Module 1

1) What are the two most well-known myths about how the ancient Olympic Games were started? Illustrate your answers and add more myths or legends about the history of ancient Olympic Games.

Answer:

Pelops myth

There are several Greek myths about how the games were started. The most common myth was the story of the hero Pelops, after whom the Peloponnese is named ("Pelops’ isle"). The story of Pelops was displayed prominently on the east pedimental sculptures of the Temple of Zeus. Pelops was a prince from Lydia in Asia Minor who sought the hand of Hippodamia, the daughter of King Oinomaos of Pisa. Oinomaos challenged his daughter's suitors to a chariot race under the guarantee that any young man who won the chariot race could have Hippodamia as a wife. Any young man who lost the race would be beheaded, and the heads would be used as decoration for the palace of Oinomaos. With the help of his charioteer Myrtilos, Pelops devised a plan to beat Oinomaos in the chariot race. Pelops and Myrtilos secretly replaced the bronze linchpins of the King's chariot with linchpins made of wax. When Oinomaos was about to pass Pelops in the chariot race, the wax melted and Oinomaos was thrown to his death. Pelops married Hippodamia and instituted the Olympic games to celebrate his victory. A different version of the myth refers to the Olympic games as funeral games in the memory of Oinomaos.

Hercules (Herakles) myth

Another myth about the origin of the Olympic Games comes from the Tenth Olympian Ode of the poet Pindar. He tells the story of how Herakles, on his fifth labor, had to clean the stables of King Augeas of Elis. Herakles approached Augeas and promised to clean the stables for the price of one-tenth of the king's cattle. Augeas agreed, and Herakles rerouted the Kladeos and Alpheos rivers to flow through the stables. Augeas did not fulfill his promise, however, and after Herakles had finished his labors he returned to Elis and waged war on Augeas. Herakles sacked the city of Elis and instituted the Olympic Games in honor of his father, Zeus. It is said that Herakles taught men how to wrestle and measured out the stadium, or the length of the footrace.

Zeus

In ancient Greece, all athletic festivals were celebrated under the patronage of a divinity. The Olympic festival was held in honor of Zeus, chief of the Greek pantheon of gods. But how did the site of Olympia become a center for Zeus worship? Legend has it that Zeus marked Olympia as his sacred precinct with a thunderbolt hurled from his throne on Mount Olympus (located to the north of Olympia). The great altar of Zeus at Olympia, just north of his stunning temple, is said to mark that spot. Although many ceremonies were offered to Zeus during the Games, none were more important, or extravagant, than the great "hecatombe" (sacrifice to Zeus of one hundred oxen donated by the Eleans) on the morning of the middle day of the Olympic festival.

King Iphitos of Elis

Iphitos, who was a descendent of Hercules, is credited with revamping the Games and imposing the institution of the Olympic truce. At the time of King Iphitos, around the ninth century BC, mainland Greece was unsettled by civil wars and migrations. Legend claims that King Iphitos went to the Oracle of Delphi and asked her how to bring an end to the wars and pestilence that were gradually destroying the land of Greece. She instructed him to reinstate the Games and declare a truce for their duration. This plan succeeded and the Olympic truce became a major instrument in the unification of the Greek states and colonies.

According to tradition, it was Iphitos who first established the crown of leaves from Hercules's olive tree as a prize, again on the advice of the Delphic Oracle, who told him to go to Olympia and search for the tree "decked with gossamer webs."

At these first games, King Iphitos officiated as the sole judge. Later, as the Games grew, judges from Elis became the Olympic officials.

2) What is the Olympic symbol? What is the Olympics motto? What is the Olympic flag and what do the symbols on it mean? Give your explanations with illustrations.

Answer:

The Olympic symbols are the icons, flags and symbols used by the International
Olympic Committee to promote the Olympic Games. Some—such as the flame, fanfare, and theme—are more common during Olympic competition, but others, such as the flag, can be seen throughout the year.

The Olympic motto is the hendiatris Citius, Altius, Fortius, which is Latin for "Swifter, Higher, Stronger".

The symbol of the Olympic Games is composed of five interlocking rings, colored blue, yellow, black, green, and red on a white field.

The emblem chosen to illustrate and represent the world Congress of 14...: five intertwined rings in different colors - blue, yellow, black, green, and red - are placed on the white field of the paper. These five rings represent the five parts of the world which now are won over to Olympism and willing to accept healthy competition.
These five rings represent the five continents of the world: America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.

The Olympic flag has a white background, with five interlaced rings in the centre: blue, yellow, black, green and red ... This design is symbolic it represents the five inhabited continents of the world, united by Olympism, while the six colors are those that appear on all the national flags of the world at the present time.


3) When did women first take part in the modern Olympic Games? Give the details of the fields of sports women participated in.

Olympic events for women made their first appearance in 1912.

When women made their Olympic debut four years later at the 00 Games in
Paris (France), only two sports were open to them: tennis and golf.



4) Why aren’t the Winter Olympic Games held in leap years now?Give the short overview of the history of winter Olympic Games.
Answer:

World War II. The Second World War interrupted the celebration of the Winter Olympics. The 1940 Winter Olympics had originaljavascript:void(0)ly been awarded to Sapporo, Japan, but was rescinded in 1938, because of the Japanese invasion of China in the Sino-Japanese War. Subsequently, St. Moritz, Switzerland, was chosen by the IOC to host the Games, but three months later the IOC withdrew St. Moritz from the Games, but three months later the IOC withdrew St. Moritz from the Games, because of quarrels with the Swiss organizing team. Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the hosts of the previous Olympics, stepped in to host the Winter Games again, but both Summer and Winter Olympics were cancelled in their entirety in November 39 following Germany's invasion of Poland.The 1944 Winter Olympics,scheduled to take place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, were cancelled in the Summer of 1941, due to the continuing World War.


5) What are the principles of the modern Olympic movement?
Answer:
The Olympic Movement is a philosophy created and promoted by the International Olympic Committee. This philosophy advocates using sport not just as a physical activity but also as a means of educating people.According to this philosophy, the good sportsmanship, sense of fair play, and respect for fellow athletes that is developed through participation in sports teaches men and women of different races, religions, and nationalities to work peacefully together in competition toward common goals.The Olympic Movement works to expand such lessons beyond the sports arena in the hope of promoting peace and a sense of brotherhood throughout the world.The most prominent way the IOC promotes the Olympic Movement is through the Olympic Games.But the Movement's ideals are practiced in other ways, including the promotion of environmental issues, fighting drug use among athletes, and providing financial and educational aid.But the Movement's ideals are practiced in other ways, including the promotion of environmental issues, fighting drug use among athletes, and providing financial and educational aid.

6) When have the modern Olympic Games been cancelled and why?
Answer:

Despite what Coubertin had hoped for the Olympics did not bring total peace to the world. In fact, three Olympiads had to pass without a celebration of the Games because of war: the 1916 Games were cancelled because of World War I and the summer and winter games of 1940 and 1944 were cancelled because of Word War II

7) How many types of Olympic Games are there nowadays? When and where were the first Special Olympic Games officially held?

Answer:
It was Pierre de Coubertin of France who dreamt up this ambitious project, although
others before him had tried to revive these Games during the th century, without having
Coubertin’s success. Drawing inspiration from the ancient Olympic Games, he decided
to create the modern Olympic Games.


The Olympic Games include the Games of the Olympiad (i.e. the Summer Games) and the
Olympic Winter Games.The word Olympiad designates the four-year period that separates each edition of the Summer Games.In the Summer Games, athletes compete in a wide variety of competitions on the track, on theroad, on grass, in the water, on the water, in the open air and indoors, in a total of 28 sports.The Winter Games feature seven sports practised on snow and ice, both indoors and outdoors.


8) Where will the next winter Olympic Games take place? Characterize the city.

Answer:

The next winter Olympic Games will take place in Vancouver in 2010 and summer games will be in London in 2112.

Vancouver is a coastal city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada.It is named for British Captain George Vancouver, who explored the area in the 1790s.The largest metropolitan area in Western Canada, Vancouver ranks third largest in the country and the city proper ranks eighth

London is a capital of England. It is the UK's largest and most populous metropolitan area and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures.

9)Why are the Olympic Games of 1936 and 1972 specific? Give a short overview of the events of those games.

Answer:

The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, in what was then West Germany, from August 1926 to September 1911, 1972. The 1972 Summer Olympics were the second Summer Olympics to be held in Germany, after the 1936 Games in Berlin. The Munich Olympics were intended to present a new, democratic and optimistic Germany to the world, as shown by its official motto, "the Happy Games."


10)What is the historical background of the marathon of the ancient and modern Olympic Games? Who hold the world records of the modern Olympic Games among men and women?

Answer:



The inspiration for the marathon race, as a test of endurance, was sparked by the legendary story of an Athenian hoplite* soldier who, during the Persian War in 490 BC, ran from the battlefield city of Marathon to Athens (40 kilometers or almost 25 miles) to bring the news of the Athenian victory over the Persians.

So, when you see this year’s marathon runners, their race will remind you of the story from nearly 2,500 years ago!


*Hoplite soldiers used to fight arranged in rows – marching shoulder to shoulder with their shields arranged to form a continuous barrier that prevented enemy spears and arrows from getting through the wall of shields.