Which country hosted the first Olympic Games? Games of the I Olympiad

The Olympic Games came to us from Ancient Greece. It would be a mistake to assume that the mountain in the north of Greece, Olympus, gave them their name. According to myths, it was the dwelling place of the gods. The ancient Olympic Games were held much further south - in the town of Olympia on the banks of the Alfea River. The Sacred Olive Grove grew here, from the branches of which wreaths were woven for champions, and a temple to Zeus was erected. According to one of the legends, it was he who founded the games, according to another - they were invented by the greatest of the ancient Greek heroes Hercules, according to the third - the founder of the ancient kings of Mycenae PELOPS, after whom the Peloponnese peninsula is named.

The first Olympiad known to us took place in 776 BC. The first winner was the cook KOREB, ​​who was ahead of everyone in the race for a stage (the length of the then stadium) - 192.27 m. summer period, in the first year of which the Olympic Games were held). In 394, games were banned, and with the victory of Christianity, all pagan temples were set on fire. What did not burn in Olympia was destroyed in the 6th century by an earthquake, when the river changed its course, flooded and silted up the Sacred Grove.

As a result of archaeological excavations, which began in 1766, sports and temple facilities were discovered in Olympia.

For a long time, sports competitions of this magnitude were not held anywhere in the world. The very word "sport" appeared in English language in the 30s of the 19th century.

The desire to revive the Olympic mindset and culture spread fairly quickly throughout Europe. The French baron Pierre de Coubertin said then: “Germany unearthed what was left of ancient Olympia. Why can't France restore its old grandeur?

According to Coubertin, it was precisely the weak physical condition of the French soldiers that became one of the reasons for the defeat of the French in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. He sought to change the situation by improving the physical culture of the French. At the same time, he wanted to overcome national selfishness and contribute to the struggle for peace and international understanding.

The Youth of the World was to face off in sports, not on the battlefield. The revival of the Olympic Games seemed in his eyes best solution to achieve both goals.

He initiated the revival of the Olympic Games.

At a congress held June 16-23, 1894 at the Sorbonne University in Paris, he presented his thoughts and ideas to the international public. On the last day of the congress, it was decided that the first modern Olympic Games should take place in 1896. Athens was unanimously chosen as the host, since ancient Greece was the birthplace of the Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded, with the Greek Demetrius Vikelas as its first president and Baron Pierre de Coubertin as its general secretary.

General Aleksey Butovsky joined the IOC from Russia.

The first Games of our time were a great success. The Games have become the largest sporting event ever since ancient Greece.

Greek officials were so pleased that they put forward a proposal to hold the Games of the Olympiad "forever" in their homeland, Greece. But the IOC introduced a rotation between different states, so that every 4 years the Games change the venue.

It brought together 311 athletes from 13 countries competing in 41 sports. The Games were held for 12 days from 6 to 15 April 1896 in Athens and became the largest international event...

The grand opening was attended by 80 thousand spectators. The first champion of those modern Games was the American James CONNOLLY, who won the triple jump with a score of 13.71 m. But the main event of the Olympics was the marathon run, which was won by the Greek Spiridon LUIS. He became national hero.

Then the tradition was born to perform the national anthem and raise the flag of the state in honor of the winners.

German gymnast Karl Schumann, who became an Olympic champion.

Initially, Coubertin wanted to make the Olympic Games an amateur competition, in which there was no place for professionals involved in sports for money.

It was believed that those who received money for playing sports had an unfair advantage over those who practice sports as a hobby. Even coaches and those who received cash prizes for participation were not allowed.

In particular, Jim Thorpe in 1913 was deprived of medals - it was found that he played semi-professional baseball. After the war, with the professionalization of European sports, the requirement for amateurism in most sports fell away.

Resurrected by enthusiasts, the Olympic Games have now become the world's largest and most important event. The only thing that could not be adopted from the ancient Greeks was to stop all wars and consider criminals those who violated the peace during this period.

First Games

It is not a secret to anyone that the first Olympic Games were held in Greece as early as 776 BC. The small village of Olympia was chosen as the venue for the competition. At that time, competitions were held in only one discipline, which was running at a distance of 189 meters. Interesting feature that distinguished the first Olympic Games in Greece was that only men could take part in them. At the same time, they competed without shoes and any clothes on themselves. Among other things, only one woman, whose name was Demeter, received the right to observe the course of the competition.

History of the Olympics

The first Olympic Games were big success, so the tradition of holding them has been preserved for another 1168 years. Already at that time it was decided to hold such competitions every four years. A confirmation of their great authority is the fact that during the competition between states that were at war, a temporary peace treaty was always concluded. Each new Olympics has received many changes compared to what the first Olympics were like. First of all, we are talking about adding disciplines. At first it was running at other distances, and then long jumps, fisting, pentathlon, discus throwing, spears, darts and many others were added to it. The winners enjoyed such great respect that they even erected monuments in Greece. There were also difficulties. The most serious of these was the ban on the Games by Emperor Theodosius I in 394 AD. The fact is that he considered this kind of competition pagan entertainment. And 128 years later, a very strong earthquake happened in Greece, because of which the Games were forgotten for a long time.

rebirth

In the middle of the eighteenth century, the first attempts to revive the Olympics began. They began to come true about a hundred years later thanks to the French scientist Pierre de Coubertin. With the help of his compatriot - archaeologist Ernst Curtius - he, in fact, wrote new rules for such competitions. The first modern Olympic Games began on April 6, 1896 in the Greek capital. Representatives of 13 countries from all over the world took part in them. Russia, due to financial problems, did not send its athletes. Competitions were held in nine disciplines, among which were the following: gymnastics, shooting, athletics, weightlifting, wrestling, fencing, tennis, swimming and cycling. Public interest in the Games was colossal, a vivid confirmation of which is the presence at them, according to official figures, of spectators in the amount of more than 90 thousand people. In 1924, it was decided to divide the Olympics into winter and summer.

Failed competitions

It happened that the competitions were not held, despite the fact that they were planned. We are talking about the Berlin Games in 1916, the Olympics in Helsinki in 1940, as well as the London competitions in 1944. The reason for this is one and the same - in world wars. Now all Russians are looking forward to the first Olympic Games to be held in Russia. It will happen in Sochi in 2014.

But the administration of Athens and the Greek government expressed doubts about the fact that the necessary funds will be allocated for holding competitions of this rank. The government motivated this attitude by the fact that the Athenians are poorly versed in sports and that the city does not have the necessary sports facilities, and the financial situation of Greece does not allow inviting representatives from many countries to the Olympics. Many prominent state and political figures supported the government's statement. For example, the influential politician Stefonos Dratomis wrote that Greece is unable to realize the magnificent idea of ​​Pierre de Coubertin and the Games are best postponed until 1900, as constituent part World Exhibition in Paris.

But Pierre de Coubertin, as well as the Greek crown prince Constantine, who supported him, believed that only private individuals could count on help. The crown prince created a special commission for the promotion of the Olympic Games. He appointed the former mayor of Athens, Philemon, as general secretary of the commission, and also appealed to the people to donate funds to the fund for the preparation of the Olympics. Money began to come not only from the inhabitants of Greece, but also from London, Marseille, Istanbul (Constantinople) and other cities where rich Greek colonies existed. With funds received from Alexandria from Georg Averoff, the ancient Olympic stadium was restored. Athens also built a velodrome and a shooting range. Tennis courts are located in the city center. Athletes were provided with pavilions with boathouses and locker rooms for rowing competitions.

The preparation of the Olympic venues was carried out by the Greek National Olympic Committee, which managed to finish everything preparatory work for one year. The International Olympic Committee and national committees of other countries selected participants for the Games, which turned out to be a difficult task. Here is what Pierre de Coubertin wrote about this: “Most of the gymnastic associations in Germany, France and Belgium are filled with a consciousness of their own exclusivity: the members of these associations do not intend to tolerate in the program of the Games those sports that they do not cultivate. They have a special hatred for the so-called "English" sports ... Other associations were ready to send their representatives to Athens only after providing them with information about what interest the planned sports festival arouses to itself ... The German press, on top of everything, declared, that the Olympics are an exclusively Franco-Greek enterprise. Meanwhile, Mr. Kemen in Hungary, Major Balck in Sweden, General Butovsky in Russia, Professor Sloan in the USA, Lord Ampthill in Great Britain, and Dr. competitions."

The competition was originally planned for the stadium at Olympia, which hosted the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece. But this idea had to be abandoned, since the stadium needed serious restoration. It was decided to hold the Games in the Athens stadium, where athletes competed in ancient times. The opening of the Games took place on April 6 at the Marble Stadium in Athens, the opening ceremony was watched by about 80 thousand spectators (a record figure before the 1932 Olympic Games). After the King of Greece announced the Games of the First Olympiad, a choir of 150 voices performed the Olympic Ode, written especially for this occasion by the Greek composer Samara.

311 athletes from 13 countries took part in the competition: Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Denmark, USA, France, Chile, Switzerland, Sweden. However, more than 70% of the participants played for Greece. The teams of Germany (21 athletes), France (19), USA (14) were quite representative.

Russian athletes were actively preparing for the Olympics, but due to lack of funds, the Russian team could not come. Several athletes from Odessa, eager to participate in the Games, decided to travel to Athens on their own, but due to financial problems, they had to return back. Nikolai Ritter from Kiev, however, managed to get to Athens and even applied for participation in wrestling and shooting competitions. But he did not compete, later withdrawing his application.

Only men participated in the competition.

The program of the first modern Olympic Games included competitions in Greco-Roman wrestling, cycling, gymnastics, athletics, swimming, shooting (bullet), tennis, weightlifting, fencing, in which 43 sets of medals were played. More rowing competitions were planned, but due to the lack of applications, they did not take place.

According to ancient tradition, the Games were started by athletes. The first Olympic champion was the American athlete James Connolly, who won the triple jump with a result of 13 m 71 cm. The champion was a full meter ahead of his closest rival Alexander Tuffer from France. Harvard University student Connolly arrived at the Olympics without official permission from the administration, moreover, professors and teachers disapproved of the willfulness of the future champion. But after James returned with an Olympic gold medal, pundits changed their anger to mercy. Later, he was even awarded an honorary doctorate from Harvard. Connolly became famous not only on the sports path, becoming the first modern Olympic champion, but also in journalism, he also has 25 popular novels.

The second gold medal was also won by an American athlete - discus thrower Robert Garret, who literally snatched the highest Olympic award from the hands of the Greek Panagiotis Paraskevopoulos. This circumstance plunged the Greek fans into shock - after all, the Greeks were considered out of competition in discus throwing!

The happy American told the astonished journalists the entertaining story of his victory. As a student at Princeton University, Garrett learned that the Games program included discus throwing and decided to take part in it. Since in America they knew about such a sport only by hearsay, he decided that the same disc as the ancient athletes used at the Olympics would be used.

After digging through the books, Garret ordered a similar disk for himself and, having familiarized himself with the technique, began training. Already in Athens, he discovered that modern equipment is so much lighter and more convenient that it was not difficult for him to beat the favorites with a score of 29 m 15 cm.

The next day, fortune once again smiled at the lucky American: in the absence of the main contender, world record holder Dennis Horgan (Ireland), Garrett won another gold medal in the shot put with a score of 11 m 22 cm. Garrett entered the history of the Olympic Games by paying for trip of three athletes of his team.

The main event was the marathon. The winner, the Greek postman Spyridon Louis, became a national hero and received high honors. In addition to the Olympic awards, he received a gold cup, established by the French academician Michel Breal, who insisted on the inclusion of marathon running in the Games program, a barrel of wine, a voucher for free meals throughout the year, free tailoring of dresses and use of hairdresser services throughout life, 10 centners of chocolate, 10 cows and 30 sheep.

Pierre de Coubertin described the victory of Spiridon Louis as follows: “When Louis appeared at the stadium, 60 thousand spectators who were waiting for him jumped up from their seats, seized with extraordinary excitement. A flock of pigeons released from their cages flew up again ... Some spectators, who turned out to be closer than others to Louis, tried to get to him in order to carry him out of the field in triumph. Louis would have been strangled in a hug if the Crown Prince and Prince George had not escorted him out of the arena."

The first serious violation of sports ethics is associated with the marathon. Immediately after the finish, Hungarian athlete Dese Kellner, who came fourth, protested, demanding the disqualification of the Greek runner S. Vasilakos. Kellner claimed that third-place finisher Vasilakos mysteriously disappeared during the marathon and reappeared in front of him several hundred meters from the finish line. The investigation showed that the enterprising Greek covered almost the entire distance on a wagon to appear at the finish line in the glory of the winner. The Hungarian athlete received his rightful bronze medal as well as a gold watch along with an apology from the organizers.

For fraud, Vasilakos was deprived of the right to wear National dress, he was publicly convicted and banned for life.

The outstanding French athlete Paul Masson was out of reach in the sprint race on the track, as well as at distances of 2000 and 10000 m. At the first Games, he won the most gold medals. An example of sports spirit and fair fight was demonstrated by another French athlete Leon Flaman. Leading the 100-kilometer race, he suddenly noticed that his main rival Georgios Koletis had to stop due to a bike breakdown. The Frenchman, in solidarity, decided to wait for the Greek cyclist and resumed the race only after Koletis was able to continue it. And despite the delay, Flaman was the first to reach the finish line. He became not only an Olympic champion, but also one of the most popular Olympic athletes.

There was no division into weight categories in wrestling competitions. All the more honorable was the victory of an athlete from Germany, Karl Schumann, who was the lightest of all participants. In addition to the victory in wrestling, Schumann won 3 more gold medals in gymnastics competitions - vault, as well as in the team championship in exercises on uneven bars and crossbar.

In the weightlifting competition, the Englishman Launceston Elliot distinguished himself with a result of 71 kg in the exercise with one hand and the Dane Viggo Jensen (111.5 kg with two hands).

In shooting competitions, Greek athletes were out of competition, having won 3 medals in exercises with an army rifle. In shooting from a revolver, the 2 highest awards were obtained by the Americans.

A striking victory was won by the Hungarian swimmer Alfred Hajos. In stormy weather, he managed to get ahead of the rest of the contenders and won the swim at a distance of 1200 m. Hayosh remained in the Olympic annals not only as the first swimming champion: 28 years after winning in Athens, he again took part in the Olympic Games and won a silver medal in the art competition in the architecture section - for the stadium project.

Of course, not everything at the Games of the 1st Olympiad, despite the great enthusiasm and efforts of the organizers, went smoothly. The result would be more significant if representatives of not 13, but more of the 34 invited countries participated in the competition. A number of states sent weak teams to the Olympic competitions, and some of the strongest athletes did not come to the Games.

However, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of the first international competitions of this magnitude. Coubertin praised them highly, noting: “As far as Greece is concerned, the outcome of the Games seems to be twofold: sporting and political ... If one realizes the impact that physical education can have on the future of the country and on spiritual forces nation as a whole, the question involuntarily arises: did the Greeks begin in 1896 new era its development? It would be interesting if sport became one of the factors that could influence the solution of the Eastern question! .. These are hypotheses, and the future will confirm or refute the correctness of our forecasts ... "

The winners were awarded on the closing day of the Games - 15 April. In accordance with the ancient ceremonial, the Olympic champion was crowned with a laurel wreath, he was awarded an olive branch cut in the sacred grove of Olympia, as well as a medal and a diploma. Since 1896, the tradition of playing national anthems and raising state flags in honor of the winners has been established.

At the Games of the First Olympiad the largest number medals were won by Greek athletes - 46 (10 gold, 19 silver and 17 bronze); US Olympians received 19 medals (respectively, 11, 7, 1); German athletes - 14 medals (7, 5, 2). Olympians from Bulgaria, Chile and Sweden were left without medals.

After the successful holding of the Games of the I Olympiad, Greece expected that the subsequent Olympic Games would be held in Athens, which would become modern Olympia. However, the International Olympic Committee decided to give the Games a truly international character and hold them alternately in different countries and on different continents. The International Olympic Committee did not object to major international competitions being held in Greece between the Games. Such competitions were planned to be held in 1898, and then in 1902. But for organizational and financial reasons, they did not take place.

If so, you might be very interested to know impressive details of the origin of the Olympic races. The history of the Olympic Games is exciting and full of surprises. So, let's dive into the unknown distances of the world Olympiads?

How it all began

The famous Olympic Games in honor of Olympian Zeus originated in ancient Greece and have been held since 776 BC. e. every 4 years in the city of Olympia. Sports competitions were such a tremendous success and great importance for society that at the time of the OlympicOhraces stopped wars and established ekekhiriya - a sacred truce.

People came from everywhere to look at the competitions in Olympia: some traveled on foot, some on horseback, and some even sailed ships to distant lands, just to have at least one eye on the majestic Greek athletes. Entire tent settlements grew up around the city. To watch the athletes, spectators completely filled the hillsides around the Alfei river valley.

After the solemn victory and the award ceremony (presenting a wreath of sacred olive and palm branches), the Olympionist lived in clover. Holidays were held in his honor, hymns were sung, statues were made, in Athens the winner was exempted from taxes and burdensome public duties. And the winner was always left the best place in the theater. In some places, even the children of an Olympian enjoyed special privileges.

Interesting, that women were not allowed to compete in the Olympics under pain of death.

Brave Hellenes competed in running, fisticuffs (which Pythagoras once won), jumping, javelin throwing, and so on. The most dangerous, however, were the chariot races. You will not believe it, but the owner of the horses was considered the winner of the equestrian competition, and not the poor driver who risked his life for the sake of winning.

There are many legends associated with the Olympic Games. One of them says that Zeus himself allegedly organized the first competition in honor of the victory over his father. True or not, but in literature it was Homer who first mentioned the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece in the poem The Iliad.

Archaeological excavations show that in Olympia, 5 rectangular or horseshoe-shaped stadiums with stands for fans were built specifically for the competition.

Unfortunately, nothing is known about the time of the champions at the moment. It was enough to be the first to reach the finish line to get the right to light the sacred fire. But the legends tell us about the Olympians who ran faster than hares, and what is the talent of the Spartan Ladas, who did not leave footprints in the sand while running.

Modern Olympic Games

The modern international sporting events known as the Summer Olympics have been held every four years since 1896. Initiated by the French baron Pierre de Coubertin. He believed that it was precisely insufficient physical fitness that prevented French soldiers from winning the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. The youth should measure their strength on the sports grounds, not on the battlefields, the activist argued.

The first Olympic Games were held in Athens. To organize the competition created International Olympic Committee, whose first president was Demetrius Vikelas of Greece.

Since that time, the World Olympiad has become a good tradition. Against the backdrop of impressive excavations and archaeological finds, the idea of ​​Olympism spread throughout Europe. Increasingly, European states organized their own sports competitions, which were watched by the whole world.

What about winter sports?

To fill a gap in winter sports competitions that were technically impossible to host in the summer, Since January 25, 1924, the Winter Olympic Games have been held. The first were organized in the French city Chamonix. In addition to figure skating and hockey, athletes competed in speed skating, ski jumping, etc.

293 athletes, including 13 women, from 16 countries of the world expressed their desire to compete for the championship in competitions. Ch. Juthrow from the USA (speed skating) became the first Olympic champion of the winter games, but in the end the teams of Finland and Norway turned out to be the leaders of the competition. The races lasted 11 days and ended on February 4th.

Attributes of the Olympic Games

Now a symbol and emblem The Olympic Games have five rings intertwined, which symbolize the unification of the five continents.

Olympic motto, proposed by the Catholic monk Henri Didon: "Faster, higher, stronger."

At the opening ceremony of each Olympiad, they raise flag- white cloth with the emblem (Olympic rings). Burning throughout the Olympiad Olympic the fire, which is brought to the venue each time from Olympia.

Since 1968, each Olympiad has its own.

The 2016 Olympic Games will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the Ukrainian team will present their champions to the world. By the way, the figure skater became the first Olympic champion of independent Ukraine Oksana Baiul.

The opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games are always a spectacular sight, which once again emphasizes the prestige and planetary importance of these world competitions.

When and where did the Olympic Games appear? And who is the founder of the Olympic Games, you will learn from this article.

Brief History of the Olympic Games

The Olympic Games originated in Ancient Greece, because the athleticism inherent in the Greeks became the reason for the emergence of sports games. The founder of the Olympic Games is King Enomai, who organized sports games for those who wanted to take his daughter Hippodamia as a wife. According to legend, he was predicted that his son-in-law would be the cause of death. Therefore, young people who won in certain competitions died. Only the cunning Pelops overtook Oenomaus in chariots. So much so that the king broke his neck and died. The prediction came true, and Pelops, becoming king, established every 4 years to organize the Olympic Games in Olympia.

It is believed that in Olympia, the place where the first Olympic Games were held, the first competitions took place in 776 BC. The name of that who was the first winner of the games in ancient Greece - Koreb from Elis, who won the race.

olympic games in ancient greece sports

For the first 13 games, the only sport in which the participants competed was running. Then there was the pentathlon. It included running, javelin throwing, long jump, discus throwing, wrestling. A little later, a chariot race and fisticuffs were added.

The modern program of the Olympic Games includes 7 winter and 28 summer sports, that is, 15 and 41 disciplines, respectively. Everything depends on the season.

As soon as the Romans annexed Greece to Rome, the number of nationalities that could take part in the games increased. Gladiator fights have been added to the program of competitions. But in 394 AD, Emperor Theodosius I, an admirer of Christianity, canceled the Olympic Games, considering them entertainment for the pagans.

The Olympic Games have sunk into oblivion for as long as 15 centuries. The first who took a step towards the revival of forgotten competitions was the Benedictine monk Bernard de Montfaucon. He was interested in the history and culture of Ancient Greece and insisted that excavations should be carried out in the place where the famous Olympia once stood.

In 1766, Richard Chandler found the ruins of unknown structures of antiquity near Mount Kronos. It was part of the temple wall. In 1824, Lord Stanhof, an archaeologist, began excavations on the banks of the Alpheus. In 1828, the baton of the excavations of Olympia was picked up by the French, and in 1875 by the Germans.

Pierre de Coubertin statesman France insisted that the Olympic Games should be restarted. And in 1896, the first revived Olympic Games were held in Athens, which are still popular today.

We hope that from this article you have learned where and when the Olympic Games originated.