The ancient Olympics, originating in 776 BC in Olympia , Greece, were deeply ingrained in the fabric of Greek society. Held every four years in honor of Zeus, the games featured a range of events...
Peter J. Miller /The Conversation “I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was. I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I was really the greatest.” This quote...
In Ancient Greece, there was a special emphasis placed on sports and physical prowess. After all, this civilization gave birth to the famed Olympics, which still exist today. From spear throwing,...
Can you imaging sitting down with the family to watch a group of naked men, with their olive oil-soaked bodies glistening in the sunshine, running around and flexing their muscles? A great deal has...
One of the prerequisites for winning at the Olympics is to actually be alive. Or so I thought! The story of Arrichion of Phigalia, an Olympic wreath winner famed for his post-mortem victory, is one...
Residents of Taizicheng village in Zhangjiakou City in northern China’s Hebei province, have always believed that the name of their village, meaning village of the crown prince, relates to the...
Like in Greece, pre-historic Irish history was threaded together with tales of giants, gods and goddesses battling for supremacy over earth, and humans. But did you know it was the latter, not the...
The Panathenaic Stadium is a historical monument located in Athens, Greece . Although the current structure was only built at the end of the 1800s, the current stadium was built on a site once...
A 2,700-year-old bronze bull idol has ‘come to light’ during excavations at the ancient site of Olympia in Greece. The stunning and perfectly preserved artifact is thought to have been a votive...
The Olympics , as they exist today, are but a shadow of their former glory. Though there are more activities and participants in the modern games, they do little to entice and arouse the Greek...
The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics has been announced today. This had long been expected because of the global crisis caused by the Covid 19 or Coronavirus outbreak. It is the first time in...
Every two years, when the Winter or Summer Olympics comes around, we hear about how the games staged at Olympia in Greece since 776 BC came to a sudden end in the late fourth century AD. The finger...
When the ancient Olympics began, the greatest athletes in Greece gathered before a statue of Zeus Horkios, the god of oaths. Laid before its feet would be the freshly cut meat of a boar sacrificed by...
Since the beginning of time, women have liked to surprise men with their extraordinary power, strength, and skills. Few are shocked by female success in these areas nowadays, but in ancient times...
In ancient Greece, successful athletes were rich and celebrated like they are today. Evidence for this comes in the form of the oldest known skeleton of a young athlete, buried with rich honors at...
One of the aspects of culture regarded as distinctive to the ancient Greeks was their pursuit of sport. Apart from its function as the act of worship to Zeus, athletic competition, particularly at...
As a professor of classical studies, I’ve noticed some remarkable differences and similarities between the modern and ancient Olympic Games . The medals, the torch relay and events for females didn’t...
Pankration was one of the most popular combat sports in ancient Greece. It combined two other popular sports of antiquity, wrestling and boxing, but kicking was allowed as well. The name Pankration...
The ancient Olympic stadium of Nemea is under threat of closure as a result of steep budget cuts in the country as Greece enters its sixth consecutive year of recession. The Nemean Games were founded...
