Ever since the Olympic Games were started in Ancient Greece, around 775 B.C., the winners of events in the Olympic Games have been honored and rewarded. These Olympic “heroes” have been in a standard higher than any other athlete in the world, and have been looked to, too set the athletic goals for everyone else around the world. Many things have changed in the way these champions have been treated from the time of ancient Greeks to modern day; however there still are similarities, in the way that people look to them for guidance and authority.
Ancient Greek myths state that the Olympic Games were started by the Greek gods competing against each other. These myths vary in the way that they tell the story but historians do believe that the very first Olympic Games started as a festival to celebrate Zeus. The games evolved from a festival that was for the sole purpose of honoring Zeus. The competitions at this festival started when the Greeks split up into city states. The athletic events were a way to show off a cities athletic, military, and political power to all the other cities. (http://ow.ly/156BA)
The earliest games were simple and only had a few events. These were centered on military skills that people had to have during that time. The sports that athletes competed in were running, wrestling, boxing, chariot races, and horse races. There was one winner in each event, no silver and bronze medalist, just a single champion that the ancient Greeks thought was chosen by Zeus and the other gods. (http://ow.ly/156BA) There are hundreds of myths and legends about the ancient Olympics. Some of these aren’t completely true but most have a basis in what historians think really happened.
The bases for some of these legends are ancient Greek champions. There were champions from all over the Mediterranean because any free man that spoke Greek and wanted to compete could. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Olympic_Games) Most of the ancient Olympic “Heroes” won more than one Olympics in usually only one event. There were champions from Italy, the Island of Rhodes, and several Greek city states. These athletes might seem superhuman by some people today because of what they did, and although they were extraordinary even by ancient time’s standards, they depended on their strengths to survive. There were runners like Leonidas of Rhodes, who won every running event in the Ancient Olympic Games for four Olympic Games. There was another athlete who won all of the Games in Greece and then went on to have children and grandchildren who were champions of the Olympic Games.
These athletes weren’t the only superb Olympic Athletes in the ancient world. The strongest Olympic champions competed in the wrestling and boxing champions. One athlete, Clomedes, even killed an opponent during a boxing match, although he was disqualified. An ancient Italian wrestler, named Milo of Croton, won the Olympic wrestling seven different times during his life, and was known for being amazingly strong. (http://ow.ly/156BA)
All of these athletes were seen as celebrities in the eyes of their fellow citizens of their home town or country. They were awarded a variety of things that could be anything of value. (http://historylink102.com/greece3/olympics.htm)Every champion was given a wreath of olive branches at the end of the Games to symbolize that they were the champions of that set of games. Because some people thought that the winners were chosen by the gods, they thought that they must be extremely important. In some parts of Greece the winning athletes were treated like gods on earth; they were pampered and praised, almost worshipped, by their fellow citizens. (http://ow.ly/156BA)
In modern times, the Olympics were reinstated as a world event in 1896 in Athens, Greece. Since then the Olympics have grown and expanded in the number of sports that are held, and the impact that it has on the world. They also have expanded to included Winter Olympics, started in 1924, the Paralympics for those with physical disabilities and in starting this year in 2010, youth Olympics. Because of the more advanced and complex games, there have been champions from dozens of different countries and in all 33 different sports. Second and third place awards (Silver and Bronze medals) have also been added to expand the credit given to champions. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games)
There are however, some athletes that come to mind when mentioning modern day Olympic Heroes. These people are those that not only have excelled in Olympic Games but are also the best in their sport in, many if not all other worldwide competitions. These athletes are known for their amazing athletic ability and their extraordinary number of Olympic Medals and other awards. American swimmer, Michael Phelps has won sixteen Olympic Medals in the two Olympic Games he has competed in, including fourteen gold and two bronze medals. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Phelps) This number is only second to the eighteen medals, including nine gold, which the former Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynia, won. She is the most decorated Olympian in modern history. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larissa_Latynina) Other names that are now known across the globe because of their performance in the Olympics are the snowboarder Shaun White, who has won only two Olympic gold medals but been a world champion in snowboarding for several years. British sailor Ben Ainslie, has been winning medals in the Olympics since 1996 and hopes to continue into the 2012 Olympics, but these athletes are only among the dozens of heroes there have been in the Olympics from all over the world. (http://www.olympics.org.uk/Beijing2008/AthleteProfile.aspx?id=233)
These modern day Olympic Heroes share the same glory and fame that the ancient Olympians had in Greece. These competitors have been showered with prizes, sponsors, titles, and awards throughout their careers, and have helped along the progression of their sport and of all sports in the world. These athletes are not worshipped like gods, like several ancient Olympians were, but they are admired and looked to, too hold the standard and continue to progress that standard in their sport. Looking to athletes for inspiration and having them as role models have helped people throughout the world for since the Olympics started, almost three thousand years ago.
Works Cited
"Ancient Olympic Games -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 18 Feb. 2010.
"BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: The Olympics: Ancient versus Modern." Ow.ly - Shorten urls, share files and track visits - Owly. Web. 18 Feb. 2010.
"Larissa Latynina -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 19 Feb. 2010.
"Michael Phelps -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 19 Feb. 2010.
"Olympic Games -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 18 Feb. 2010.
"The Olympics in Ancient Greece." Untitled Document. Web. 18 Feb. 2010.
"Team GB Beijing 2008 Athlete profile Ben Ainslie." British Olympics Association | Vancouver 2010. Web. 19 Feb. 2010.
Need hyperlinks in your bibliography. Please correct.
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