Ancient Greece Cultural Olympics

1. Ancient Greece Cultural Olympics

2. What’s it all about? • once every four years • men from all over Greece came to compete in a great athletic festival • women were not allowed to compete. • called the ‘Olympic Games’ because they were held at Olympia • it was a religious festival to honor the Greek gods Zeus and Hera Temple of Hera in Olympia

3. Years Go By • earliest record of the games in the time of Homer, 776 BC • ended when people converted to Christianity and the Roman Emperor Theodosius banned the games in 393 CE. • more than 1000 years - longest running festival!!! • the games were so regular that people used them to date by: they would say, I was born in the second year of the twenty-fourth olympiad (starting from 776 BC). • modern olympics began again in the 1896 CE in Athens, Greece

4. Between the City-States • sent out messengers all over Greece (extended to the Greek colonies around the Black Sea and the Mediterranean) • they declared a ‘sacred truce’ throughout the Greek world for a month. No matter who you had a war with, you had to stop the war and let their athletes and performers go through your city-state safely to get to the Olympic Games.

5. Sponsorship • each city-state paid for a few athletes from their city to travel to Olympia • the men had to swear that they had already trained for at least ten months • this meant that only wealthy men could be in the Games, because they could afford to take so long off work, and also pay a trainer.

6. Let the Games Begin… • after arriving at Olympia, athletes spent a month practicing and training together in a big ‘palaestra’ • judges (also all men) watched the men train, and picked out only the best ones to actually run in the races. • the Olympic Games began with religious sacrifices and choirs singing. < Palaestra at Olympia, Greece

7. What about women? • only men, boys and unmarried girls were allowed to attend the Olympic Games. Any women caught sneaking in were punished! • women could own horses in the chariot race though. • unmarried women had their own festival at Olympia every four years. This was the Heraia, held in honour of Hera, wife of Zeus.

8. Olympic Events RACING: • 170m foot race (originally only event) • 370m race • 4400 m race • ‘heats’ of runners to eliminate weakest • men eventually ran naked • Hoplite race (in armour – helmet & spear)

9. More Olympic Events • 700BCE – added wrestling and pentathlon • 5 events – but only know 4 of them • javelin, discus, running, long jump • 688BCE – added boxing and chariotracing • Pankration was the most viscious!!! Vase Painting depicting Wrestling

10. What’s in it for me? • winners were given an olive wreath, and a hero's welcome back home. • winners might marry rich women, enjoy free meals, invitations to parties, and the best seats in the theatre.

11. Play the Games • Group together with other athletes from your city-state (myth groups) • Pentathlon – Choose a group member to participate in each event. Each event will bring point scores for your city-state and an overall prize for the winners.

12. Your City-State Teams • Each team has been given an envelope. Open it now and read your city-state identification card. Athens Corinth Sparta Olympia Thebes Argos

13. Points and Prizes Points are awarded after each event as follows: • 1st place = 60 points • 2nd place = 50 points • 3rd place = 40 points • 4th place = 30 points • 5th place = 20 points • 6th place = 10 points • plus – bonus points for food, dress, and Movember sponsorship • top point-getters may receive up to 2 bonus marks on your unit test!

14. Event 1: Race – Puzzle Challenge Rules & Procedures • NO RUNNING – and keep your voices down in the halls • Each team will follow clues (1-4) to collect envelopes from places throughout the school. • Return to class and assemble your puzzle. Glue it together on a sheet of paper. • The team who accurately completes the puzzle first, and identifies the image wins.

15. Event 2: Jump – Hoplite-ly Trivia Challenge Rules & Procedures: • Start with one person from your team hopping on one foot. • You can tag-in any other group member to hop for you. • Write your answers on a sheet of lined paper (#1-10) • You will be asked questions about Greek history throughout. • The team with the most correct answers wins.

16. Event 3: Wrestling Rock/Paper/Scissors Rules & Procedures: • Choose one member of your city-state to compete. • A tournament style competition will decide a winner. • Roll back your sleeves. Competitors will be moderated and eliminated in heats.

17. Event 4: ‘Pitch’ Your Product Rules & Procedures: • Review the handout ‘Terms Derived from Greek Tales’ • Use you knowledge or the internet to get clarification on one term • Draw a picture or illustrate the term (Box 1) • Write a brief description of the myth (Box 2) • Think of an advertising ‘pitch’ that might include the term (Box 3) • Explain why the name/myth are ideal for your product (Box 4)

18. Event 5: Theatrical Performance • Your final event will be tomorrow, with your SGA Activity Performance of a Greek Myth

19. The results… • Puzzle Challenge: 1. Thebes (60) 2. Sparta (50) 3. Olympia (40) 4. Argos (30) 5. Corinth (20) 6. Athens (10)

20. Results cont’d… • Trivia Challenge: • Sparta (9/10) – 60 • Thebes (8.66/10) – 50 • Corinth (8.66/10) – 40 • Argos (8.49/10) – 30 • Olympia (8.33/10) – 20 • Athens (8.33/10) - 10

21. Results cont’d… • Rock Paper Scissors Challenge: • Athens – 60 • Olympia – 50 • Sparta – 40 • Argos – 30 • Thebes – 20 • Corinth - 10

22. Bonus Marks! (moustache sponsorship, food) • Thebes • Athens • Sparta (5) • Corinth • Olympia • Argos