History Of Olympics - Coursework Example

HISTORY OF OLYMPICS Introduction One of the most celebrated field events in the world is the Olympic Games. They involve mostly track events held every four years. It is a dream of every talented athlete to participate in this incredible even that brings together the finest of all sportspersons in the world. This article compares the ancient Greek Olympics with the modern-day Olympic Games. Description of ancient Olympics One of the major characteristics of the ancient Greeks was their nature of competitiveness.

The Greeks laid a lot of emphasis for confrontations and rivalry in the arena. They majorly competed in creativity and physical and intellectual development. The prizes included olive, humble wreaths of laurel and crowns among others. These competitions culminated into dancing and songs in the honor of their God. The physical development later on emerged as athletics competitions. Comparison The ancient Olympic allowed people of Greek descent only to participate. On the other hand, the Olympic today features all countries in the world.

Only men were allowed to take part in the ancient Greek games. Athletic in ancient Olympics was part of every free male citizens education. In the modern day Olympics, women and men are given similar platform for competition. Lastly, the ancient Olympic Games were religious event in the honor of the Greek God, Zeus. On the other hand, modern day Olympic games are professional affairs majorly for recreation and a source of income. Women participating As it has been stated, women were not allowed to compete in the ancient Olympics.

In this case, it was rare to find a woman contestant in the Greece Olympics. However, there exists evidence that girls ran in the Olympics. Periegesis Hellados, in his description of Greece, declares that females run in the Olympic to honor the goddess Hera. Evidence on the rules applied on women participating in the Olympic can be depicted from a bronze statue. They were wearing short tunic and had decorative match attached to a vessel or utensil on their right foot. In conclusion, the modern-day Olympic Games have really gone a notch higher to incorporate especially on gender equality and the number of track events held in each cycle.

The event has also changed from being a celebratory one to a more professional event. Reference Kumar, R., (2010). The History of Olympic Games. 4th ed. London: SAGE.