00:02olympia was the only place in the greek world where both gods and men were worshipped
00:07in july every fourth year from all corners of the greek world
00:11thousands made their way to olympia to compete in and to watch the greatest spectacle on earth
00:19visiting olympia was like a combination of going to the most wonderful art gallery the most
00:24wonderful museum the super bowl and the fourth of july all in one the olympic games began as early
00:32as the eighth century bc with a 200-yard sprint held to mark a truce between two warring cities
00:39it launched over a thousand years of games the olympic games happened in august and for a month
00:48beforehand it was illegal of any greek to fight and anyone who did warlike things during that one
00:57month would become accursed in the eyes of zeus every four years warring states laid down their arms
01:06in the name of peaceful competition as the games grew in importance the sanctuary of zeus was transformed
01:14into the world's first sporting city with training centers baths guest houses and a stadium which
01:21could hold 40 000 spectators beneath this arch would run the finest athletes from across the greek world
01:31the games would decide on just one victor whose reward was honor in the name of the god's use
01:39the earliest race was 200 meters long later came the 400 then the 5000 meters and then there was the
01:48pentathlon running jumping wrestling discus and javelin so many of the events of olympia were versions of war
01:58men throwing spears men throwing stones men racing in hoplite armor in heavy military equipment
02:08competitors were gradually reduced to just a final pair who would fight it out in wrestling and boxing
02:14combat but only the elite could afford to take part
02:20go to olympia meant you had to train for 10 months and then train for one month at olympia itself
02:28wasn't for ordinary greeks that was for the very wealthy
02:34olympia soon grew into a vast sports complex its buildings designed specifically for each athletic
02:40discipline as olympia soared in importance shrines and temples were built to glorify and honor zeus
02:49but at olympia champions were also honored with the first gymnasium and next door a school for wrestlers and boxers
02:59but there were other more unusual events housed in specially designed buildings
03:06a contest for trumpeters and heralds was held at one end of an echo colony an elongated building which
03:13could echo each note seven times
03:19there was the hippodrome where chariot and horse racing events took place
03:27each race began with the horses being released from an elaborate starting mechanism called an
03:32aphesis to ensure total fairness the horses raced out into the hippodrome nearly 800 meters long
03:39an average lap was nearly a third of a mile
03:46greek who won at the olympic games didn't get a medal a precious metal
03:53all he got was a ribbon around his head palm branch to wave around the stadium and an olive wreath
04:02to take
04:02home but his real reward started when he got home
04:08he was allowed his pick of the spectacular heiresses in the town
04:15he'd get a meal a good meal at public expense for the rest of his life
04:20and over it all the fame he would be smiled at and pointed at for the rest of his life
04:27the winners were recorded on statues around olympia their names were even used in the greek calendar
04:34they named their years after olympic winners for the greeks an event was dated the year in which such and
04:43such won
04:46the games continued for 1200 years until the christian emperor theodosius in 394 a.d abolished them as a
04:55pagan event now the olympic flame has been rekindled and every four years a torch is carried from olympia to
05:04the modern site of the greatest show on earth
