Olympia is where the Ancient Greeks held their games.
The Sydney Opera House held the opening and closing ceremonies in the Summer 2000 Olympic Games.
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Olympia is where the Ancient Greeks held their games. |
The Sydney Opera House held the opening and closing ceremonies in the Summer 2000 Olympic Games. |
Sports and fitness were very important to the Ancient Greeks. Just as you have P.E. class, Greeks also took time out for physical fitness. Remember, that this was only true, though for men and boys. Girls could not participate in sports. The Greeks loved sports and celebrated their athletes. This was especially true because fitness was important for soldiers in times of war. It was the Greeks who invented the Olympic Games. We continue this tradition today as athletes from all over the world come together to compete. Let's look to see how the Ancient Olympic Games are the same and different from the Modern Olympic Games.
Ancient Greek Olympics
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Modern Olympics
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When and where?
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The Greeks held athletic competitions every
four years in the city of Olympia.
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Also held every four years. However, now we have both the winter and the summer games. There is some kind of Olympic competition happening every two years. Also, the place where the Olympics are held change every time so many countries can host the games. The 2000 Summer Olympic Games were just held in Sydney, Australia. In 2004, the summer Olympic games will return to Greece and will be held in Athens.
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| Who? | Only adult, free men could participate in the games. In fact, women were not even allowed to watch. Each of the city-states would choose their strongest and fastest men to compete for them.
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Countries from all over the world send their best athletes,
both men and women to compete in the games. More than 10,000 athletes
from 198 countries were part of the Sydney Olympic Games.
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Why? |
The Olympics were a celebration of the God
Zeus. There were ceremonies each of the five days the games were
held. This coin shows an image of Zeus.
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The modern Olympics bring people from all over the world
together in sport. The games are held to promote peace and understanding
all over the world. The torch lit at the beginning of each games shows
the hope and spirit of the games.
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