The Olympic
Athlete
I always have respected Olympic athletes,
for they spend all their time training.
Victorious
athletes were professionals in the sense that they lived off the glory of their
achievement ever afterwards. Their hometowns might reward them with: free meals
for the rest of their lives, honorary appointments, or leadership positions in
the community. The victors were memorialized in statues and also in victory
songs, and commissioned from famous poets.
Today, the Olympic Games are the world's
largest pageant of athletic skill and competitive spirit. They are also
displays of nationalism, commerce and politics. These two opposing elements of
the Olympics are not a modern invention. The conflict between the Olympic
movement's high ideals and the commercialism or political acts, which accompany
the Games, has been noted since ancient times. The ancient Olympic Games, part
of a major religious festival honoring Zeus, the chief Greek god, were the
biggest events in their world. They were the scenes of political rivalries between
people from different parts of the Greek world, and the site of controversies, boasts, public announcements and humiliations. Ancient
athletes competed as individuals, not on national teams, as in the
modern Games. The emphasis on individual athletic achievement through public
competition was related to the Greek ideal of excellence, called
"arete". Aristocratic men who attained this ideal, through their
outstanding words or deeds, won permanent glory and fame. Those who failed to
measure up to this code feared public shame and disgrace.
Olympia was one of the oldest religious
centers in the ancient Greek world. Since athletic contests were one way that
the ancient Greeks honored their gods, it was logical to hold a recurring
athletic competition at the site of a major temple. Also, Olympia is convenient
geographically to reach by ship, which was a major concern for the Greeks.
Athletes and spectators traveled from Greek colonies as far away as modern-day Spain,
the Black Sea, or Egypt.
Athletics were a key part of education in
ancient Greece. Many Greeks believed that developing the body was equally
important as improving the mind for overall health. Also, regular exercise was
important in a society where men were always needed for military service.
Plato's Laws specifically mentions how athletics greatly improved military
skills. Greek youth therefore worked out in the palaestra (wrestling-school)
whether they were serious Olympic contenders or not.
Ancient competitors were required to train
at Olympia for a month before the Games officially started, like modern
competitors at the Olympic. Young men
worked with athletic trainers who used long sticks to point out incorrect body
positions and other faults. Trainers paid close attention to balancing the
types of physical exercise and the athlete's diet. The Greeks also thought that
harmonious movement was very important, so athletes often exercised to flute
music.
The sports have changed dramatically, but
the pride of being an Olympic competitor has remained as strong as ever! The most important thing in the Olympic Games
is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not
the triumph, but the struggle. "The essential thing is not to have
conquered but to have fought well" (Pierre de Coubertin).
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