The Olympic Games
The Olympic Games were originally an ancient Greek religious festival in honor of Zeus, which was held in Olympia near Mount Olympus, the mythical home of the gods. The Games were first held in 776 ВС. They were held every four years, in the middle of the summer. The festival was only held if there was peace throughout Greece. The ceremonies included contests in oratory, poetry, music and art, as well as in athletic skills like wrestling, throwing the javelin, and running. The Olympic Games were an exclusively male festival. Women were not allowed to compete in the Olympic Games, or even to attend and watch them. The victors were traditionally crowned with olive leaves rather than with gold medals. Their importance in Greek life was so great that the Olympiad, the four-year interval between Games, was a main unit of the Hellenic calendar. To be a victor in the classical Olympic Games was a great honor not only for the athlete but also for his city. The classical Games continued for over a thousand years. Factionalism and controversies over the status of competitors became so fierce and disruptive in later years that the Games were finally suppressed by the Roman Emperor Theodosius in AD 392 as a disturbance of Roman peace. With growth of interest in sport in the 19th century, and the organization of annual and traditional sport competitions, especially between schools and universities, the idea arose of reviving the Olympic Games in the modern world. A Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, was the enthusiast whoso personal drive and initiative brought about the inauguration of the modern Olympic Games in 1896 with the participation of 311 athletes from thirteen countries, competing in nine sports. At first, the modern Games were limited to men. Women first competed in the Games in 1910, playing golf, but real women's participation only began in Paris in 1924 with the inclusion of women's athletics in the program. Winter sports were brought into the Olympic program through the organization of special winter Games, first held in France at Chamonix in 1924, with competitions in ice-hockey, speed skating, figure-skating, and skiing. These are still the basic events of the winter program, with the addition of I bobsled and toboggan races. The most impressive event of the opening ceremony of the Games is the taking of the Olympic oaths. First a representative athlete from the host country, holding a corner of the Olympic flag, takes the following oath on behalf of all the participants: " In the name of all competitors, I promise that we will take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams." After the representative athlete, a judge from the host country takes an oath on behalf of all those judging and officiating in the Games. The Olympic flag has a motif of five interlocking rings on a white background. The five rings represent five continents of the world and symbolize universal brotherhood. The six colors, the white of the background and the blue, yellow, black, green and red of the rings, represent the nations of the world, since every national flag contains at least one of these colors. The ceremonial embroidered flag, by the Olympic rules, must reside in the principal municipal building of the host city until the next Games. The motto of the Games, " Citius, altius, fortius" (Latin — faster, higher, braver), puts the emphasis on personal winners — not team performance and achievements. Officially, there are individual and team winners but no winning countries; from the very beginning of the games, however, the press has made an unofficial count of the medals won by the sportsmen of each participating country and has kept an unofficial points score. Until the 1952 Olympics the United States teams dominated the Summer Games because of their strength in athletics, swimming and boxing. Since the Helsinki Games, when the USSR took part in them for the first time, competition in all events of the program has become keener, and one country has ceased to dominate: the US hold on first place was successfully challenged by the USSR and the German Democratic Republic. Each Olympiad the size of the Olympic Games has been growing in the scale of competition, number of competitors and size of the audience watching them - live or on television. Huge stadiums accommodate tens of thousands of spectators, while television brings the scene directly to the homes of the whole world.
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