What are the Olympic Games. The birth of the Olympic Games

History of the Olympic Games

Once every four years, the Olympic Games are held - the so-called sports competitions, in which the best athletes from around the world participate. Each of them dreams of becoming an Olympic champion and receiving a gold, silver or bronze medal as a reward. Almost 11 thousand athletes from over 200 countries of the world came to the 2016 Olympic competitions in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

Although these sports are mostly played by adults, some sports, as well as the history of the Olympic Games, can also be very exciting for children. And, probably, both children and adults would be interested to know when the Olympic Games appeared, how they got such a name, and also what types of sports exercises were in the very first competitions. In addition, we will learn how the modern Olympic Games are held, and what their emblem means - five multi-colored rings.

The birthplace of the Olympic Games is Ancient Greece. The earliest historical records of the ancient Olympic Games were found on Greek marble columns engraved with the date 776 BC. However, it is known that sports in Greece took place much earlier than this date. Therefore, the history of the Olympics has been around for about 2800 years, and this, you see, is quite a lot.

Do you know who, according to history, became one of the first Olympic champions? - This was ordinary cook Korybos from the city of Elis, whose name is still engraved on one of those marble columns.

The history of the Olympic Games is rooted in the ancient city of Olympia, from where the name of this sporting event originated. This settlement is located in a very beautiful place - near Mount Kronos and on the banks of the Alpheus River, and it is here from ancient times to the present day that the ceremony of lighting the torch with the Olympic flame takes place, which is then relayed to the city of the Olympic Games.

You can try to find this place on a world map or in an atlas and at the same time check yourself - can I find Greece first, and then Olympia?

How were the Olympic Games in ancient times?

At first, only local residents took part in sports competitions, but then everyone liked it so much that people from all over Greece and its subordinate cities began to come here, even from the Black Sea itself. People got there as best they could - someone rode a horse, someone had a wagon, but most people went to the holiday on foot. The stadiums were always crowded with spectators - everyone really wanted to see sports competitions with their own eyes.

It is also interesting that in those days when the Olympic competitions were going to be held in Ancient Greece, a truce was declared in all cities and all wars stopped for about a month. For ordinary people, it was a calm peaceful time, when they could take a break from everyday affairs and have fun.

For a whole 10 months, the athletes trained at home, and then for another month in Olympia, where experienced coaches helped them prepare as best as possible for the competition. At the beginning of sports games, everyone took an oath, the participants - that they would compete honestly, and the judges - to judge fairly. Then the competition itself began, which lasted 5 days. The beginning of the Olympic Games was announced with the help of a silver trumpet, which was blown several times, inviting everyone to gather in the stadium.

What sports were at the Olympic Games in ancient times?

These were:

• running competitions;
• fight;
• long jump;
• javelin and discus throw;
• hand-to-hand combat;
• chariot racing.

The best sportsmen were awarded an award - a laurel wreath or an olive branch, the champions solemnly returned to their hometown and were considered respected people until the end of their lives. Banquets were held in their honor, and sculptors made marble statues for them.

Unfortunately, in 394 AD, the Olympic Games were banned by the Roman emperor, who did not like such competitions very much.

Olympic Games today

The first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896, in the parent country of these games - Greece. You can even calculate how long the break was - from 394 to 1896 (it turns out 1502 years). And now, after so many years in our time, the birth of the Olympic Games became possible thanks to one famous French baron, his name was Pierre de Coubertin.

Pierre de Coubertin the founder of the modern Olympic Games.

This man really wanted as many people as possible to go in for sports and offered to resume the Olympic Games again. Since then, sports games have been held every four years, with the maximum preservation of the traditions of ancient times. But now the Olympic Games began to be divided into winter and summer, which alternate with each other.

Traditions and symbols of the Olympic Games

Olympic rings

Probably, each of us has seen the emblem of the Olympics - intertwined colored rings. They were chosen for a reason - each of the five rings means one of the continents:

• blue ring - a symbol of Europe,
• black - Africa,
• red - America,
• yellow - Asia,
• the green ring is the symbol of Australia.

And the fact that the rings are intertwined with each other means the unity and friendship of people on all these continents, despite the different skin colors.

olympic flag

The white flag with the Olympic emblem was chosen as the official flag of the Olympic Games. White is a symbol of peace during Olympic competitions, just as it was in ancient Greece. At each Olympics, the flag is used at the opening and closing of sports games, and then transferred to the city in which the next Olympics will take place four years later.

olympic fire

Even in ancient times, a tradition arose to light a fire during the Olympic Games, and it has survived to this day. It is very interesting to watch the ceremony of lighting the Olympic flame, it is reminiscent of an ancient Greek theatrical production.

It all starts in Olympia a few months before the start of the competition. For example, the fire for the Brazilian Olympic Games was lit in Greece back in April of this year.

In Greek Olympia, eleven girls gather, dressed in long white dresses, as they used to be in Ancient Greece, then one of them takes a mirror and, with the help of sunlight, lights a specially prepared torch. This is the fire that will burn throughout the entire period of the Olympic competition.

After the torch lights up, it is handed over to one of the best athletes, who will then carry it first through the cities of Greece, and then deliver it to the country in which the Olympic Games will be held. Further, the torch relay passes through the cities of the country and, finally, arrives at the place where sports competitions will be held.

A large bowl is installed in the stadium and a fire is lit in it with the torch that came from distant Greece. The fire in the bowl will burn until all sports are over, then it goes out, and this symbolizes the end of the Olympic Games.

Opening and closing ceremony of the Olympics

It is always a bright and colorful sight. Each country hosting the Olympic Games tries to surpass the previous one in this component, sparing no effort or means. For the production, the latest achievements of science and technology, innovative technologies and developments are used. In addition, a large number of volunteers are involved. The most famous people of the country are invited: artists, composers, athletes, etc.

Awarding of winners and prize-winners

When the first Olympic Games were held, the winners received a laurel wreath as a reward. However, modern champions are no longer awarded with laurel wreaths, but with medals: first place is a gold medal, second place is a silver medal, and third is a bronze medal.

It is very interesting to watch the competitions, but it is even more interesting to see how the champions are awarded. The winners go to a special pedestal with three steps, according to the places taken, they are awarded medals and raise the flags of the countries where these athletes came from.

That's the whole history of the Olympic Games, for children, I think, the above information will be interesting and useful

Many centuries were needed in order to resume these wonderful sports festivals. But we - the participants and spectators of the modern Olympics - should not forget about our distant predecessors. We are grateful to them for the idea of ​​peace and friendship of peoples that we borrowed, which is the basis of the modern Olympic movement, and for the ritual of opening the Games suggested to us by the ancient Greeks, and for the strict rules of wrestling, honoring the winners.

The resumption of the Olympic Games was preceded by many events that drew general attention to the Olympics of the ancient world. One of these events was the excavation of the ruins of Olympia, undertaken in the 70s of the last century by the German Ernst Curtius. It was possible to discover the remains of 40 buildings, find many sculptures and bas-reliefs, bronze objects, including sports equipment.

The excavations made it possible to restore the appearance of ancient Olympia, located in the valley of the Alfea River among shady olive groves, to imagine how the stadium, hotels, premises for athletes, numerous temples and the main shrine of Olympia, the temple of Zeus, with a statue of the supreme god of the Greeks, looked like in those distant times, sculpted by the great Phidias.

Every year the interest in the Olympic Games increased. More and more often, proposals were made for the restoration of this greatest sports forum of the ancient world. And when in 1892 the French educator and public figure Pierre de Coubertin spoke at the Sorbonne with a report "Revival of the Olympics", the ground for the organization of the Olympic Games had already been prepared.

On July 24, 1894, the International Sports Congress, which gathered in the assembly hall of the Sorbonne, which was attended by representatives of 34 countries, decided to hold the first Olympics in Greece in 1896 and continue to hold it every four years.

The program of the Olympic competitions caused a lot of controversy among the organizers. No one had any doubts only about athletics. Indeed, running, jumping and throwing competitions formed the basis of the Olympic Games of the ancient world. Athletics has become widespread in our time, becoming one of the main means of physical education.

The competition program in Athens included 12 types of athletics. At the Marble Stadium in Athens, sprinters could compete in the 100 and 400 meters.

Runners for medium and long distances - in running for 800, 1500 meters and in marathon running. Jumpers competed in long jump, high jump, pole jump and triple jump. The throwers pushed the shot and threw the discus. Finally, hurdlers had the opportunity to compete in the 100m hurdles.

From the first Olympics in 1896 to the XXI Olympic Games held in Montreal in 1976, 80 years have passed. Over the years, the athletics program has changed beyond recognition. Instead of 12 types, it now includes 36 types of running, jumping, throwing, all-around and walking. Women compete in 13 types of athletics at the modern Games.

Eighty Olympic years on the treadmills, sectors for jumping and throwing, there was a struggle for places on the podium, for records and the highest achievements. More and more new countries, new generations of athletes were involved in this struggle. If only 59 athletes from 10 countries took part in athletics competitions in Athens, then in 1976 in Montreal the number of participants in these competitions reached 1379 people from 80 countries of the world.

Many countries have contributed to the Olympic history of the development of athletics. The leading role in sprinting and throwing belonged to US athletes for a long time. Finland became famous for its outstanding long-distance runners and javelin throwers, France and England for middle-distance runners, Japan for pole vaulters and triple jumpers.

Beginning with the 1952 Olympic Games, athletes from the socialist countries came to the forefront in athletics, putting an end to the long-term hegemony of American sprinters, jumpers and throwers at the Olympics. In recent years, the victorious procession through the stadiums of the world has been started by athletes of the countries of the African continent that have been liberated from the colonial oppression.

The achievements of the participants in the Olympic Games are growing. Sometimes it seems that the limits of human capabilities have already been reached. But new Games begin, and old results overlap again, new records are set. Science comes to the aid of coaches and athletes. The means and methods of training are being improved. The quality of sports equipment and equipment is improving. As if on wings, the tartan track carries the runners to the finish line. It is screwed into the air and plans for a long time a new form of a spear with excellent aerodynamic properties.

And now, faster and faster, sprinters overcome distances of 100, 200 and 400 meters, runners for medium distances of 800 and 1500 meters, stayers - 5000 and 10,000 meters. The bar is rising higher and higher in high jump and pole vault. Farther and farther fly the disk, the spear and the hammer. Fantastic milestones have already been overcome: 10 and 20 seconds in the 100 and 200 meters. The bar in the high jump was raised by 2 meters 35 centimeters. 10 centimeters left to reach the 9-meter boundary in the long jump. Reached the 70-meter milestone in discus throw, 80-meter hammer throw, 90-meter javelin throw. The results are also growing in other types of athletics.

How did you manage to win these frontiers? Will Olympic achievements grow in the future?

Is there really no limit to human capabilities in athletics?

Who and why became the hero of the Olympic Games?

What lies in the way of Olympic champions to sports glory and what is their future fate?

Answers to these questions can be found on the pages of the site website

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. An interesting feature that made the first Olympic Games in Greece stand out 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 a great 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.

In the 18th century, during archaeological excavations in 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 poor physical preparation 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 - in Athens.

The first Games were a real discovery for the whole world and were a huge success. In total, 241 athletes from 14 countries took part in them. The success of this event so inspired the Greeks that they proposed to make Athens 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 a rotation between states for the right to host the Olympics every four years.

The 1st International Olympic Games were held from 6 to 15 April 1896. Only men competed. 10 sports were taken as a basis. These are classical 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 took the second place, the Germans got the bronze.

The organizers of the first Games wanted to make them an amateur competition in which professionals could not take part. After all, according to the members of the IOC committee, those athletes who have a material interest initially have an advantage over amateurs. And that's 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, there were several "premiers" at them.

The emblem of the games was a hero named Ilanaak - "friend", made up of five stones of Olympic colors. Two of the games' slogans were borrowed from Canada's national anthem: the French phrase "To the most brilliant deeds" and the English phrase "With burning hearts".

Amendments have been made to the original script for the opening of the Olympics. A few hours before the ceremony, it became known about the tragedy - a luger athlete from Georgia crashed during training. The ceremony included a minute of silence, 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, only three "grooves" appeared leading to the main torch. However, during the closing ceremony, this situation was played ironically. The same guilty "electrician" appeared on the stage, 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 downtown Vancouver, designed for 55,000 spectators. In addition, some competitions were held in Whistler, Richmond and West Vancouver.

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

The medals at the Vancouver Winter Olympics were unique, stylized in the tradition 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 event. In the medal standings, the team was only 11th in the table. The hosts of the XXI Winter Olympic Games took the first place in terms of the number of "gold", Germany took the second place, and the US team took the third place.

From February 12 to February 28, 2010, the XXI Winter Olympic Games were held in the Canadian city of Vancouver. These two-plus weeks have been 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 Olympiad for the Russian team was the most unsuccessful in the history of the Games.

From the very beginning, the Olympic Games in Vancouver were marked by 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 solemn opening ceremony of the Olympics began with a moment of silence.

But further events developed according to plan, despite too warm weather and problems with demonstrators and strikers protesting against globalization. The very next day, ordinary Olympic everyday life began, the first official competitions were held - K-90 ski jumping, in the finals of which the Swiss Simon Ammann won, who opened the scoring for Vancouver medals.

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

The Russian team continued to be haunted by failures: the Nordic combined athlete Niyaz Nabeev, on whom great hopes were placed, was suspended from participation in 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 with a score of 1:5 and, in fact, immediately dropped out of the fight for medals. For the first time in many years, there were no Russian athletes in the competitions of sports couples either.

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

At the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, Vancouver passed the baton to the Russian city of Sochi. Let's hope the next

The history of the ancient Olympic Games dates back to the 9th century BC. In those days, there were endless devastating wars between the ancient states. One day, the king of Elis, Ifit, went to Delphi to the oracle and asked him what could be done to help his people avoid robberies and wars. The Delphic oracle was known for its accurate and absolutely correct advice and predictions. He advised Ifit to found sports games pleasing to the gods on the territory of his country.

Ifit immediately went to the king of neighboring Sparta, the powerful Lycurgus, and agreed with him to establish Elis as a neutral state. According to the agreement, the Athletic Games were to be held in Olympia every 4 years. This treaty was established in 884 BC. e.

First Olympic Games in Ancient Greece

The first Olympic Games in human history took place in 776 BC. e. At that time, only two Elis cities took part in them - Pisa and Elisa. The names of the winners of the Olympiads were carved by the Greeks on marble columns that were installed on the banks of the Alpheus River. Thanks to this modern world, the names of Olympionists are known, including the very first of them: it was a cook from Elis named Koreba.

As the Olympic Games approached, messengers from Elis rode through all the cities, announcing the upcoming festival and announcing the "sacred truce". The messengers were greeted with joy not only by the Helladians themselves, but also by the Greeks living in other cities.

The establishment of a single calendar took place somewhat later. According to him, the games were to be organized every 4 years during the harvest and grape harvest. Numerous religious ceremonies and sports competitions were included in the festival of athletes, the duration of which at first was one day, after some time - five days, and then - as much as thirty days. Slaves, barbarians (that is, those who were not citizens of the Greek state), criminals, blasphemers had no right to participate in competitions.

Video about the history of the ancient Olympic Games

The order of introduction of various competitions in the Olympic Games

1. The first thirteen games were held only in competitions in the stadiodromos - athletes competed in running over a distance.
2. But since 724 BC, the history of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece has changed somewhat: athletes began to compete in a double run over a distance of about 385 meters.
3. Even later, in 720 BC. e., another competition was added - the pentathlon.
4. In 688 B.C. e., after another seven Olympics, fisticuffs were added to the program.
5. After another 12 years - chariot competitions.
6. In 648 B.C. e., at the 33rd Olympiad, the list of the program was replenished with pankration. It was the most difficult and cruel type of games, which was a fistfight, which the participants carried out in bronze caps put on their heads. Leather belts with metal spikes were wound around their fists. The fight did not end until one of the wrestlers made the decision to admit defeat.
7. Some time later, the running of heralds and trumpeters, the running of warriors in arms, competitions in chariots that were harnessed by mules, as well as some types of children's competitions, were added to the list of competitions.

After each Olympiad, marble statues of the winners were erected between the Alpheus River and the stadium, which were made at the expense of those cities in which the Olympionists lived. Some of the statues were made with funds that were collected from fines who violated the established rules of the Olympic Games. The ancient Greeks left quite a lot of monuments, statues, various records, thanks to which modern people know the history of the Olympic Games.

Modern Summer Olympics

The history of the Summer Olympic Games is quite complicated. For a long time, the Olympics were banned, but Great Britain, France, Greece still held sports competitions, which were secretly called "Olympic". In 1859, the Olympic Games resumed in Greece under the name Olympia. Such competitions have been held for 30 years.

When German archaeologists discovered the remains of sports facilities in Greece in 1875, Europe began to talk more and more about the revival of the Olympics.

The history of the development of the Summer Olympic Games began thanks to the French baron Pierre de Coubertin, who believed that their revival would contribute to:

• Improving the level of physical fitness of soldiers.
• The cessation of national egoism, which was inherent in the Olympic idea.
• Replacing sports competitions with military operations.

Thus, thanks to the initiative of Coubertin, the Olympic Games were officially revived from 1896. The Olympic Charter, adopted in 1894, approved the rules and principles by which the Summer Games should be held. Each Olympics began to be assigned its own serial number, and the place of its holding is determined by the International Olympic Committee.

Modern Winter Olympics

The history of the Winter Olympic Games dates back to the French city of Chamonix, which in 1924 hosted the first winter Olympic sports event - the Olympics. It was attended by about 300 athletes from 16 countries. It was from 1924 that the chronology of the Olympics began to include both winter and summer games. In 1994, the summer and winter games began to be held with a difference of 2 years.

The ideological inspirer and organizer of the Winter Games is Pierre de Coubertin. To implement his idea, he had to show great perseverance and all his diplomatic abilities. First, he created a commission to organize the Winter Olympics. Then Coubertin managed to organize a Week in French Chamonix, after which the following Olympiads began to be held:

• 1928 - Swiss St. Moritz.
• 1932 - Lake Placid (America).
• 1936 - German Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It was during this Olympics that the tradition of kindling the Olympic flame was revived.

This is the history of the Winter Olympics. The further geography of the Winter Olympics included many European countries, the American continent and Eastern countries. In 2014, the next Winter Olympics took place in the Russian resort city of Sochi, and the next Olympic flame will be lit in South Korea in 2018.

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