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DAY 1 |
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Olympic Games | Athletes
will swear publicly that they have trained the required 10 months and that
they will observe the rules of the competition. The 10 Hellanodikai
will swear to judge the games fairly and impartially. |
Trumpeter
and Herald Contests |
Trumpeters
and heralds will compete for the honor of signaling the start of athletic
events and announcing the winners. |
Youth Contests | Running,
wrestling, and boxing competitions for boys from about 12 to 18 years old. |
DAY 2 |
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Procession |
Horses, riders, and chariots will enter the Hippodrome. Horse
races |
Pentathlon | A
competition with five events:
Reminder: Spectators who arrive late to the pentathlon run the risk of missing the action, for if the same athlete wins the first three events, the remaining two will be canceled. |
DAY 3 |
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Sacrifice to Zeus |
The central religious ceremony of the Olympics, the sacrifice to Zeus, will take place in the morning. The Hellanodikai, attired in purple robes, will lead a procession of athletes and official representatives from the various Hellene city-states around the Altis to the altar at the Temple of Zeus. Upon this altar, 100 oxen donated by the people of Elis will be sacrificed to Zeus. Parts of the sacrificed oxen will be burned upon the altar as an offering to the gods. |
Foot races |
The afternoons running competitions will include:
The original Olympic game, the Stade is also the most coveted victory of the entire competition. The man who sprints to the end of the 1-stade-long stadium track first will be honored by having the entire 130th Olympic Games bear his name. At roughly 20 times the length of one stade, this grueling contest is the longest of the three Olympic races. Twice around the stadium track will complete the program of Olympic races. |
Banquet |
The menu for this lavish public feast will include meat from the oxen sacrificed to Zeus that morning. It will take place, as always, under a full moon, courtesy of careful scheduling by the planners of the games. |
DAY 4 |
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The morning will be dedicated to one-on-one games, including: Wrestling Men of many different sizes and weights will compete until one suffers three falls, leaving his opponent the victor. Boxing Fists protected only by oxeis himantes, leather gloves with reinforced knuckles, will fly in these bouts, which will continue without pause until one of the fighters is knocked unconscious or acknowledges defeat. Pankration Kicking, slapping, legholds, strangleholds everything except gouging and biting is fair in this intense close-contact competition. Losers will signal their defeat by raising a finger toward the judges or by tapping lightly on the body of the victorious competitor. Hoplitodromos The final competition of the 130th Olympic Games will take place in the afternoon. Twenty-five contestants wearing helmets and carrying shields of the same weight will run two lengths of the stadium. This event more than any other reminds spectators that one of the purposes of the Olympic Games is to prepare the men of Hellas for war. |
DAY 5 |
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Victory Ceremony |
The athletes will be honored for their great achievements at a public banquet and private dinners. Then they will embark for their homes, where they will be
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When not watching the athletic competitions, thousands of spectators will enjoy a wide range of cultural events and religious ceremonies. The audience consists mainly of men and boys taking advantage of the slow period between planting and harvesting crops. Highlights of the Olympic Gamess cultural events are:
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To read about the organizers and judges of the Games, click here.
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