Here’s what you don’t know about the ancient Olympics  

The Olympic Games have always been a rage, especially among the youth. All of us eagerly wait for this great sporting event that takes place every four years, alternating between the Winter and Summer Olympic Games. But did you know that the modern Olympics that began in 1896, originated in Greece. The first ever Greek-hosted Olympics took place during the summer of 776 B.C in southern Greece. Out of the four national Greek athletic festivals, the games at Olympia are the oldest. Ancient Olympics, conducted for five days in Olympia were more than a mere sporting event. It was in fact a religious event in honor of the Greek God Zeus. According to Greek mythology, the first Olympics were held by Greek hero Herakles, to honour his father Zeus. The Games were held at Olympia, as it was considered to be the most revered sanctuary of Zeus.  

Many of you might be wondering why the ancient Greek Olympics ended, right? Well, after multiple enemy invasions from the likes of Visigoths and Vandals, the Olympia site gradually deteriorated. Festivals held at Olympia were no longer considered as religiously and culturally relevant. Just like that, the ancient Olympics ended with the last event in the 4th century. Let us take you through some of the lesser-known yet interesting facts about how this great sporting event of the ancient times.  

The sporting events were a training for war 
Do you know what was the first competition held in the ancient Olympics? Well, it was the 200 metre foot race. The stadium or ground was around 600 feet (200 meters). With time, two more events were added, i.e., dialulos and dolichos. In Diaulos, participants had to run down the entire stadium and return to the starting point. This game was introduced in 724 BC. On the other hand, Dolichos was a long-distance race (1,400-4,800 meters) introduced in 720 BC. However, these games were not played for fun. Basically, they were intended to train people for war. Back then, Greece did not have an army of its own. So, adult men had to fight in the battle whenever necessary. To achieve this, being physically fit was of utmost importance and these sporting events ensured just that. There was another interesting event called the hoplitodromia race in which Greek men had to engage in a foot race wearing an entire set of military armour during the race.   

The ancient Greek Olympics used to take place during the peak of summer 
Well, it may seem illogical to hold a physically demanding games-festival during the hottest time of the year. But there a good enough reason to choose this season. Summer was the quietest time in terms of agricultural work, which happened to be the main economy of ancient Greece. This implied that more people were free to join this grand sporting event. Also, there was no risk of the the festival getting halted by poor weather conditions. 

Leonidaion: This hotel hosted wealthy visitors at the ancient Olympics 
The ancient Olympics also had a hotel named Leonidaion after its founder, Leonidas of Naxos. This hotel was used to host officials and wealthy visitors. The hotel had small apartments and guestrooms. There was also a private courtyard garden inside the hotel and a long sequence of columns called colonnades surrounding the building. 

There were no medals for the winners 
The medals of the Olympics are prestigious for athletes today, but in ancient days medals didn't exist! In fact, each competition had a single winner only, who was honoured with kotinos, an olive wreath crafted from wild olive leaves from a sacred tree near the Olympian temple of Zeus. In addition, the winner had the privilege of having an Olympian statue of himself. Although there wasn’t any monetary gain, the winners were celebrated like sports celebrities in their villages. In later years, winners were also awarded palm branches. Additionally, they received a seat in the Pyetaneion (the festival organisers' main hub) for a lifetime. Post-Olympics, winners received free food. In addition, there were huge feasts and the members of the training team, supporters, and families were allowed to attend.