi.

The first Olympic Games took place in Olympia in 776 BC. This date has survived to this day thanks to the custom of the ancient Greeks to engrave the names of Olympic champions (they were then called Olympians) on marble columns that were installed on the banks of the Alpheus River. The marble preserved not only the date, but also the name of the first winner. It was Korab, a cook from Elis. The first 13 games involved only one type of competition - running one stage. According to the Greek myth, this distance was measured by Hercules himself, and it was equal to 192.27 m. Hence the well-known word "stadium" came from here. Initially, athletes from two cities took part in the games - Elisa and Pisa. But they soon gained immense popularity, spreading to all the Greek states. At the same time, another wonderful tradition arose: throughout the Olympic Games, the duration of which was constantly increasing, there was a "sacred truce" for all fighting armies.

Not every athlete could become a participant in the games. The law prohibited slaves and barbarians from performing at the Olympics, i.e. foreigners. Free-born Greek athletes had to sign up with the judges a year before the opening of the competition. Immediately before the opening of the Olympic Games, they had to provide evidence that they had been preparing for the competition for at least ten months, keeping fit with daily exercise. An exception was made only for the winners of the previous Olympic Games. The announcement of the upcoming Olympic Games caused an extraordinary stir among the male population throughout Greece. People were heading to Olympia in droves. True, women were forbidden to attend the games on pain of death.

Ancient Olympiad program

Gradually, more and more sports were added to the games program. In 724 BC. Diaul was added to the one-stage run (stadium) - running at a distance of 384.54 meters, in 720 BC. - dolichodrom or running in 24 stages. In 708 BC. the program of the Olympic Games included pentathlon, consisting of running, long jump, wrestling, discus and javelin throwing. At the same time, the first wrestling competitions were held. In 688 BC. fist fight entered the program of the Olympiad, after two more Olympiads - a chariot competition, and in 648 BC. - the most brutal type of competition is pankration, which combines the techniques of wrestling and fist fighting.

Olympic winners were worshiped as demigods. Throughout their lives, they were given all kinds of honors, and after the death of the Olympian they were ranked among the host of "minor gods".

After the adoption of Christianity, the Olympic Games began to be perceived as one of the manifestations of paganism, and in 394 BC. Emperor Theodosius I banned them.

The Olympic movement was revived only at the end of the nineteenth century, thanks to the Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin. And, of course, the first revived Olympic Games took place on Greek soil - in Athens, in 1896.

Modern society is spoiled by a huge variety of available entertainment and therefore attractive. It is easily carried away by new fun and just as quickly loses interest in them in pursuit of new, still unusual toys. Therefore, those pleasures that have managed to hold the attention of the windy public for a long time can be considered truly strong attractions. A striking example is sports competitions of a different nature, from team games to doubles. And the title of the main "watchman" is rightfully borne by the Olympic Games. For several millennia, these multi-species competitions have attracted the attention of not only professional athletes, but also fans of various sports trends, as well as simply fans of a colorful, memorable show.

Of course, the Olympic Games were not always as expensive and high-tech performance as they are today. But they have always been spectacular and fascinating, starting from their very appearance in the days of Antiquity. Since then, the Olympic Games have been suspended several times, they have changed their format and set of competitions, and have been adapted for athletes with disabilities. And now a regular two-year organizational system has been established. How long? History will show it. But now the whole world is looking forward to every new Olympic Games. Although few spectators, following the tense rivalry of their sports idols, guess how and why the Olympic Games appeared.

The origin of the Olympic Games
The body cult inherent in the ancient Greeks was the reason for the appearance of the first sports games on the territory of the ancient city-states. But it was Olympia that gave the holiday its name, which has been entrenched for centuries. Beautiful and strong bodies were glorified from the stage, immortalized in marble and adorned in sports arenas. The oldest legend says that the Games were first mentioned by the Delphic oracle around the 9th century. BC e., than saved Elis and Sparta from civil strife. And already in 776 BC. the first all-Greek Olympic Games were held, established by the god-like hero Hercules himself. It was a truly large-scale event: a celebration of physical culture, religious worship and simply the affirmation of life.

Even the holy wars for the Hellenes were suspended for the duration of the Olympic Games. The seriousness of the event was arranged accordingly: the date of its holding was set by a special commission, which, through the ambassadors-spondophores, announced its decision to the inhabitants of all Greek city-states. After that, their best athletes went to Olympia to train and polish their skills for a month under the guidance of experienced mentors. Then, for five days in a row, athletes competed in the following types of physical exercises:
This set can be considered the first composition of the Olympic sports of the times of Antiquity. Their champions, the winners of the competition, received truly divine honors and until the next Games enjoyed special respect from their compatriots and, according to rumors, the Thunderer Zeus himself. At home, they were greeted with songs, sung in hymns and honored at banquets, making obligatory sacrifices on their behalf to the supreme gods. Their names became known to every Greek. But the competitions were tough, the competition was serious, and the level of physical fitness of the competitors was very high, so few people managed to keep the laurels of the winner next year. The same unique heroes, who were three times the best of the best, were erected a monument in Olympia and equated with demigods.

A distinctive feature of the ancient Olympic Games was the participation in them not only of athletes, but also of artists. The ancient Greeks did not categorize human achievement at all and enjoyed life in all its manifestations. Therefore, the Olympic Games were accompanied by performances of poets, actors and musicians. Moreover, some of them did not refuse to show themselves in sports - for example, Pythagoras was a champion in fistfights. Artists sketched key events and images of athletes, spectators admired the combination of physical and spiritual beauty, enjoyed an abundance of delicious food and drinks. Sounds like modern workouts, doesn't it? But the original Olympic Games were still far from the current level of organization. This is confirmed by the annoying cessation of their history, albeit temporary.

Banning the Olympic Games
So, cheerfully and amicably, exactly 293 ancient Olympiads were held in 1168 years. Until 394 A.D. Roman emperor Theodosius the first "Bolshoi" did not ban the Olympic Games by his decree. According to the Romans, who brought and imposed Christianity on the Greek lands, shameless and noisy sports competitions were the embodiment of a pagan, and therefore unacceptable, way of life. You could even say that they were right in their own way. After all, religious ceremonies in honor of the gods of Olympus were an integral part of the Games. Each athlete considered it his duty to spend several hours at the sacrificial altar, offering prayers and making sacrifices to divine patrons. Mass ceremonies were accompanied by the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games, as well as the awarding of the winners and their triumphant return home.

The Greeks even adjusted the chronology to hold their favorite sports, cultural and entertainment event, creating the so-called "Olympic calendar". According to him, the holiday was to be held in the "holy month", which begins on the first full moon after the summer solstice. The cycle was 1417 days, or the Olympics - that is, the ancient Greek “Olympic year”. Of course, the warlike Romans were not going to put up with this state of affairs and free thinking in society. And although the Olympic Games still continued after Rome conquered the lands of Hellas, the pressure and oppression of Greek culture inevitably affected them, gradually leading to a complete decline.

A similar fate befell other, less significant, but similar in principle, sporting events. Their, starting from about the 6th century. BC. regularly held in honor of various gods and named after the venue: the Pythian Games, the Isthmian Games, the Nemean Games, etc. Mention of them along with the Olympic Games can be found in Herodotus, Plutarch, Lucian and some other ancient authors. But none of these competitions have gone down in history so firmly, have not influenced the development of European culture so much and have not been subsequently reinstated in rights as the Olympic Games.

Revival of the Olympic Games
Christian dogmas ruled over the European continent for more than one and a half thousand years, during which there was no question of holding the Olympic Games in their classical format. Even the Renaissance, which revived ancient values ​​and cultural achievements, was powerless in this matter. And only at the end of the 19th century, that is, relatively recently, the restoration of the rights of the ancient Greek traditions of physical culture became possible. This event is associated with the name of Pierre de Coubertin. This 33-year-old French baron, who succeeded in his pedagogical and literary career and social activities, considered regular sports competitions an excellent opportunity to strengthen mutual understanding around the world in general and raise the national consciousness of his compatriots in particular.

In June 1894, de Coubertin spoke at an international congress at the Sorbonne with a proposal to revive the Olympic Games. The proposal was received with enthusiasm, at the same time the International Olympic Committee was created, and de Coubertin himself was appointed general secretary. And already two years later, it took place for preparation, in 1896 in Athens, the capital of the cradle of the Olympic Games, the first modern Olympic Games were held. And with great success: 241 athletes from 14 countries of the world, and the leaders of these countries, and the flattered Greek government were very pleased with the sports event. The IOC immediately established a rotation of venues for the Olympics and a 4-year gap between Games.

Therefore, the second and third Olympic Games were already held in the twentieth century, in 1900 and 1904, in Paris (France) and St. Louis (USA), respectively. Even then, their organization adhered to the Charter of the Olympic Games, approved by the International Sports Congress. Its main provisions remain unchanged today. In particular, those related to the ordinal numbering of the Games, their symbols, venue and some other technical and organizational issues. As for the Olympic sports, their list is not constant and changes from time to time, either including or excluding some individual items. But basically today these are 28 (41 disciplines) sports:

1. Rowing
   
2. Badminton
   
3. Basketball
   
4. Boxing
   
5. Wrestling
   
6. Freestyle wrestling
   
7. Greco-Roman wrestling
   
8. Cycling
   
9. Track Cycling
   
10. Mountain bike (Mountain bike)
    
11. Road cycling
    
12. Swimming
    
13. Water polo
    
14. Diving
    
15. Synchronized swimming
    
16. Volleyball
    
17. Beach volleyball
    
18. Handball
    
19. Gymnastics
    
20. Rhythmic gymnastics
    
21. Trampoline jumping
    
22. Golf
    
23. Rowing and canoeing
    
24. Rowing slalom
    
25. Judo
    
26. Dressage
    
27. Show jumping
    
28. Triathlon
    
29. Athletics
    
30. Table tennis
    
31. Sailing
    
32. Rugby
    
33. Modern pentathlon
    
34. Archery
    
35. Tennis
    
36. Triathlon
    
37. Taekwondo
    
38. Weightlifting
    
39. Fencing
    
40. Football
    
41. Field hockey
    

By the way, the modern pentathlon was also created on the initiative of de Coubertin. He also founded the tradition, later enshrined in the Olympic Charter, to hold demonstration competitions in 1-2 sports not recognized by the IOC. But the idea of ​​the Baron to hold Art Contests at the Olympic Games did not take root. But the personalized Pierre de Coubertin Medal is still awarded by the International Olympic Committee for "outstanding manifestations of the Olympic sports spirit." This award is a special honor for the athlete, and many value it much higher than the Olympic gold medal.

By the way, the Olympic medal was also born along with the modern Olympic Games and can be considered the brainchild of de Coubertin's inexhaustible enthusiasm and ingenuity. After all, the ancient Greeks awarded their athletes not with medals at all, but with whatever other prizes they like: olive wreaths, gold coins and other jewelry. One of the kings even granted the victorious athlete his state. In the modern world, such waste is unthinkable, because all the principles of awarding and the system of awards for the Olympic Games since 1984 are clearly spelled out in the Olympic Charter.

Development of the Olympic Games. Paralympic and Winter Olympic Games.
The Olympic Charter is a kind of charter that contains the rules of the Olympic Games and the activities of the IOC, and also reflects the very concept and philosophy of the Olympics. At the beginning of its existence, it still allowed for corrections and amendments. In particular, since 1924, it also regulates the holding of the Winter Olympic Games, or "White Olympiad", conceived as an addition to the main summer games. The first Winter Olympics were held in Sweden and then regularly held in the same years as the Summer Olympics for nearly a century. And only in 1994, the tradition began to separate the Summer and Winter Olympics from each other by a two-year interval. To date, the Olympic Winter Games include the following 7 winter (15 disciplines) sports:

1. Biathlon
   
2. Curling
   
3. Skating
   
4. Figure skating
   
5. Short track
   
6. Skiing
   
7. Ski nordic
   
8. Ski race
   
9. Ski jumping
   
10. Snowboard
    
11. Freestyle
    
12. Bobsled
    
13. Luge
    
14. Skeleton
    
15. Hockey
    

A little earlier, in 1960, the IOC decided to hold competitions for athletes with disabilities. They are called the Paralympic Games in connection with the generalized term for diseases of the spine. But later it was reformulated into the Paralympic Games and explained by "parallelism", equality with the Olympic Games, since athletes with other diseases also began to compete. By their example, they demonstrate the moral and physical strength necessary for a fulfilling life and sports victories.

Rules and traditions of the Olympic Games
The scale and significance of the Olympic Games has surrounded them with many traditions, nuances and social myths. Each regular competition is accompanied by close attention of the world community, the media and private fans. Over the years, the Games have indeed acquired many rituals, most of which are recorded in the Charter and are strictly observed by the IOC. Here are the most significant ones:

1. Olympic Games Symbol- 5 multi-colored rings fastened together, placed in two rows, implies the union of the five parts of the world. In addition to him, there is the Olympic motto "Faster, higher, stronger!"
   
2. Opening and closing of the Olympic Games- this is a grandiose performance, which has become a kind of tacit competition between the organizers in the scale and high cost of this action. They do not spare funds for staging these ceremonies, using expensive special effects, inviting the best screenwriters, artists and world celebrities. The inviting party makes great efforts to ensure the audience's interest.
   
3. Financing of the Olympic Games- the responsibility of the organizing committee of the host country. Moreover, income from the broadcast of the Games and other marketing activities within their framework are transferred to the IOC.
   
4. Country, or rather the city, the holding of the next Olympic Games is determined 7 years before their date. But even 10 years before the holding, candidate cities provide the IOC with applications and presentations with evidence of their advantages. Acceptance of applications lasts for a year, then, 8 years before the finalists are called, and only then the members of the IOC, by secret ballot, appoint a new host of the Olympics. All this time the world is in a tense expectation of a decision.
   
5. Most Olympic Games were held in the USA - 8 Olympiads. France has hosted the Olympics 5 times, and Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada - 3 times each.
   
6. Title of champion of the Olympic Games- the most honorable in the career of any athlete. Moreover, it is given forever, there are no “former Olympic champions”.
   
7. Olimpic village- This is the traditional habitat of delegations from each country participating in the Olympics. It is built by the organizing committee according to the requirements of the IOC and lodges there only athletes, coaches and service personnel. Thus, it turns out a whole town, with its own infrastructure, training grounds, post offices and even beauty salons.
   

The Olympic Games, since their very appearance in the depths of Antiquity, were based on the principles of honesty and equality of participants. They took an oath before the start of the competition and were afraid to even think about breaking it. Modernity makes its own adjustments to ancient traditions, and to the transmission and perception of information. But still, the Olympic Games today, at least formally, remain not only mass fun, but also the embodiment of the ideas of health, beauty and strength, as well as fair struggle and respect for the best of the best.

In the 18th century, during archaeological excavations at Olympia, scientists discovered ancient sports facilities. But archaeologists soon ceased to study them. And only 100 years later, the Germans joined the study of the discovered objects. At the same time, for the first time, they started talking about the possibility of reviving the Olympic movement.

The main inspirer of the revival of the Olympic movement was the French baron Pierre de Coubertin, who helped German researchers to study the discovered monuments. He also had his own interest in the development of this project, since he believed that it was the weak physical training of the French soldiers that caused their defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. In addition, the baron wanted to create a movement that would unite young people and help establish friendly relations between different countries. In 1894, he voiced his proposals at the international congress, where it was decided to hold the first Olympic Games in their homeland, Athens.

The first Games became a real discovery for the whole world and were held with great success. A total of 241 athletes from 14 countries took part in them. The success of this event inspired the Greeks so much that they suggested that Athens be the venue for the Olympics on a permanent basis. However, the first International Olympic Committee, which was founded two years before the start of the first Games, rejected this idea and decided that it was necessary to establish rotation between states for the right to host the Olympics every four years.

The I International Olympic Games were held from 6 to 15 April 1896. Only men took part in the competition. 10 sports were taken as a basis. These are classic wrestling, cycling, gymnastics, swimming, shooting, tennis, weightlifting, fencing. In all these disciplines, 43 sets of medals were played. The Greek Olympians became the leaders, the Americans were in second place, the Germans received the bronze.

The organizers of the first Games wanted to make them an amateur competition, in which professionals could not take part. Indeed, according to the members of the IOC committee, those athletes who have a material interest, initially have an advantage over amateurs. And this is not fair.

Related article

The next Olympic Games will be held at the end of summer 2012. The previous competition took place two years ago - it was the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Despite the fact that it was already the 21st Winter Olympic Games, several "premieres" took place there.

The emblem of the games was a hero named Ilanaak - a "friend" made up of five stones of Olympic colors. Two of the games' mottos were borrowed from the Canadian anthem: the phrases in French for "Most Brilliant Feats" and in English for "With Flaming Hearts."

The original script for the opening of the Olympics has been amended. A few hours before the ceremony, it became known about the tragedy - a luge athlete from Georgia crashed during training. A minute of silence was included in the ceremony, and the Georgian national team came out in mourning bandages.

During the lighting of the Olympic flame, there was a small incident. For the first time, four athletes participated in the procedure. But due to a technical failure, there were only three "grooves" leading to the main torch. However, during the closing ceremony, this situation was ironically played up. The same guilty "electrician" appeared on the scene, he apologized and removed the missing fourth element in the construction of the Olympic flame.

The main stadium of the games was BC-Place in the center of Vancouver, with a capacity of 55 thousand spectators. In addition, some competitions were held in Whistler, Richmond and West Vancouver.

From 12 to 28 February, 82 teams competed for prizes in 15 disciplines. Compared to the previous Olympic Games, the list of disciplines has expanded: ski cross competitions have been added, separately for men and women.

The medals at the Vancouver Winter Olympics were unique, stylized in the traditions of Canadian indigenous art. For the first time in the history of the Olympics, the awards were not flat, but with a wavy surface.

The Russians remember these games as one of the most unsuccessful for the national team. The Winter Olympics became a record failure - the Russians showed the worst result in terms of the number of gold medals and place in the team classification. In the medal standings, the national team was only on the 11th line of the table. The hosts of the XXI Olympic Winter Games took the first place in terms of the amount of "gold", the second place was taken by Germany, and the third place was taken by the US team.

From February 12 to February 28, 2010, the XXI Winter Olympic Games were held in the Canadian city of Vancouver. These over two weeks were filled with many sporting events. Participants and spectators became heroes and witnesses of victories and defeats, doping scandals, the struggle for Olympic medals and, unfortunately, even tragic events. This Olympics for the Russian team was the most unsuccessful in the history of the Games.

From the very beginning, the Olympic Games in Vancouver were held under the sign of an absurd tragedy: even before the opening of the Games, several athletes were injured on the bobsleigh track, and a young promising athlete from the Georgian team, Nodar Kumaritashvili, died after crashing into a metal support. Therefore, the opening ceremony of the Olympics began with a minute of silence.

But then events developed according to plan, despite the too warm weather and problems with demonstrators and strikers protesting against globalization. The very next day, the usual Olympic weekdays began, the first official competitions took place - jumping from the K-90 springboard, in the final of which the Swiss Simon Ammann won, who opened the scoring for the Vancouver medals.

Russian skiers started their performances not very well, and as a result they got only fourth places, which the coaches explained by the poor selection of ski wax. The first Olympic medal for the Russian team was won by the speed skater Ivan Skobrev, who took third place at a distance of 5 km.

The Russian team continued to be haunted by failures: the two-fighter Niyaz Nabeyev, on whom great hopes were pinned, was removed from the competition due to an increased level of hemoglobin in the blood. In the very first match with the Finns, the Russian hockey players lost 1: 5 and practically immediately dropped out of the fight for medals. For the first time in many years, there were no Russian athletes in the competition of sports pairs.

The first gold for Russia only on the 5th day of the Olympiad was won by sprinter skiers Nikita Kryukov and Alexander Panzhinsky. Evgeni Plushenko, who was predicted gold in figure skating, took only second place, which also became an unpleasant surprise and a reason for long disputes. Success was accompanied by ice dancers, skiers in the team sprint, biathletes and luge, who added a few more medals to the collection of the Russian national team. For the first time in the history of Russian sports, Ekaterina Ilyukhina won a gold medal in snowboarding. In the unofficial team event, the Russian national team was only 11th in terms of the number of Olympic medals.

At the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, Vancouver handed over the baton to the Russian city of Sochi. Let's hope that another

The modern Olympic Games are international sports events. The tradition of holding them was born before our era in Ancient Greece, where sports were of great importance to people.

History of origin

According to legend, the mothers of all the ancient Greek gods Rhea served mythical creatures with ugly bodies - dactyls. The five dactyl brothers once traveled to Olympia, a Greek settlement considered to be a sacred site. Looking at the beautiful figures of divine statues, which were numerous in the temples of Olympia, dactyls wanted to make their bodies a little more attractive. To do this, they began to play sports and compete with each other in running, thereby laying the foundation for the tradition of organizing sports.

So even in ancient times since athletes were nicknamed the Olympic thanks to the place they were first held and organized every five years, according to the number of mythical brothers.

After some time, the tradition of holding the Olympic Games was interrupted, but in the II century BC it resumed again. Since then, the interval between the Olympics has been 4 years.

A reason for a truce

Ancient Greece, or as it was also called Hellas, was not a single country. It consisted of several small independent states, between which bloody wars constantly took place.

History tells us that Iphitu, king of the Greek state of Elis, on whose territory Olympia was located, the oracle-fortuneteller gave advice to organize a spectacular sports festival to please the gods, which will save the country from enemy raids and devastation. Iphit enlisted the support of a respected legislator from Sparta and instituted regular running races at sacred Olympia.

On the eve of the Olympic Games, a truce was established throughout Greece. For a month all sorts of wars stopped. In addition, Elis eventually turned into an untouchable country, against which other states were forbidden to fight.

Organization of the Ancient Games

The celebrations were all in the same Olympia at the same time, shortly before the grape harvest. They lasted for five days. Sports were followed by sacrifices to the gods, honoring of the winners and grandiose feasts.

Initially only men could participate in the competition, born in Elis and never committing crimes, the rest were exclusively spectators. Women were not allowed to the holiday at all. Every Olympic athlete was required to train hard for at least 10 months a year and be in excellent physical shape.

Athletes competed in running, later in wrestling and chariot races.

The winners received special respect, were awarded wreaths from olive sprigs, palm branches, cash prizes or stocks of meat and other food.

The ancient Olympic Games have always attracted huge numbers of spectators and participants. Merchants used this to make various transactions, artists introduced people to their creations.

Olympiads in Ancient Rome

In 146 BC Rome subdued Greece. The Romans did not ban the holding of the Olympic festivals, but they ceased to be of a sporting nature. Olympic Games turned into a bloody spectacle. Fierce battles were fought in the stadiums. Gladiators fought each other to the death, fought bulls and ferocious wild animals.

By the end of the 4th century AD, the Christian faith came to Rome, after which the government of the country decided to abandon the Olympic Games as a pagan holiday. And wars and natural disasters over time completely wiped out Olympia from the face of the earth.

Revival of Olympic traditions

In the 18th century, German scientists were interested in archaeological finds made in the area of ​​ancient Olympia. Excavations of ancient sports facilities led to the emergence in Europe of the idea of ​​resuming the Olympic games as a powerful stimulus for the development of sports culture among the population.

A public figure from France made a special contribution to the return of Olympic traditions Baron Pierre de Coubertin. In his opinion, the European youth of that time had an underdeveloped physical condition, but this could change the appearance of regular sports competitions. In addition, through peaceful athletic competitions, young people would have the opportunity to demonstrate your courage and strength without bloodshed and brutality.

In 1894, an important international event dedicated to the development of sports takes place in Paris. It is there that the message of the French baron about the desire to renew the Olympic traditions sounds. The idea gets the support of influential people. And in the same momentous year, the International Olympic Committee appeared - a new organization that promotes the development of the sports movement and a healthy lifestyle. Pierre de Coubertin is given one of the leading positions on the committee.

The summer of 1896 was marked by the holding of the first modern Olympic events. They take place in Greek Athens and become a real event in the entire cultural world. The best athletes from 14 countries take part in the games.

The year 1924 is marked in history by the organization of the first Winter Olympic Games. Their appearance is associated with the development of numerous winter sports. Currently, the difference between the winter and summer games is two years.

Modern games

Olympic games now are exclusively sporting in nature and have nothing to do with religion. They are organized in different countries, that is, they do not have a permanent venue. Parallel to the competition for healthy participants competitions for disabled athletes are held.

In 1913, a special attribute of the Olympic holiday arose - five connected Olympic rings, symbolizing the unity of the five parts of the world: Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and America. Since 1936, in the country where the games are held, it has been customary to light the Olympic torch and keep it lit until the end of all sporting events.

Today, as in antiquity, Olympic champions are held in high esteem, after all, they protect not only their own honor, but also the prestige of their country. In addition, as in ancient Greece, the Olympics are currently a grand celebration with a number of lavish ceremonies, which, fortunately, anyone can witness.

If this message is useful to you, it's good to see you.