TED Talks Daily - The ancient origins of the Olympics | Armand D'Angour

Episode Date: August 3, 2024

Thousands of years in the making, the Olympics began as part of a religious festival honoring the Greek god Zeus in the rural Greek town of Olympia. But how did it become the greatest show of sporting excellence on earth? Educator Armand D'Angour explains the evolution of the Olympics. (Directed by Diogo Viegas, narrated by Addison Anderson, music by Cem Misirlioglu and Brooks Ball)

TED Audio Collective. You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. As we watch the world's best athletes represent their countries at the Olympic Games, we thought it would be fun to look back at how this all got started so many

thousands of years ago. Educator Armand Dangor takes us back in time to ancient Olympiads and connects it to the modern games we're all enjoying. It's coming up after a break. Support for this show comes from Airbnb. If you know me, you know I love staying in Airbnbs when I travel. They make my family feel most at home when we're away from home. As we settled down at our Airbnb during a recent vacation to Palm Springs, I pictured my own home sitting empty. Wouldn't it be smart and better put to use welcoming a family like mine by hosting it on Airbnb?

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and stay ahead of the game in this fast-changing world. Follow Disruptors on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform. There's a little slice of heaven in a mountain town escape. A pace of life that's less hurried, more authentic.

Where experiences feel down to earth, yet elevated. Take family time to a higher level with an ATV ride on West Virginia's Hatfield-McCoy trails. And all around the Hatfield-McCoy region, you'll find unique lodging options, great dining, historical museums, and more. Plan your getaway now at wvtourism.com. Thousands of years in the making, what began as part of a religious festival honoring the Greek god Zeus in the rural Greek town of Olympia has today become the greatest show of sporting excellence on Earth. The inception date in 776 BC

became the basis for the Greeks' earliest calendar, where time was marked in four-year increments called Olympiads. What could it be? Why, it's the Olympic Games, of course. Competition fosters excellence, or so thought the ancient Greeks. In addition to sporting events, contests were held for music, singing, and poetry. You can read about them all yourself in classical literary works like Homer's Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid.

Even mythical heroes appreciate a good contest every now and then, wouldn't you say? For the first 13 games, the ancient Greek Olympics featured just one event, the 200-yard dash. But over time, new exciting contests like boxing, chariot and mule racing, and even a foot race where the competitors wore a full suit of armor enticed many hopeful champions into the Olympic Stadium. The combined running, jumping, wrestling, javelin throwing, and hurling the discus event known as the pentathlon inspired world-class competition.

And the pancration, a no-holds-barred fight where only biting and eye gouging were prohibited, ensured the toughest men were victorious. And victorious they were. Nobody tops the local baker, Koroibus, who in 776 BC became the very first Olympic champion. And we'll never forget Orsippus of Megara, the 720 BC Olympic victor who tore away his loincloth so he could race unimpeded, inaugurating the ancient Greek tradition of competing in the nude. Now there's a winning streak if ever we've seen one.

But all good things must end. In 391 AD, the Christian Roman emperor Theodosius banned pagan practices. So the world soon bid a fond farewell to the Olympic Games. And now back to the Olympic Games. And now, back to the episode. But just like those early Pankration athletes, you can't keep a good one down. And 1,500 years later, in 1896, the modern Olympic Games kicked off in Athens, Greece.

Today, the Summer and Winter Olympics bring international world-class athletes together by the thousands, uniting fans by the billions for the world's foremost sporting competition. Sitius, Altius, Fortius. Three cheers for the Olympics. Support for this show comes from Airbnb. If you know me, you know I love staying in Airbnbs when I travel.

They make my family feel most at home when we're away from home. As we settled down at our Airbnb during a recent vacation to Palm Springs, I pictured my own home sitting empty. Wouldn't it be smart and better put to use welcoming a family like mine by hosting it on Airbnb? It feels like the practical thing to do, and with the extra income, I could save up for renovations to make the space even more inviting for ourselves and for future guests.

Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.ca slash host. That was educator Armand Dangor for TED-Ed. If you're curious about TED's curation, find out more at TED.com slash curation guidelines. And that's it for today. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. This episode was produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Green, Autumn Thompson, and Alejandra Salazar. It was mixed by Christopher Faisy-Bogan. Additional support from Emma Taubner, Daniela Balarezo, and Will Hennessey. I'm Elise Hugh.

I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening. Looking for a fun challenge to share with your friends and family? TED now has games designed to keep your mind sharp while having fun. Visit TED.com slash games to explore the joy and wonder of TED Games.