Olympic Games - History and events

Match the following 'P's to do with the Olympics

• Pindar

• The founding hero who cheated and won the chariot race against Oinomaos

• Pelops

• The writer of a guidebook of famous Greek sites for Roman tourists

• Pythian

• A poet who wrote victory poems for those that won the Olympics

• Pausanias

• One of the other panhellenic games that took place in one of the years between the Olympics

The date of the first ancient Olympics

• 1896 AD

• 776 BC

• 150 BC

• 1085 BC

Which of the following myths are connected with the origins of the ancient Olympic Games

• Heracles cleaning out the stables of Augeas

• Pelops winning a chariot race against king Oinomaos

• Perseus killing the gorgon Medusa aided by Pegasus

• Theseus killing the Minotaur

The ancient Olympic games were __ because it was open to all Greeks

During the Games Greek cities were not allowed to...

• attack each other

• build temples to the gods

• open the shops/market-places

• travel by sea

Match the following events

• two lengths of the stadium

• hoplitodromos

• the race in armour

• pankration

• (almost) no-rules wrestling/boxing

• stadion

• long-distance running

• dolichos

• the earliest and most important race

• diaulos

What two things were officially forbidden in the pankration?

• eye-gouging

• finger-breaking

• biting

• clothes-lining

• head-butting

What addition did the ancient Olympic javelin event have that is no longer in the modern version?

• you had to jump in your run-up

• there was a strap you used to spin the javelin as you threw it

• it was about how high you could throw it, not how far

• you threw one in each hand at the same time

The ancient Greek pentathlon included which of these events? (more than one correct answer)

• horse riding

• javelin

• swimming

• wrestling

• long-jump

Organize these facts into the right categories

Groups:

(a) Only ancient Olympics

,

(b) Only modern Olympics

,

(c) Both ancient and modern Olympics

• athletes compete naked

• women compete alongside men

• takes place every four years

• medals awarded to winners

• always happens in the same place