Unbelievable Facts About the Ancient Olympics

You may already know that the ancient Olympics started in Olympia, Greece, in 776 B.C. and continued every four years until at least 393 A.D. However, a lot has changed since those ancient times. Test your knowledge with these 13 interesting facts about the ancient Olympics. How many do you already know?

The First Olympics

1. Ancient Olympians traveled to Olympia, Greece, to compete in honor of Zeus, king of the Greek gods. Here, competitors would find a massive statue of Zeus inside a temple. This statue was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
2. Unlike today's Olympics^®, the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. only featured one event. Ancient competitors traveled to Olympia, Greece, to compete in a 190-meter-long foot race, called the stadion race. No synchronized swimming back then, folks.
3. A baker named Coroebus of Elis, from the city of Eleia, won the first recorded Olympic Games. He received an olive branch instead of a gold medal.

Early Olympic Events

4. Later, officials added more events, such as boxing and pankration (a mixed martial arts event combining wrestling, boxing and other combat sports).
5. For some events like boxing and pankration, competitors covered themselves in oil before fighting.
6. Pankration had only two rules: no gouging eyes and no biting.
7. Boxers at the ancient Olympics fought with no time limits, no points, and no weight classifications.

Who Was Eligible to Compete?

8. Any free Greek man, no matter his social status, could compete in the Olympic Games. In reality though, most competitors were soldiers.
9. Women, however, could not compete. They couldn't even attend the ancient Olympics. If they defied this rule, they could be put to death. But here's the twist: Women could own (but not drive) chariots, and chariot owners could claim Olympic victory. This is how a woman named Kyniska won wreaths in 396 B.C. and 392 B.C.

Rules of Play

10. Ancient Olympians competed fully in the nude. Because of this, competitors were strongly discouraged from attacking male genitalia.
11. If a combat-sport athlete decided to surrender, he could raise his index finger to stop the competition – that is, if he didn't die first.

Cheating and Trickery

12. Olympians caught using "foul or forbidden tricks" (such as twisting testicles, gouging, biting, and false starts) could face public beating or flogging.
13. To publicly shame cheaters, the offending athletes or coaches would be forced to purchase expensive bronze statues of Zeus (called "Zanes"). Olympic officials engraved the statues with the details of the cheating incident and erected them near the stadium, as a warning to other competitors. For example, in 388 B.C., Eupolus of Thessaly bribed three competitors to allow him to win the boxing competition at the 98th Olympics. All four men were made to purchase Zanes as punishment for cheating.

These 13 facts highlight both how far the modern Olympic Games^® have come and how tradition endures.

References: 10 Facts About the Olympics! | 15 Fascinating Facts About The Ancient Olympics | Visiting the Ancient Olympic Stadium in Greece | The Ancient History of Cheating in the Olympics | The Statue of Zeus in Olympia: A Lost Wonder | Cheating During the Ancient Olympics | Welcome to the Ancient Olympic Games