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The Ancient Olympics
Introduce children to the fascinating world of Ancient Greece
by studying the Olympic Games, then and now
By Hannah Trierweiler
| Olympic Resources |
Books
• Olympia: Warrior Athletes of Ancient Greece, by David Kennett (Walker, 2001).
• The Ancient Greek Olympics, by Richard Woff (Oxford, 1999).
Fun Facts
• How Short: The first Olympics had only one event: the stade, or short sprint.
• No Girls Allowed: While there were trained women athletes in Ancient Greece, only men could participate in the Olympics.
• Before Track Suits: Young men from all over Greece took part in the games, but they had one thing in common: they competed naked!
• Rough Stuff: One ancient event, a combination of boxing and wrestling called the pankration, allowed kicking, strangleholds, and slapping-only gouging and biting were against the rules!
• No Medals: Winners of the ancient Olympics received wreaths woven from the branches of an olive tree
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Building Background
With the Winter Olympics around the corner, what a terrific time to study
Ancient Greece, where the first Olympics were held more than 2,500 years
ago! To get started, first gather materials to make available in your
library. Then kick off the activity by sharing the Olympic Fun Facts.
Next, set a challenge for children: they should look for any related news
articles, which they can bring in to share with others and add to an “Olympic
Headlines” bulletin board.
Classroom Olympics
Ancient Greek city-states competed against one other at the first Olympics.
Children will enjoy learning more about these colorful societies with
this activity! First, invite kids to form five groups - Sparta, Athens,
Corinth, Argos, and Megara, then have them explore their city-state´s
culture online by visiting different sites about Ancient Greece, such
as http://members.aol.com/Donnclass/Greeklife.html.
Then have the members of each group agree upon a behavior that will distinguish
it as a city-state during your library Olympics, and let the competition
begin! Host tic-tac-toe, trivia, or jacks events. Once the victorious
city-state has been declared, discuss why the groups acted the ways they
did.
 Olympic
News
Invite students to imagine that it is 500 BC and they are citizens of Olympia. It is their responsibility to create a newspaper for those coming to the games! To begin, discuss the important sections of a newspaper, such as news, weather, and sports. Then challenge teams of students to cover one of these sections for your Olympic newspaper. News writers can report on special preparations, sports writers can interview star athletes, and style writers can cover what's hot at the celebration banquets. Encourage your newspaper staff to do research so that their stories are as accurate as possible. When finished, kids can compile the stories and print enough issues for all to read.
 Pentathlon
Research
With this activity, kids will research the exciting pentathlon and learn
about one way the Olympics have changed throughout history. First, invite
one group of kids to research the ancient pentathlon and the other group
to study the modern version. Then encourage the groups to use the Internet
to find out more about the participants and judging of each of the five
events (try the excellent www.modern-pentathlon.com).
Ask both groups to make a book about their version of the pentathlon, with
one page explaining each event. Finally, have each group present the books
to everyone who participated, so that all can become pentathlon experts.
 Chariot
Race Writing
Challenge kids to use their knowledge of the ancient Olympics to respond
to a learning-rich writing prompt in their journals. First, share this
quote from Sophocles, a Greek playwright, describing the beginning of
a chariot race:
“At the sound of the bronze trumpet off they started, all shouting
to their horses and urging them on. The clatter of the rattling chariots
filled the whole arena, and the dust flew up as they sped along in a dense
mass. Each driver goaded his team to draw clear of the rival panting steeds,
whose steaming breath and sweat drenched every flying wheel and bending
back together.”
After discussing any unfamiliar words, invite kids to imagine that they
are a chariot driver in this race and write a first-person account of what
happens next. Who wins? Olympic Mythology
Many different Greek gods and goddesses were worshiped during the ancient
Olympics. A fun way to introduce this fundamental part of Greek life is
to begin by discussing what present-day athletes do for luck. A runner
may eat a certain meal before a big race, for example, or a basketball
player may always look for mom in the stands. Write your students' examples
on the board. Then share Run with Me, Nike: The Olympics in Four Hundred
Twenty, by Cassandra Case (Bt. Bound, 2002), or another title that
explains the important role of mythology in the ancient Olympics. As a
class, compare ancient and modern athletic rituals. Where do Olympians
past and present find courage and strength?
 A
Mapping Challenge
Invite kids to practice their geography skills and learn more about where
the Olympics have traveled — between the first games in Olympia
and this summer's competition in Athens — with this fun mapping
mystery. First, using pushpins, mark all of the Olympic cities (found
at www.harveyabramsbooks.com/hostcities.html)
on a world map. Then, throughout your unit, ask teams of two students
to figure out the year two of the cities hosted the games. Have the teams
write the years, the names of the cities, and pictures of the countries'
flags on blank cards. Attach the cards to the map with the pushpins to
create an impressive Olympic display!
Reading Olympics
To wrap up your program, consider talking to teachers in local schools
about creating an Olympics-themed reading challenge. Students can clock
the number of hours they spend reading Olympics-related materials, such
as newspaper stories, articles in the magazine or on the Web (try Scholastic’s
Go
for the Gold online activity), and books from the school or public
library.
Hannah Trierweiler is the editorial assistant of
Instructor. This article was originally published in the May/June
2004 issue of Instructor.
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