History of Olympic Games - Essay Example

History of Olympics History of Olympic Games Introduction The Olympic games are today considered one of the greatest international events featuring sports competition. It has been part of human evolution, and the modern Olympics represent how history has transverse generations to the 21st century. Held after every four years, the event is one of its own. It has participation of thousands of participants from all over the world. It has several bodies that includes the International Olympic Committee (IOC) founded in 18984. Since IOC inception, it has been an incredible governing body with the Olympic Movement and Olympic Charter as two primary structures with the IOC. It has an incredible organization that has propelled its existence to date. Historically, Olympics dates as early as 776 BC; however, several studies may differ on the exact date of the first Olympic event. Based on wide analysis, many studies widely accept 776BC as the inception date. It is a date that is based on inscriptions in Olympia a place where it is believed that the first Olympic event occurred in Greece. Notably, it is believed that the first Olympic events were largely religious and athletics that were marked after every four years at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, Greece (Guttmann, pg. 22). Moreover, the first Olympic sports competition featured combat sports, athletics, wrestling and the pankration, a horse racing event. Surprisingly, it is believed that during these sporting events, all conflicting communities would keep off wars and resume after the event. Today, evidence points out that Zeus was a center of animal sacrifices as religious observance of the event. Notably, winners of any events were highly regarded and were given special publicity through poems and statues. Evidently, the King Onesmaus of Pisatis is remembered for his prowess in horse chariot race and his statue remain an icon of admiration to modern times. However, despite the huge attraction of magnitude of people, the cultural event started declining gain 6th and 5th BC due to the incursion of the Roman rulers. While there is argument on the exact year that saw the event close temporary, there is scholarly consensus that it was 393 AD. During this year, emperor Theodosius decreed that all religious, pagans and cult events be eliminated as the Romans exerted its power in the ancient Greece. Besides, other scholars argue that it was during the 426 AD when Theodosius the second destruction of Greek temples. Following the harsh Roman rule in Greece, there was no any other documented games. It was a period that the event saw its darkest part of history. It was until 17th century when the first modern Olympics games were held. At Cotswold Games of 1612, the was a revival of the event. It was held in England under organization of lawyer Robert Dover between 1612 and 1642. It at the event that the British Olympic Association (BOA) was founded to spearhead the event. BOA will go down in history as the first structured organization that oversaw modern Olympics from its infantry stage. The same recognition dominated the British quest to hold the 2012 Olympic Games in London when they identified the event as an iconic representation of BOA (Legg et al., pg. 38). After the revival in Britain, other countries advanced the event by trying to maintain the traditional ancient Olympics in Greece. In 1796 to 1798, France under revolutionary France held the event with the intention to restore its original meaning and cultural practice. The event included a number of horse chariots and other ancient Olympic games. Notably, the 1796 OlympicGames will be remembered as a turning point in use of the metric system to rate the performance. During 17th century and 18th century, participation was limited, and the competitiveness of the event was still very low. It was during the 19th century that the event started attracting many participants and scope of games was expanded. During the 19th century, there was increased urge to push the event to the international arena. Notably the Liverpool Olympics held between 1862 and 1867 expanded the event to the neighboring countries. It had several categories including amateur category where gentlemen would compete fiercely in order to gain recognition and fame. It was certain that nations were committed to taking the event to the international level. It was seen as an event that would achieve social interaction, and international disputes would be settled under the Olympic platform. Just like the ancient Greece, many people related it to a cultural observance rather than a sporting event. Athens, Greece will be remembered as the home of the first Olympic games. However, Britain appears to have modernized an initially cultural event to a great sporting event in the 21st century. Evidently, in 1866, Crystal Palace city in England became the first place to hold a national Olympic game. By 1890, there was the formation of International Olympic Committee (IOC) with Wenlock Olympian Society and Baron Pierre being the instrumental founders. During this historic landmark, there was consensus that the event should be organized at international level on a rotational basis. It was during this special consideration that informed the rotational nature seen in Olympics to date (Marshall, Walker, and Russo, pg. 269). Moreover, after formalization of the structure, the first Olympic Games held under auspices of IOC was held in Panathenaic stadium, Athens Greece in 1896. True to the spirit of diversification for the common good, the event brought together fourteen countries and 241 athletes. It was recorded as the most successful international sporting event in human history. Besides, the event developed a mind shift from the traditional and cultural nature to a sporting competition where trophies and medals were awarded. History will reward the good heart of Zappas and cousin Konstantin Zappas, who had left a trust fund with the Greek government. It was this special fund that was used to organized the event. Besides, George Averoff contributed heartily for the refurbishment of the stadium ahead of the games. As noticed, the event begun from charity of the wealthy Greek men who financed the first official event. Today, the event organizers receive a huge amount of money to fund the event. After hosting the first event under IOC, many nations got encouraged as the Greek officials drew a lot of admiration for having successfully hosted the occasion. There was public enthusiasm and needed for more colorful event as witnessed. Moreover, as the 20th century began, the event had greatly revolutionized, and it had registered immense success. There was continued growth in a number of continental representation as many nations became independent. However, the events of World War One and Two almost brought the event to its knees. The event was suspended due to the existence of wars. Notably, it was men affair until 1904, women participated in the first time in Paris Olympic despite the limited stadiums. Today, there are over 204 nations participating in the event after every four years with 10,500 participants in 2012 Olympic Games. Besides, the number of sporting activity and women participation has increased tremendously. The modern Olympic has become integral avenues of preaching world peace and stemming out social vices such as terrorism and racism (Tang and Cooper, pg. 78). Conclusion It is certain that Olympics Games has a rich history dating from ancient Greece to the 21st century colorful Olympic events. As the event starts every four years, it continues to revamp, and the colorful participation is the hallmark of an event that has transcended many decades to its new self. Bibliography Guttmann, Allen. The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games. N.p., 2002. Print. Legg, David et al. “Historical Overview of the Paralympics, Special Olympics, and Deaflympics.” Palaestra 20 (2004): 30–56. Print. Marshall, P. D., B. Walker, and N. Russo. “Mediating the Olympics.” Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 2010: 263–278. Web. Tang, Tang, and Roger Cooper. “Gender, Sports, and New Media: Predictors of Viewing during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.” Journal of Broadcasting Electronic Media 56 (2012): 75–91. Web.  Read More