Ancient Greece Olympic Games
The Ancient Greece Olympic games began in Olympia, Greece, which is named after the highest mountain in the Greek mainland, Mt. Olympos. In the stories of Greek mythology this is the place where the gods and goddesses ruled from. These ancient Greece Olympic Games took place every four years and were part of many ceremonies to pay homage to the Greek god Zeus. The first ancient Olympic events took place in 776 B.C. and only free men from Greece were allowed to compete in the ancient Greece Olympic Games. For the first thirteen years it was said that the stade, which is a 200 ft. foot race, was the only real event of these games and after that they started to add many more events. The first few events after the stade were also running events, one which was called diaulos, which is a 400 ft. race and then another race that was called the dolichos, which was a foot race that was estimated to be a total of approximately 4000 ft.
As the years went on many more events were added to the ancient Greece Olympic Games and boxing was added to honor Patroclus, who was the best friend of the Great warrior Achilles. The fighters during these boxing matches wore leather straps around their hands rather than the boxing gloves of the modern boxing era. There were many other traditions and events that took place during these games such as the javelin throw, a discus throw, wrestling events, chariot races, and jumping contests. The majority of the women of Greece were not allowed to compete or attend the ancient Greece Olympic Games, but some women were allowed. The modern Olympics have many more events and are a worldwide sporting event, a lot different from the traditions back then when it was more of a tribute to Zeus.