Olympics

Question 1

Roughly how many people competed in Ancient Greek Games?

Answer 1

only a few hundred. Nowadays it is about 8,000 men & women

Question 2

What were the 4 sports in the Ancient Olympics?

Answer 2

Athletics, Boxing, Chariot Racing and Wrestling

Question 3

How many events made up Ancient Greek Olympics? Nowadays there are nearly 200..

Answer 3

Only around 20!

Question 4

How long did the original Olympic Games last?

Answer 4

over 1000 years

Question 5

From when to when did the first 1000 years or so of Olympics last?

Answer 5

776 BC to 396 AD

Question 6

Where was the first Olympics held?

Answer 6

Olympia, Greece

Question 7

To which god was Olympia sacred?

Answer 7

Zeus

Question 8

Olympic Games might have started when WHO wrestled his father Kronos for control of the world?

Answer 8

Zeus!

Question 9

who else might have started it all off, having completed one of his 12 labours?

Answer 9

Herakles

Question 10

what kind of competition was featured in the first ever Games?

Answer 10

Just a running race!

Question 11

What was the top sporting city in the Games from 776 to 300 BC?

Answer 11

SPARTA with 46 victories

Question 12

What other cities were amongst the top 4 sporting cities from 776 to 300BC?

Answer 12

Elis, (local area of Olympia) 30
Athens 22
Croton, Italy 21

Question 13

in the 2nd Century BC Greece was conquered by which other great power?

Answer 13

Rome

Question 14

What did the Western Roman Empire prefer, Gladiators/Chariot Races or Athletics?

Answer 14

Gladiators & Chariot Races.

Question 15

Name 4 ways we get our knowledge about ancient olympics

Answer 15

• excavated stadiums
• stories of athletes & rule books
• lists of winners
• vase paintings and sculptures (even though they show runners going along left hand and left foot at the same time!)

Question 16

Why were the Crown Games called the Crown Games?

Answer 16

Winners were CROWNED with a wreath of some sort of foliage.. it depended on the city what you got on your head if you won.

Question 17

How often were the Olympian Games in Olympia and the Pythian Games in Delphi held?

Answer 17

Every 4 years

Question 18

How often were the Isthmian Games in Corinth and the Nemean Games in Nemea held?

Answer 18

Every 2 years

Question 19

Which two of the Crown Games were in honour of Zeus?

Answer 19

Olympian Games and Nemean Games.

Question 20

Which Crown Games were in honour of the god Apollo and the winner got laurel wreath?

Answer 20

Pythian Games in Delphi

Question 21

Which Crown Games were in honour of Poseidon, and had pine leaves for a wreath as a prize?

Answer 21

Isthmian Games.

Question 22

Which Crown Games awarded a wreath of wild celery to winners? (in honour of Zeus, and held every 2 years?)

Answer 22

Nemean Games

Question 23

name some other types of prizes you could win

Answer 23

warm leather jerkins, pitchers of oil, and a tripod made of bronze

Question 24

Were competitors amateurs as they must be nowadays for the Olympics?

Answer 24

nope!

Question 25

What types of rewards could winners get when they returned home?!

Answer 25

Money prizes, poems written in their honour and a pension for life

Question 26

What privileges did a professional athlete have at the time?

Answer 26

they didn't have to pay taxes or do military service, and they also had their own trade unions!

Question 27

name 2 kinds of Training Areas in Ancient Greece for athletes.

Answer 27

Palaistra- training for combat sports, like wrestling and boxing Gymnasium training for running & throwing

Question 28

What building did the first day swearing-in ceremony take place in?

Answer 28

the Bouleuterion- the council building of Olympia

Question 29

What kind of awesome statue was inside the Bouleuterion and did it represent?

Answer 29

A gold and ivory statue of Zeus- it was one of the 7 wonders of the world

Question 30

How many officials oversaw the swearing in, and what was their title? H...

Answer 30

10 Hellanodikai

Question 31

What 2 things did athletes have to swear over the flesh of a dead boar..?

Answer 31

- I have been training for 10 months | - I will stick to the rules of the Games

Question 32

What did the 10 officials called Hellanodikai have to swear as well?

Answer 32

To be fair judges of the competition

Question 33

Name 3 things Day 1 of the Games involved for boys aged 12-18 years

Answer 33

Running Wrestling Boxing

Question 34

Day 2 of the Games- how did it start?

Answer 34

procession into the Hippodrome

Question 35

what sort of shape was the Hippodrome?

Answer 35

oval

Question 36

each lap of the Hippodrome was _____ metres

Answer 36

1200

Question 37

what kinds of chariots did the Hippodrome races involve?

Answer 37

4 horse and 2 horse chariots

Question 38

could poor people enter?

Answer 38

No- owning horses was expensive so only the rich could compete.

Question 39

What person bribed the judges to let him win in 65 AD? He later founded (not) a chain of coffee shops in the UK.. ;)

Answer 39

Emperor Nero

Question 40

Did jockeys have saddles?

Answer 40

No, they rode bareback

Question 41

Name the 5 events of a pentathlon. D J J R W

Answer 41

``` Discus Javelin Jumping Running Wrestling ```

Question 42

Was there high jump in Greek athletics?

Answer 42

no. only long jump

Question 43

What did Day 3 start with, rather grisly thing..

Answer 43

slaughter of 100 oxen which were offered up to Zeus. the meat was used for the evening banquet

Question 44

How long is the DOLIKHOS race?

Answer 44

3.8K or 4.6K

Question 45

How long is the STADE?

Answer 45

A short sprint of 192 metres

Question 46

How long is the DIAULOS?

Answer 46

285 metres

Question 47

What 3 Events happened on Day 3?

Answer 47

Wrestling Boxing and Pankration A running race in armour

Question 48

What did wrestlers do before competition?

Answer 48

Oiled their bodies

Question 49

EURYDAMOS did what strange thing when competition in the boxing on Day 4?

Answer 49

Swallowed his broken teeth

Question 50

What is the final event on Day 4, the HOPLITODROMOS?

Answer 50

A race in armour, wearing helmet and carrying a shield

Question 51

On Day 5 what was tied to winners' heads and limbs?

Answer 51

Purple ribbons

Question 52

What was placed on the heads of winners?

Answer 52

A laurel wreath

Question 53

What could a winner expect back home after winning?

Answer 53

A special feast and celebration in his honour, poems written about him and a fine statue of himself in the marketplace

Question 54

What does Pankration mean in Greek?

Answer 54

All Strength

Question 55

What was it?

Answer 55

Boxing, Wrestling, Slapping, almost anything but gouging and biting to win. Opponent had to hold a finger up to say you'd won.

Question 56

Did men and women compete in the Olympic Games?

Answer 56

No- only men!

Question 57

in 336 BC who had a statue of himself and his family put up in Olympia?

Answer 57

Alexander the Great. Roman Emperors later did similar things to identify themselves as godlike.

Question 58

Bonus: Who revived the modern Olympics in the 19th Century?

Answer 58

Baron Pierre de Coubertin. The first modern Olympics happened in Athens in 1896.

Question 59

Athletes carried oil in a small container called..

Answer 59

Aryballos

Question 60

What did a Wrestler wear to protect his ears?

Answer 60

A cap

Question 61

How much did the Ancient Greek Discus weigh?

Answer 61

About 2.5 kilos.

Question 62

What was the Ancient Greek discus made of?

Answer 62

Bronze, lead or marble

Question 63

Before jumping the jumpers held something in their hands to help with momentum- what was it?

Answer 63

Weights, sometimes made of lead

Question 64

Did the Ancient Greeks run a marathon as part of the Olympian Games?

Answer 64

No- it's a modern addition

Question 65

APITE! Meant what? It could also be a short blast from a trumpet in a competition

Answer 65

GO!