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The Athens Hash House Harriers

Olympic Games History
Modern & Ancient

- Games in Modern Greece -

- Torches -



Olympic torch designs from Berlin (1836) to Athens (2004)



Olympic torch being carried along the Great Wall of China (near Beijing) in June 2004
(It had first come from Tokyo Japan then Seoul, South Korea)

- Logos and Posters -

    

1896 - Athens - Greece - The first modern Olympic Games



1900 - Paris - France




1904 - Saint Louis - USA




1908 - London - England




1912 - Stockholm - Sweden




1920 - Anvers - Belgium




1924 - Paris - France


  

1928 - Amsterdam - Holland




1932 - Los Angeles - USA




1936 - Berlin - Germany




1948 - London - England




1952 - Helsinki - Finland


   

1956 - Melbourne - Australia




1960 - Rome - Italy




1964 - Tokyo - Japan




1968 - Mexico




1972 - Munich - West Germany




1976 - Montreal - Canada




1980 - Moscow - USSR




1984 - Los Angeles - USA




1988 - Seoul - South Korea


   

1992 - Barcelona - Spain




1996 - Atlanta - USA




2000 - Sidney - Australia


          

2004 - Athens - Greece




- Games in Ancient Greece -



Digital image reconstruction of the stadium entrance in Ancient Olympia




Ancient Greek vase
These were frequently used to depict scenes of athletic events...as below:




Olympic runners
(Note that they ran naked)




An Olympic winner leaves with his prize




Javelin thrower




Wrestlers - scene of submission




Women runners




Scene from a boxing match. The contestant's nose is dripping with blood.




4- horse chariot race




Winners of a 4-horse chariot race

 

HISTORY- ATHLETES:

Originally the Games were held in honour of Zeus because he was thought to bestow on athletes the power and prowess that enabled them to excel at sport. They made offerings before they competed and they promised thanksgiving should they win. It was coming first that mattered - the names of those coming in second and third were not kept for the record. The only prize at the Olympics was an olive wreath from the sacred tree at Olympia. But the victors were given a triumphant return to their cities & enjoyed substantial privileges in their home states, such as free board and tickets to cultural events for life. The athletes had to be men of some means, as training periods at Elis, the city that controlled the Games, lasted between one and ten months. The men would thus have to leave their livelihood for a protracted period - although the Games were held in August when one could leave working the land once the harvest was in. The Greeks competed nude, because they were very proud of the way they trained and honed their bodies. They trained for years to achieve the perfect physique, and they competed naked to show off what they had achieved. It was regarded as barbarous or foreign to compete in any athletic activity wearing clothes. In some cases, states would sponsor an athlete to attend, fund their training and sometimes pay for the votive statue victors could erect (which could cost more than a year's wages). In Athens, Solon decreed that victors would receive the hefty sum of 500 drachmas.


- Another Mad Dog special section -

(Acknowledgement to various Greek publications)

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