The most widely circulated story about the origins of the ancient Olympics is the story of Pelops' marriage. The ancient Greek king of Elis in order to choose his daughter a civil and military team of horse harnessed by the side of a team, proposed that the candidate must be and their own chariot race. During the race, 13 young men lost their lives under the king's spear, and the 14th young man was Pelops, the grandson of Zeus and the princess's sweetheart. Inspired by love, he bravely accepted the king's challenge and finally won by his wits. In order to celebrate this victory, Pelops and the princess in front of the temple of Zeus in Olympia held a grand wedding, the meeting arranged a chariot, jousting and other items of the competition, which is the original ancient Olympic Games, Pelops became the legendary founder of the ancient Olympic Games.
The origin of the Olympic Games, in fact, has a close relationship with the social situation in ancient Greece. In the 9th-8th centuries BC, Greek clan society gradually disintegrated, and the city-state system of slave society gradually took shape, with the establishment of more than 200 city-states. The city-states were governed separately without a unified monarch, and there were constant wars among them. In order to cope with the wars, each city-state actively trained its soldiers. Children in the Spartan city-states were raised by the state from the age of seven and were engaged in sports and military training, leading a military life. War needed soldiers, soldiers needed strong bodies, and sports were a powerful means of training capable soldiers. The war promoted the development of Greek sports, and the competition programs of the ancient Olympic Games carried a clear military imprint. The people were disgusted by the continuous fighting and generally longed for a peaceful environment in which to recuperate. Later, the Spartan king and the king of Elis signed the treaty of "Sacred Truce Month". Thus, the military training and athletic contests for the preparation of soldiers were gradually transformed into games of peace and friendship.
First, the decline and prosperity of the ancient Olympic Games
Ancient Olympic Games from 776 BC, to 394 AD, after 1,168 years, *** held 293 sessions. According to its origin, boom and bust, roughly divided into three periods.
1, 776 BC to 388 BC, this period of strife between the city states, but Greece is an independent country, political, economic and cultural are more developed, is the golden period of the Games. Especially in 490 BC, Athens, Greece, in the Marathon Valley after the defeat of the Persian army, the people's mood, the national prestige, the construction of many sports facilities, temples, etc., participants throughout the Greek cities and states, the Olympic Games flourished for a while, becoming the biggest festival in Greece.
2, 388 BC to 146 BC, began to decline. As a result of the long Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens (431 BC to 404 BC), the Greek state power was greatly reduced, and Macedonia gradually annexed Greece. Philip, the Macedonian monarch, also made his own self to participate in the horse race. Subsequently, although Emperor Alexander himself does not like sports activities, but still actively support, and regarded the Olympic Games as the highest sports activities in ancient Greece opening ceremony, to add facilities. However, the spirit of the ancient Olympic Games in this period has been greatly diminished, and began to appear professional athletes.
3, 146 BC to 394 AD, the ancient Olympic Games from decline to destruction. After the Roman Empire ruled Greece, although the Games were still held at first, but Olympia is not the only competition. For example, the 175th Olympic Games in 80 B.C., the Roman economic laws of the outstanding athletes called in Rome to compete, while Olympia only held the Junior Games. By this time professional athletes had begun to appear in large numbers, and the Olympics became a competition for professionals, in which the Greeks lost interest. After the 2nd century A.D., Christianity ruled all of Europe, including Greece, advocating asceticism, advocating the separation of spirit and flesh, and opposing sports, which put Europe in a dark age, and the Olympics declined until it existed in name only. In 393 A.D., Roman Emperor Theodosius I declared Christianity to be the state religion, and considered the ancient Olympic Games to be against the tenets of Christianity and a pagan activity, and announced the abolition of the ancient Olympic Games the following year. In 895 A.D., the Byzantines fought a fierce battle with the Goetheans on the Alpheus River, which resulted in the destruction of all Olympia's facilities. Theodosius II burned the remnants of the Olympia buildings in 426 AD. In 522 and 511 A.D., two powerful earthquakes occurred one after another, causing Olympia to be completely destroyed. In this way, the ancient Olympic Games for more than 1,000 years ceased to exist, the prosperity of Olympia into a ruin.
Second, the ancient Olympic Games competition
Ancient Olympic Games athletic events are mainly track and field, and then gradually increased wrestling, pentathlon, boxing, horse racing, jousting, as well as chariot races, armed races and so on, up to 23 items. Most of the competition for the original prototype of the modern sports program, the rules of the game is simple, arbitrary, some projects such as the most rich in ancient Greek sports characteristics of the gladiator in the modern sports has been extinct.
The field running ancient Olympic Games, the earliest established competition, but also from the 1st to the 13th Games on the only competition, the distance is 192.27 meters, which is exactly the length of the stadium. Later, there were the middle and long runs, where the distance was a multiple of 192.27 meters. At that time, there was no track mark, the boundary of the stadium paved with stones, that is, the starting line, the starting position of a variety of ways, the competition is only than a successive, not counting the time. Ancient Greeks love to run, in Olympia Alpheus river bank rock wall retained a motto of the ancient Greeks: "If you want to be smart, run! If you want to be strong, run! If you want to be healthy, run!" The pentathlon is a comprehensive competition at the games, and is very different from the modern track and field all-around sports in its method of competition. For example, in ancient times the pentathlon was accompanied by a flute, athletes held dumbbells as they passed by, the discus was actually a stone discus, and the javelin was a practical weapon of the time. While the first 4 events took place in the arena, wrestling took place next to the temple. Wrestling competitors had to be winners of the first 4 events, and wrestling had to win first place to become the champion of the pentathlon. In the ancient Olympics, the Spartans consistently dominated this event and almost swept all the titles. Gladiatorial combat was a combination of boxing and wrestling prevalent in ancient Greece, and the competition was very intense, often attracting a large number of spectators.
During the ancient Olympic Games, the Junior Games program was established from the 37th only, the age limit is not clear, the competition is limited to field running, wrestling, pentathlon, boxing, gladiator has been held a few times, but not lasting.
In addition, there were wonderful literary competitions held for poets, writers, artists, and orators. The literary contests began with the 84th Ancient Olympics in 444 BC, when Grotius, known as the Greek "father of history", read some chapters of his masterpiece, "History", which glorified the Greek warriors who defeated the Persian army at the Battle of the Marathon Valley in 490 BC, and eventually won the laurels of the first literary contests. Artistic competitions were also rewarded, even more so than sporting competitions, as in the case of the Olympic Games of 338 B.C., one year after the Macedonian conquest of Greece, which had awarded all the prizes belonging to sporting competitions to poets.
Third, the birth of the modern Olympic movement
The modern Olympic movement, whether from the scale of development, or from the level of development, has been noticed by the world. The Olympic spirit has been widely spread. People see that, as a cultural phenomenon, Olympism in the form of competition, the different skin color, different cultural backgrounds of the peoples closely linked together, on human social activities, the human civilization has had a profound impact. As a sports phenomenon, the Olympic Games is the most fascinating arena for human beings to explore the limits of their physical abilities; Olympic records and medals have become the lofty goals pursued by athletes, and the Olympic Movement has become a global activity with great attraction, penetration and cohesion among the many participating countries and regions. In 1893, according to the "father of the Olympic Games," the suggestion of Coubertin, held in Paris to discuss the revival of the Olympic Games of the international sports conference. 1894 January, Coubertin drafted the revival of the Olympic Games of the specific steps and need to explore the 10 issues, to the sports organizations and groups of various countries. June 16, "International Congress of Physical Education and Sport" in Paris, the Sorbonne opened, 79 representatives, representing 12 countries and 49 representatives of the Olympic Games. There were 79 delegates, representing 49 sports organizations from 12 countries. The opening ceremony was attended by 2,000 people. The Congress adopted a resolution entitled "Revival of the Olympic Movement", and on June 23 the International Olympic Committee was established. The establishment of the International Olympic Committee marked the birth of the Olympic Movement.
Fourth, the history of the modern Olympic Games
The origin and development of the Olympic Games, historically, can be divided into two major phases, the beginning of 1986 A.D. The Olympic Games held so far are collectively referred to as the modern Olympic Games. At the beginning of the 14th century, the European Renaissance led to the praise of the ancient Olympic spirit. An early Italian activist, Matteo Palmieri, was the first to recognize the spirit of the ancient Olympics. In 1450, the early Italian activist Matteo Palmiera proposed to infuse the spirit of peace and friendship of the ancient Olympic Games into people's social life and ideology. During this period, the excavation of Olympia was constantly emphasized. On January 10, 1852, Kuzius read out a report on the examination and excavation under the title of "Olympia" in Berlin, suggesting the restoration of the Games, which aroused a strong reaction from the society. The report was strongly criticized by the public. Between 1895 and 1889, on the initiative of the Greek Zabas, five National Olympic Games were held in Greece, but they were never expanded. In Europe in the 19th century, with the development of science, culture and education, countries set up their own sports organizations, and some countries held competitions in certain sports, while Germany, Sweden and Britain also formed their own sports systems or competitive sports. Just when people further demanded to organize international competitions, the first international sports federations were established, such as the International Gymnastics Federation in 1881, the International Rowing Federation and the International Ice Skating Federation in 1892. In addition, at the end of the 19th century, imperialism and monopoly capital emerged in the world, and the new powerful Wilhelm Germany wanted to start a war to re-divide the world market. France was a close neighbor of Germany, and if Germany started a war, the disaster of the war would firstly fall on the heads of the French people, and so the French people wanted to keep the peace. So the French people wanted to keep the peace. It was in this situation that some people thought of reviving the Olympic Games, which had symbolized peace and friendship.
The French educator, Pierre de Gaulle, said that the Olympic Games were a symbol of peace and friendship.
The French educator Pierre de Bourdain, in 1883, organized the Olympic Games. The French educator, Pierre de Coubertin, proposed in 1883 to organize a competition similar to the ancient Olympic Games and to expand it to the world. 1892, he visited Europe to publicize the Olympic idea and called for the revival of the Olympic Games. In the same year, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Paris Sports Federation, he advocated the restoration of the "Olympic Games", and in January 1894, he wrote to the Olympic organizations of various countries, suggesting that an international sports conference be held in Paris in the same year. On June 16-24 of the same year, at the International Sports Congress held in Paris, representatives of 15 countries resolved to hold the Olympic Games once every four years. In order to organize the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee was set up on June 23, with Vikelas, a Greek, as the president and Coubertin as the secretary-general, and he also designed the emblem and flag of the Olympic Games in person. And April 6, 1896 - 15 in Athens, Greece, held the first modern Olympic Games, *** 13 countries 311 athletes participated in the Athens General Assembly. The American athlete Jen Connolly won the Olympic Games with a throw of 13.71 meters. Connolly to 13.71 meters to win the triple jump gold medal, thus becoming the first modern Olympic champion.
One of the most significant events in the history of the modern Olympic Games was the breaking of the ancient rule that did not allow women to participate. In the second Olympics, despite the fact that Coubertin had been so adamantly opposed to women's participation, female athletes stepped into what had until then been a men's stadium. But the sexism didn't end there, and track and field wasn't open to women until the Ninth Olympics in 1928. Another memorable event in the history of the Olympic Games was the launching of the Olympic Torch in Athens, Greece, the birthplace of the modern Olympic Games, which was then carried in a relay to the site of the Games, where it was lit during the Opening Ceremony. Since 1924, the modern Olympic Games have been divided into the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The 8th Summer Olympics was held in Paris and the 1st Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix.
The first boycott of the Olympics on political grounds was in Melbourne in 1956. The British and French troops in the Suez Canal led to a boycott by Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon, while the Soviet Union's troops in Hungary led to Switzerland, Spain and the Netherlands refusing to enter the Olympic Games at that time.
The biggest "boycott" in the history of the Olympics, initiated by the United States, was the one in which 61 countries joined in protesting against the invasion of Afghanistan by the former Soviet Union. Afghanistan. In response, the Soviet Union gathered its Eastern European allies and returned the favor four years later in Los Angeles, citing security concerns.
Danish cyclist Jensen collapsed and died at the 1960 Rome Olympics, and the drug problem followed the Games ever since. It wasn't until the 1988 Seoul Olympics that world and Olympic champion and world record holder Ben Johnson took the steroids. Johnson's reliance on steroids became public knowledge. The birth of the modern Olympic Games in the past 100 years, through all the difficulties, its rise and fall, honor and disgrace affect hundreds of millions of people around the world, it is to strengthen the friendship between the world's people and athletes, and promote world peace and the development of world sports, played an indelible merit, which is people in the memories of the Olympic Games in the history of the Games will not be forgotten
Goldfish - Bei Bei
Panda - Jing Jing
The sacred fire - Huanhuan
The Tibetan antelope - Yingying
The rain swallow - Nini
Designer - Han Meilin
Beijing Olympic mascot unveiled, Fuwa "Beijing welcome you" debut
Source: Xinhua News Agency Time: 2005-11-12 11:15
Beijing time on the evening of November 11, the much-awaited Beijing 2008 Olympic mascot wonderful out, five lovely Fuwa from now on was given life, and the Chinese people together, loudly to the world to say "Beijing welcome you".
After a festive, yet Beijing-style drum performance, Bai Yansong, Wang Xiaoya, Zhu Jun and Chuni, the four hosts of the show, unveiled the Beijing 08 Olympic mascot.
First, singers from the Tibetan, Mongolian, Korean and Uygur ethnic minorities sang a medley of ethnic songs, demonstrating the unity of China's multi-ethnic and multi-cultural fusion with their enthusiastic voices and dynamic dance moves. Then famous singer Sun Nan and Hong Kong singer Nicholas Tse sang "Love in Beijing" and "Glory for You" respectively, the former y emotional and the latter exciting, with different melodies but always centered on the theme of love.
Next, the powerful singer Wei Wei sang "**** Welcome to the Olympics" to show the Chinese people's expectations for the Olympic Games, and the big screen on the scene began to review the previous Olympic mascots. At this time the camera suddenly switched, Tiananmen Square countdown sign on the "from August 8, 2008 Olympic Games opening and 1000 days" has been clearly visible. Beijing Olympic slogan is "one world, one dream", Na Ying, Liu Huan hand in hand *** with the same song with the slogan of the same name "the same world, the same dream".
The Olympic mascot release ceremony officially began, friends from various countries and all walks of life, as well as innocent children have come on stage, the hurdles prince Liu Xiang smiling, diving queen Guo Jingjing is more glamorous, the arrival of the Olympic champions heralded the arrival of the final climax.
Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), unveiled a riddle, five whiteboard presented five different colors, different forms, lively and lovely Fuwa dolls. The first red Fuwa "Huanhuan", the Olympic flame as a prototype; the second black and white Fuwa "Jingjing", the prototype for the national treasure pandas; in addition there is a prototype for the fish, symbolizing the rivers, lakes and seas Fuwa "Beibei In addition, there is the prototype of the fish, symbolizing the rivers and lakes of the Fuwa "Beibei", the prototype of the Tibetan antelope Fuwa "Yingying" and the prototype of the swallows Fuwa "Nini". These five Fuwa colors echo the red, orange, blue, green and black of the five Olympic rings, and their names harmonize with the phrase "Beijing welcomes you".
The song was sung again, with the beautiful youth group and popular "Supergirl" contestants Li Yuchun and Zhang Liangying **** singing "Beijing welcomes you ......". Chinese superstar Jackie Chan also appeared in the crowd, waving his arms and jumping and singing along with the cheerful rhythm of "Four Seas, One Family, Brothers". Dressed as various Fuwa look like children, the site of the huge plastic inflatable Fuwa, are dancing, celebrating, from now on, this group of new images will be with the Chinese people, to meet the arrival of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games