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Olympics: Ancient Olympics
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Unlike the modern Olympics, there was an important religious component to the ancient games. A gold and ivory statue of Zeus by Pheidias was placed inside Zeus' temple at Olympia. 42 feet high, it was one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World.
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The interest in reviving the Olympics as an international event grew further when the ruins of ancient Olympia were uncovered by German archaeologists in the mid-nineteenth century. At the same time, Pierre de Coubertin was searching for a reason for the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871). He thought the reason was that the French had not received proper physical education, and sought to improve this. Coubertin ... sought a way to bring nations closer together, to have the youth of the world compete in sports, rather than fight in war. In 1890 he attended a festival of the Wenlock Olympian Society, and decided that the recovery of the Olympic Games would achieve both of his goals.
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No medals were awarded in the ancient Olympics. A winner received an olive wreath to wear on his head. Second and third placings received nothing. When the Olympics were revived in 1896 in Athens, Greece, winners received silver medals instead of gold medals. Eight years later, at the 1904 Games in St. Louis, gold replaced silver for first place. Today's gold medals actually are sterling silver covered with a thin coat of gold.
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Here's a little quiz by Andrew Wilson to determine how much you know about the Ancient Olympics. See if you can beat this athletic failure's score -- 6 out of 15. Should be a snap!
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Members of the Perseus Project created this exhibit on the ancient Olympics in 1996, as a tribute to the Centennial Olympic Games held in Atlanta, Georgia. In this exhibit, you can compare ancient and modern Olympic sports, tour the site of Olympia as it looks today, learn about the context of the Games and the Olympic spirit, or read about the Olympic athletes who were famous in ancient times.
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Ancient Olympics