Today we visited the site of the ancient Olympics. We arrived before most of the tour buses and it was calm, shaded, and really quite peaceful, with loads of ruins. Dad raced against Ted from Halifax, Nova Scotia in the stadium. A huge thank you to Ted for being a good sport. In the also-ran category I ran the whole 192 m against myself--trust me I will not be receiving an olive leaf crown😄
Fun Fact: Do you know what happened if the ancient Olympians cheated (which they did--bribery, a form of doping, and blood enhancing)? Their names were engraved on the pedestals of Zeus statues that lined the path to the stadium. As the honest athletes entered they would spit on the cheaters names! Do you know what I like about the picture I posted from the Temple of Zeus at Olympia? Well, those pillars are lying on the ground pretty well just as they fell when an earthquake struck in 551 AD. There is something so real about that. You are Always in My Prayers. Love Mom.
47 Comments
Mrs. Hicklings kids
9/27/2016 06:14:50 am
Hold up! Did Ray just say Athletes compete in the nude?!
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Ray
9/27/2016 09:00:57 am
Fortunately this had been long abandoned by modern time (during the 500's ad). This is particularly good since we added winter games.
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Ray
9/27/2016 08:52:24 am
Through all of the ancient games nude was the way to compete. The covered there bodies with olive oil and a thin coat of dust. This gave them some protection from the sun and minor abrasions. After competing or practice the hung around scraping the grime off with a special curved tool, followed by a bath.
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Aasera
9/27/2016 09:01:34 am
Did they run a lot?
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:00:44 am
Running is such a simple and natural sport it has long been part of human games. The ancient Greeks also saw as important part of military service, and one of there races required them to run in full uniform carrying a large bronze shield. As the years went by they added more races, Modern equivalents would be the 200 M, 400 M, 1000 M and 5 K.
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owen
9/27/2016 09:02:01 am
what was your time of the race
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:01:39 am
Slow, and fortunately no one was timing.
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alicia
9/27/2016 09:03:29 am
nice run what place did you get?
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:02:35 am
There were only two of us running and Ted let me win. (it was my video)
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austin
9/27/2016 09:06:49 am
nice race how many lanes are there
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:07:51 am
it was about 30 meter wide, with 24 lanes.
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jordan
9/27/2016 09:07:24 am
wow 4500 peple
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:11:37 am
Bigger Wow, 45 000 people on the banks watching.
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Brian
9/27/2016 09:07:38 am
Question: Who won the race in the video Mr. Homewood or Ted?
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:12:15 am
I did, thanks to Ted letting me win.
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lex
9/27/2016 09:09:20 am
were you egsated
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:14:09 am
No, the distance on one stadia, a race one time down the length of the stadium is only a little less than 200 meters. If you want to see me exhausted after a race you need to check out the posts on Paris.
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:18:54 am
From video's I had seen I knew what it would look like., But the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens held 50,000 on marble seats and was rebuilt in 1870 looked way more impressive. But there was so much more than just the stadium at Olympia, that overall it was a very impressive site.
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madi
9/27/2016 09:10:03 am
How long is the track? What is the track made of? Did you have fun?
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:20:13 am
It is 192 meters long, and had a clay, dirt surface. I enjoyed being at the site, running and making the video.
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Sarah
9/27/2016 09:10:37 am
That is a long way to go and also I thought it was bumpy because the camera was going all over the place.
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:20:59 am
Only 192 meters. The camera was on my head and I am not the smoothest runner.
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Sarah
9/29/2016 10:28:28 am
Ok so that is probally why the camera was bumpy.
jenna
9/27/2016 09:11:05 am
do you how it collapsed
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:22:25 am
The temple collapsed during an earthquake around 500 ad. (it was no longer being used by this time)
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austin
9/27/2016 09:11:49 am
why are they naked when they run. and how long was the run
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:23:37 am
I think they just felt the could run better with no restrictive clothes on, remember they did not have some of our high tech running gear. The run was only 192 m.
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:25:50 am
I always enjoy a good run, A run in or around very old ancient sites even better. So to run in a stadium that is both old and a long history of running... even better.
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maddie
9/27/2016 09:15:30 am
Was the run fun? Who where you running with? Wear where you running with?
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:28:47 am
Yes I enjoyed the run. The other runner was a fellow Canadian we met at the stadium. He used to run a lot of marathons, but decided to join me for the run and the making of the video. When you are in other countries it is very easy to strike up a conversation with fellow Canadian you meet.
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julia
9/27/2016 09:15:51 am
WOW!! being there would be so cool. But if you were there in Greece back then and seeing them run that would be amazing. Do you know any of the athlete's names that ran in/on that?
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:32:44 am
Winners of the events won a bronze tripod on a marble base with there name on it. Hometowns often put up big statues of Olympic winners so we know many of the names of the athletes. For example Astylos of Croton in southern Italy won a total of six victory olive wreaths in three Olympiads (488-480 B.C.) in the stade and the diaulos (twice the stade) events.
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Jordan
9/27/2016 09:16:24 am
did you run 5 mt.
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RAY
9/27/2016 10:34:06 am
The run was not timed, but I hope it was much less than 5 minutes long.
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Run
9/27/2016 10:35:19 am
Most of the tourists in Greece right now are from other European countries, which makes sense since they are much closer. But we have met a number of Canadians on our trip.
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:37:00 am
The running races, the discus and javelin throwing, boxing, wrestling and form of fighting with very few rules. The chariot races were held at a different venue.
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Cai 120 ;)
9/27/2016 09:21:32 am
Is the stadium outside?
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:38:06 am
Yes it is outside and in Olympia the stadium has no seats just the banks of the man made hills around it for the spectators.
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Justin
9/27/2016 09:21:56 am
How many people went to the first Olympics
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Ray
9/27/2016 10:39:55 am
Not sure if they know how many went to the first Olympics. As you can imagine any event that is held every four years for over 1100 years things will change over the years. The 45 000 number is estimated from historical records and the size of the site.
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ava
9/29/2016 10:32:09 am
what did they run in and would the girls run?
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Diane
9/29/2016 09:22:00 pm
They competed with no cloths on. Girls weren't allowed to compete or attend but they had their own running competition every 4 years.
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Lauren
1/17/2020 04:42:59 pm
Why did they have no clothing on?
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Ray & Diane HomewoodSharing the Blessing of Travel Archives
December 2016
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