The most popular story about the origin of the ancient Olympic Games is Pelops's marriage. In order to choose a husband who is both civil and military for his daughter, Elis, the king of ancient Greece, proposed that the candidate must compete with himself in the chariot. In the competition, 13 youths were killed by the king's spear, 14 youths were Pelops, the grandson of Zeus and the sweetheart of the princess. Encouraged by love, he bravely accepted the king's challenge and finally won with wisdom. To celebrate this victory, Pelops and the princess held a grand wedding in front of the temple of Zeus in Olympia. At the meeting, chariots, gladiators and other competitions were arranged. This was the original ancient Olympic Games, and Pelops became the legendary founder of the ancient Olympic Games.
The origin of the Olympic Games is actually closely related to the social situation in ancient Greece. In the 9th-8th century BC, the Greek clan society gradually disintegrated, the slave society of city-state system gradually formed, and more than 200 city-states were established. City-states are fragmented, there is no unified monarch, and wars between city-states continue. In order to cope with the war, every city-state actively trains its own soldiers. The children of the Spartan city-state were raised by the state from the age of seven, engaged in sports and military training, and lived a military life. War needs soldiers, soldiers need strong bodies, and sports is a powerful means to train soldiers who can fight. The war promoted the development of Greek sports, and the events of the ancient Olympic Games also had obvious military brand. The people are disgusted with the continuous war and generally long for a peaceful environment to recuperate. Later, the King of Sparta and the King of Elis signed the "Holy Truce Month" treaty. As a result, preparing for military training and sports competitions has gradually become a game of peace and friendship.
The rise and fall of ancient Olympic Games
From 776 BC to 394 AD, the ancient Olympic Games experienced 1 168, and * * * held 293 times. According to its origin, ups and downs, it can be roughly divided into three periods.
From 776 BC to 388 BC, although there were disputes among the city-states, Greece was an independent country with developed politics, economy and culture, which was the golden age of the Games. Especially in 490 BC, after Athens, Greece defeated the Persian army in the Marathon Valley, the people's feelings flourished and their national prestige increased greatly. Many sports facilities and temples have been built, and participants are all over the Greek city-States. The Olympic Games is at its peak, becoming the biggest festival in Greece.
② It began to decline from 388 BC to 65438 BC+046 BC. Due to the long Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens (43 BC1year to 404 BC), the national strength of Greece was greatly reduced, and Macedonia gradually annexed Greece. King Philip of Macedonia also took part in the horse race himself. Later, Alexander the Great actively supported the Olympic Games, although he did not like sports activities, and regarded it as the highest opening ceremony of sports activities in ancient Greece, adding facilities for it. However, during this period, the spirit of the ancient Olympic Games has greatly faded, and professional athletes began to appear.
③ From BC 146 to AD 394, the ancient Olympic Games went from decline to destruction. After the Roman Empire ruled Greece, the Olympic Games were still held at first, but Olympia was not the only venue. For example, in the 175 Olympic Games in 80 BC, Rome's economic laws called for excellent athletes to compete in Rome, while Olympia only held junior competitions. At this time, professional athletes began to appear in large numbers, and the Olympic Games became a competition for professional athletes, and the Greeks lost interest in it. After the 2nd century AD, Christianity ruled the whole of Europe, including Greece, advocating asceticism, advocating the separation of soul and body, and opposing sports, which made Europe in a dark age, and the Olympic Games even declined until it existed in name only. In 393 AD, the Roman emperor Theodosius I declared Christianity as the state religion, and thought that the ancient Olympic Games were against the purpose of Christianity and were pagan activities. The following year, he announced the abolition of the ancient Olympic Games. In 895 AD, the Byzantines fought fiercely with the Alphonse River in Goethe, destroying all the facilities in Olympia. In 426 AD, Theodosius II burned the remains of Olympia architecture. Two strong earthquakes occurred in 522 and 5 1 1 year, which completely destroyed Olympia. In this way, the ancient Olympic Games, which was delayed for more than 1000 years, ceased to exist, and the bustling Olympia was in ruins.
Events of the ancient Olympic Games
The competitive events of the ancient Olympic Games were mainly track and field, and then wrestling, pentathlon, boxing, horse racing, gladiator, chariot racing and armed racing were gradually added. , up to 23 events. Most sports are the rudiments of modern sports, with simple rules and great randomness. Some sports, such as the most distinctive gladiator in ancient Greek sports, have disappeared in modern sports.
The earliest event of the site run ancient Olympic Games was the only event from 1 to 13, with a distance of 192.27 meters, which is exactly the length of the sports ground. Later, there was a middle-long distance race, and the distance was a multiple of 192.27 meters. At that time, there was no lane separation sign on the runway, and the boundary of the sports ground was paved with stones, which was the starting line. There are various starting positions, and it is only a matter of time before the race. The ancient Greeks liked running. On the rock wall of Alphonse River in Olympia, there is an ancient Greek proverb: "If you want to be smart, run!" If you want to be strong, run! If you want to be healthy, run! "Pentathlon is a comprehensive event in the sports meeting, which is very different from modern track and field all-around sports. For example, the ancient pentathlon was accompanied by a flute, and the athletes passed by with dumbbells. The discus is actually a stone cake, and the javelin was a practical weapon at that time. The first four events were held in the arena and wrestling was held next to the temple. A wrestler must be the champion of the first four events, and wrestling must win the first place to become a champion of five events. In the ancient Olympic Games, Spartans always dominated this event, and almost won all previous championships.
Gladiator is a popular sport combining boxing and wrestling in ancient Greece. The competition is very fierce and often attracts many spectators.
In the ancient Olympic Games, the youth event was only established in the 37th session, and the age limit was not clear. These events are also limited to track running, wrestling, pentathlon, boxing and gladiator, but they are not lasting.
In addition, there are wonderful literary and artistic competitions, and the participants are poets, writers, artists and speakers. The literary competition began at the 84th ancient Olympic Games in 444 BC. Grodotte, then known as the "father of history" in Greece, read out some chapters in his masterpiece History and praised the Greek soldiers who defeated the Persian army in the Battle of Marathon Valley in 490 BC, and finally won the first literary competition. Art competitions also have prizes, even higher than sports competitions. For example, in the Olympic Games after Macedonia conquered Greece in 338 BC, all prizes belonging to sports competitions were awarded to poets.
The Birth of Modern Olympic Movement
The development scale and level of the modern Olympic Movement have attracted worldwide attention. The Olympic spirit has been widely spread. People see that Olympism, as a cultural phenomenon, closely links ethnic groups with different skin colors and cultural backgrounds in the form of competition, which has a far-reaching impact on human social activities and human civilization. As a sports phenomenon, the Olympic Games is the most fascinating stage for human beings to explore the limits of physical fitness. Olympic records and medals have become lofty goals pursued by athletes, and the Olympic movement has become a global activity with great attraction, penetration and cohesion in many participating countries and regions.
From 65438 to 0893, at the suggestion of Coubertin, the father of the Olympic Games, an international sports conference was held in Paris to discuss the revival of the Olympic Games. 1894 1 month, Coubertin drew up the concrete steps and 10 issues to be discussed in reviving the Olympic Games, and wrote to sports organizations and groups in various countries. 16 June, the "International Sports Congress" opened in Sorbonne Theological Seminary in Paris, with 79 delegates representing 49 sports organizations in 2 countries. 2000 people attended the opening ceremony. The General Assembly adopted the resolution of "Reviving the Olympic Movement". On June 23rd, the International Olympic Committee was established. The establishment of the International Olympic Committee marks the birth of the Olympic Movement.
History of modern Olympic Games
Historically, the origin and development of the Olympic Games can be divided into two stages. The Olympic Games held since A.D. 1986 are collectively called the modern Olympic Games. /kloc-At the beginning of the 4th century, the Renaissance in Europe made people praise the ancient Olympic spirit. Matteo Palmiri, an early Italian activist, proposed in 1450 that the peaceful and friendly spirit of the ancient Olympic Games should be integrated into people's social life ideology. During this period, more and more attention was paid to the investigation and excavation of Olympia. The investigation team, led by German Kuziyus, has carried out excavation for six years, and obtained a large number of cultural relics and historical materials, so that the Olympia village, which was buried for many years, was rediscovered. 1852 65438+1October 10, Kuzius read out the report on the investigation and excavation of Berlin's "Olympia" and suggested resuming the sports meeting, which aroused strong social repercussions. From 1895 to 1889, Greece hosted five national Olympic Games, but never expanded its army.
/kloc-In Europe in the 0/9th century, with the development of science, culture and education, countries established their own sports organizations, some countries held competitions in certain events, and Germany, Sweden and Britain also formed their own sports systems or competitive sports. Just when people further demanded to organize international competitions, the first batch of international sports federations were established, such as the International Gymnastics Federation of 188 1, the International Rowing Federation of 1892 and the International Skating Federation. In addition, at the end of 19, imperialism and monopoly capital appeared in the world. The newly powerful William Germany wants to wage war to carve up the world market again, and France is Germany's close neighbor. If Germany starts a war, the disaster of the war will first fall on the French people, so the French people want to maintain peace. It is in this situation that some people consider resuming the Olympic Games, which symbolizes peace and friendship.
In 1883, Pierre De Coubertin, a French educator, proposed to hold a competition similar to the ancient Olympic Games and spread it to the whole world. During the period of 1892, he traveled all over Europe to publicize the Olympic concept and call for the revival of the Olympic movement. In the same year, at the annual meeting of the Paris Sports Federation 10, he proposed to restore the "Olympic Games". 1894 10, he wrote to Olympic organizations in various countries and suggested that an international sports conference be held in Paris in the same year. At the International Sports Conference held in Paris from June 65438 to June 24 of the same year, the representatives of 15 countries decided to hold the Olympic Games every four years. In order to prepare for the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee was established on June 23rd, with the Greek Vi Kailas as the chairman and Coubertin as the secretary-general, and personally designed the Olympic emblem and flag. The first modern Olympic Games was held in Athens, Greece from April 6, 1996 to June 5, 1996. * * There are 3 1 1 athletes from 13 countries attending the Athens Congress. American athlete Jan Connolly won the gold medal in triple jump with a score of 13438+0m, thus becoming the first modern Olympic champion.
The most significant thing in the history of modern Olympic Games is to break the old rule that women are not allowed to participate. In the second Olympic Games, despite Coubertin's persistent opposition to women's participation, female athletes still set foot on the field that has always belonged to men. However, gender discrimination didn't end there, and track and field didn't open to women until the 9th Olympic Games in 1928. Another unforgettable event in the history of the Olympic Games is the ceremony of lighting the Olympic torch in Athens, Greece, the birthplace of the modern Olympic Games, and then passing it to the venue of the Olympic Games, and lighting the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony. Starting from 1924, modern Olympic Games can be divided into summer Olympic Games and winter Olympic Games. At that time, the Eighth Summer Olympic Games was held in Paris and the 1 Winter Olympic Games was held in Chamonix.
Boycott the Olympic Games on the grounds of political issues is 1956' s first Olympic Games in Melbourne. Britain and France sent troops to the Suez Canal, which caused resistance from Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon. The former Soviet Union sent troops to Hungary, which led Switzerland, Spain and the Netherlands to refuse to participate in the competition. 1980 At the Moscow Olympic Games, the biggest "boycott event" in Olympic history, initiated by the United States and joined by 6 1 countries, took place to protest against the invasion of Afghanistan by the former Soviet Union. To this end, the former Soviet Union rallied its allies in Eastern Europe and retaliated against the United States on the grounds of security at the Los Angeles Olympic Games four years later.
Danish cyclist Zhan Sen fell to the ground and died in the 1960 Rome Olympic Games. Since then, the drug problem has been closely following the Olympic Games. It was not until 1988 Seoul Olympic Games that it was made clear that ben johnson, the world and Olympic champion and world record, relied on steroids. The modern Olympic Games has experienced hardships since it was born 100 years ago. Its rise and fall, honor and disgrace, have affected hundreds of millions of people all over the world. It has played an indelible role in strengthening the friendship between people and athletes all over the world and promoting world peace and the development of world sports, which people will never forget when reviewing the history of the Olympic Games.