How Often Were The Ancient Olympics Held ?
The Ancient Olympics were held every four years. These 4 years were known as an Olympiad. These games got its name due to the place where it was held, namely Olympia. The Ancient Olympics were a kind of religious occasion, and the place where the Olympics were held was considered very sacred. |
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The main reason why the Ancient Olympics were held every four years was because in the ancient times different cities and states in Greece had a different dating system. To provide uniformity to the whole thing, the events were held every four years. A month before the Ancient Olympics, an Olympic truce would be observed so that the athletes could travel to Olympia safely. Failure to observe the truce could mean the whole city being fined and their athletes getting banned from the Olympics.
The Ancient Olympics games, were initially a one day event, but gradually grew to a five-day event with the addition of more and more events. The main events of the Ancient Olympics were boxing, javelin, equestrian events, discus, jumping, pankration, running, wrestling and pentathlon.
In the Ancient Olympics, the winners were crowded with olive wreaths and their names were inscribed in the Olympic records. Not only this, the winner could also have his statue put up at Olympia. These winners were considered as heroes in their cities and in some cases, they were fed for the remaining part of their life. Also, poets, who would attend the Olympics, would also write odes to the winners.
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