The Olympic games today are very different from the rituals performed in ancient Olympia and even from the old games that were played. At first, the games started in Olympia in 776 b. c. and they were rituals performed to honor Zeus. This was even before they became athletic games; they solely consisted of rituals and offerings honoring Zeus, but this later changed. It became more of a physical competition, which, while it still was in honor of Zeus, the city-states were competing to see who was the strongest. Along with this, it was a way to get the men fit for battle.
The games began with only one event, which was a race. This games later grew to add in a few more different types of races. Even after this, events including boxing, wrestling, the pentathlon, and horse and chariot races were added. This does not, however, come even close to he Olympic games that we celebrate today.
Today we have an enormous variety of sports included in our Olympics, and we do not compete in horse and chariot races anymore. Also, the games today are mainly for competition and entertainment; not to honor any Gods. Another difference in the games today is that both men and women are allowed to compete. This was not so in the ancient times when the games began. As you can see, times have changed a lot since 776 b. c., and not only because of the Olympic games. These games, however, are a fun tradition that has been passed on for a very long time. They will hopefully continue on into the future, adapting with the current culture as they did for us.
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Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia, 12 Feb. 2010. Web. 17 Feb. 2010.
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