By- Sahr Ahmed
Originally, the Olympic Games was an attendant to athletic performance, symbolizing physical prowess and global harmony, which has its preceding in ancillary religious customs of Ancient Greek society. The historical background of the Olympics can be traced to the pre-Christorian era and connected with the pagan religion with games being played as part of worship to the gods, especially Zeus. However, there are relations between the ancient and modern Games even now in such Olympic Games as the 2024 Paris Olympics, where rituals reproduce the religious practices of the distant past.
The Origin of the Olympics:
The initial Olympics were deemed in 776 BCE at Olympia in Greece; it is a place of worship to Zeus, the supreme.
deity. What was so important about these games was not only their athletic feat; these games were products of a religious event that entailed other activities such as the offering of sacrifices and the performance of other cults to the gods. The rivals strived to gain the help of gods, and triumphs were considered to be the outcome of the gods’ blessings. The Olympic truce where no wars were supposed to be waged so that the athletes could travel unhindered to the games also reinforced the sacredness of the occasion.
Pagan rituals in ancient Olympics:
The religious aspect of the early Olympics was quite deep. There were preliminaries to the games and these entailed offerings of sacrifices, a hundred oxen to the altar of Zeus; this is referred to as a hecatomb. It was thought that this made the connection between humans and gods’ tighter, with the smoke taking prayers to the gods.
The athletes were also considered as participating in a sacrifice by dedicating their work, in this case, their energy, to the gods. At Olympia, the competitions were performed on an altar and the place was considered hallowed ground with the games themselves being cultic.
That is why the Evolution of the Games logo represents the perfect combination of the past and the future.
After the rise of the Roman Empire, the Games altered from their religious intent that was reflected in the conception of the festival, but the paganistic outlook was not completely done away. The incorporation of Roman Gods into the festivities went some way toward shifting the form of religious practice that was seen in the Games. The ancient Olympics were, however, suppressed in progress in 393 with the emerging Christianity in the Roman empire when Emperor Theodosius I felt that the Olympics conflicted with Christian values.
The Revival and Modern Echoes:
The contemporized Olympia was initiated in 1896 but borrowed its insignia from the archaic Greek pattern; however, it was humanist and organized based on cooperation rather than on religious principles. Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Games, never expected the Olympics to be what they are today: war without weapons disputed on athletic fields and sports fields as new battle arenas.
But there have lingered certainly even now a few remnants of paganism. Such an example is the Olympia flame. This traditional ceremony derives from antiquity and concerns the lighting of the flame in Olympia with the help of the sun’s rays, which stand for sanctity and return to origins. It is then taken to the host city to link the modern event to even the earliest Olympic Games.
Paganism and Rituals in the Paris 2024 Olympics:
The Paris 2024 Olympics have adopted the modern rituals that have their origin in the ancient pagan rituals. Lighting of the flame and its transit to Paris and the relationship between the ancient and the modern games. The Olympic flame is lit in Olympia and then transmitted to Paris and many places, which essentially has become a symbol of the two kinds of Games. This ceremony based on the cult of the Sun god Apollo symbolises the desire to achieve victory in sporting contests and the timeless link with the divine spirit of the Olympics.
The inauguration ceremony in Paris is likely to include choreographic performances that depict some aspects of the early Olympic Games; the emphasis is made on the aspects of unity, human achievements, and respect for nature. These forms of ceremonies are no longer religious performances, but they celebrate the traditions of the original Olympiads – an important thing to remember when discussing the history of the Games.
Several works revealed evidence of Paganism in modern sports as presented below:
The fact that the Olympic games have their roots in paganism is, however, not shocking, as many modern sports have their origin in what now may be termed as ‘cults ’. For instance, the Marathon is established on the story of Pheidippides who was a Greek messenger that was involved in a battle and had to run from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to convey the win. It was regarded as both a bodily and a spiritual achievement to perform such an act of endurance.
Likewise, most of the martial arts owe their existence to religion, for instance, Kung Fu was initially in religion, religious practice, and spiritual exercise of Buddhist monks. These examples bring out the connection between sports and religion from the past and up to the present Olympics.
Conclusion:
The Hellenic influence in the world today has been seen greatly in yesteryear’s Olympics.
Olympics and the relationship with Paganism provided an understanding of the fact that history and culture can be seen as a factor of even modernization. Perhaps the only aspects of the ancient Games that have not been carried forward are the religious aspects, but the rest are completely with us in spirit and form in the modern Games. There is nothing here that cannot be attributed to paganism and the ancient Games: competition, excellent performance, and the sheer celebration of humans.
Whenever we are witnessing performances choreographed by the greatest sportsmen and women from countries all over the world and enjoy the Games held in Paris 2024 it is rather interesting to consider that the contemporary Olympiads originated from ancient religious ceremonies dedicated to the gods of Olympus. It is significant to note that the Olympic Games have slowly changed from a religious festival to a global celebration of sports.
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