Modern Olympics Vs. Ancient Olympics

Ancient Olympics vs. Modern Olympics

The Olympics have been an exciting and possibly the most watched sporting event throughout the world. People may not know that the Olympics have been around for more than 3,000 years ("The Olympic Games"). The ancient Olympics were held every four years at Olympia, where the title came about. There, they competed in various competitions to honor Zeus ("The Games"). Ancient Olympics differ from modern Olympics due to the types of events that took place, people that could participate, and rewards that were earned.

During ancient Olympics, the sports that took place were not numerous. The first couple of times the games were held, the only event was racing where contestants ran 200 yards on foot (Huberty, Hudzik). As the years progressed, events were added and some taken away. New events included wrestling matches, running, jumping, disk throws, boxing, and horse and chariot racing ("Ancient Olympic Games"). As we progress to the present, there are now two different Olympics held, summer and winter. Plenty of sports have been added such as basketball, volleyball, cycling, sailing, shooting, etc ("Sports"). There are some events that still take place such as running. As people can see, the Olympics have expanded throughout the years.

As we know and have seen today, young and middle aged adults, men and women, have participated in the Olympics for years. The selection process does not come down to if you are male or female, it is whether or not you have what it takes. Athletes are selected from an Olympic board to see who will be able to attend ("Competing in the Olympics"). It was not like that during the ancient times. Back then, free, male Greeks were allowed to participate and social status did not matter ("Ancient Olympic Games"). It was not the same for women because women’s rights are not strong like we see today.