At the first Olympic Games (traditionally, 776 BC) the only event was the short foot race of one stadion (about 200 metres). Gradually, other events were added. At the end, the events were as follows:

• stadion, a foot-race of one lap of the stadium
• diaulos, a foot-race of two laps of the stadium
• dolichos, a steeplechase foot race of perhaps five kilometres
• hoplitodromos, a middle-distance foot-race for runners in full armour with helmet and greaves, carrying a shield
• pygmachia, boxing
• pale, wrestling
• pankration, all-in unarmed fighting
• chariot-racing
• the pentathlon, wrestling, long jump, javelin throw, discus throw, stadion

The diaulos, or 2-stade race, was introduced in 724 BC, during the 14th Olympic games. The race was a single lap of the stadium, approximately 400 metres, and scholars debate whether or not the runners had individual "turning" posts for the return leg of the race, or whether all the runners approached a common post, turned, and then raced back to the starting line. A third foot race, the dolichos, was introduced in 720 BC. Separate accounts of the race present conflicting evidence as to the actual length of the dolichos. However, the average stated length of the race was approximately 18-24 laps, or about three miles. The event was run similarly to modern marathons- the runners would begin and end their event in the stadium proper, but the race course would wind its way through the Olympic grounds. The course would often flank important shrines and statues in the sanctuary, passing by the Nike statue by the temple of Zeus before returning to the stadium. The last running event added to the Olympic program was the hoplitodromos, or "Hoplite race," introduced in 520 BC and traditionally run as the last race of the day. The runners would run either a single or double diaulos (approximately 400 or 800 yards) in full or partial armour, carrying a shield and additionally equipped either with greaves or a helmet. As the armour weighed between 50 and 60 lbs, the hoplitodromosemulated the speed and stamina needed for warfare. Due to the weight of the armour, it was easy for runners to drop their shields or trip over fallen competitors. In a vase painting depicting the event, some runners are shown leaping over fallen shields. The course they used for these runs were made out of clay with sand over the clay. Over the years, more events were added: boxing (pygme/pygmachia), wrestling (pale), pankration (regulated full-contact fighting, similar to today's mixed martial arts), chariot racing, several other running events (the diaulos, hippios, dolichos, and hoplitodromos), as well as a pentathlon, consisting of wrestling, stadion, long jump, javelin throw and discus throw (the latter three were not separate events). Boxing became increasingly brutal over the centuries. Initially soft leather covered their fingers but eventually hard leather weighted with metal was sometimes used. In the chariot racing event, it was not the rider but the owner of the chariot and team who was considered to be the competitor, so one man could win more than one of the top spots. The addition of events meant the festival grew from 1 day to 5 days, 3 of which were used for competition. The other two days were dedicated to religious rituals. On the final day, there was a banquet for all of the participants, consisting of 100 oxen that had been sacrificed to Zeus on the first day. The winner of an Olympic event was awarded an olive branch, and was often received with much honour throughout Greece and especially in his home town, where he was often granted large sums of money (in Athens, 500 drachma, a small fortune). (See Milo of Croton.) Sculptors would create statues of Olympic victors and poets would sing odes in their praise for money. Archaeologists believe that wars were halted between the city-states of Greece so that the athletes as well as the spectators of the Olympics could get there safely. However, some archaeologists argue that the wars were not halted, but that the athletes who were in the army were allowed to leave and participate in the Olympics. Participation in the games was limited to male athletes; the only way women were allowed to take part was to enter horses in the equestrian events. In 396 BC and again in 392 BC, the horses of a Spartan princess named Cynisca won her the four-horse race. It is thought that single women (not betrothed or married)were allowed to watch the races. Also priestesses in the temple of Zeus who lit the candles were permitted as this was seen by the men the only thing women were good at. The athletes usually competed naked, not only as the weather was appropriate but also as the festival was meant to celebrate, in part, the achievements of the human body. Olive oil was occasionally used by the competitors, not only to keep skin smooth but also to provide an appealing look for the participants. Competitors may have worn a kynodesme to restrain the penis.

ALSO:

The Ancient Greek Olympics were held every four years at Olympia, a district of Elis, where all free Greek men were entitled to compete. During the Imperial period of Rome, the Olympic Games were more ecumenical. (Kyle, p. 333.) The first Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C. (traditional date) and the last in A.D. 393, when they were abolished by the Christian Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I. * Boxing * Discus (part of Pentathlon) * Equestrian Events * Javelin (part of Pentathlon) * Jumping * Pankration * Pentathlon * Running * Wrestling According to "The Athletic Events of the Ancient Olympic Games," [URL = ] the stade (a 200 yard foot race) was the first and only Olympic event for 13 Games. The diaulos (400 yard foot race) was instituted for the next Olympic Games and the dolichos (variable length foot race, averaging 20 stades) for the fifteenth Olympiad. Homer describes boxing (added to the Olympics in 688 B.C.) as held to honor Patroklos, the slain companion of Achilles. Originally the boxing gloves were thongs wrapped around the hands and arms, but evolved into less time consuming oxen prewrapped thongs known as himantes, held in place by leather straps wrapped around the forearm. The pentathlon began with the 18th Olympiad and consisted of discus, javelin, long jump, running, and wrestling. Jason is attributed with inventing the contest. One Olympic origins story, mentioned in Greek Tragedy and the House of Atreus, tells of how Pelops won the hand of his bride, Hippodamia, by competing in a chariot race against her father, King Oinomaos of Pisa. Pelops conspired to win the race by replacing the king's chariot's lynchpins with ones made of wax which melted on the course, throwing the king from his chariot and killing him. After Pelops married Hippodamia, he commemorated his victory with the Olympic Games. Another version of the origin of the Olympic games, from Pindar, explained in "Commentary on Olympian 10" [URL = ], attributes the games to Heracles who held the games to honor his father, Zeus, after he exacted revenge on Augeus for defaulting on his promised reward for cleansing the stables. (See Labors of Hercules) Pindar's admiration for Heracles is examined in Constantinos Chamis's "Heracles Influence at Delphi and Olympia"[URL = ]. In "Heracles' Olympic Influence" [URL = ], Chamis discusses Heracles' contributions, including the (inclusive counting) 5 years between games, and the laurel crown. Unlike the modern Olympics, there was an important religious component to the ancient games. A gold and ivory statue of Zeus by Pheidias was placed inside Zeus' temple at Olympia. 42 feet high, it was one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. While in "Women and the Olympic Games" [URL = ], Leslie Des Marteau says matrons were forbidden to attend the Games, the priestess of Demeter was required. Maidens were also permitted. In "Crime and Punishment at Olympia and Delphi" [URL = ], Rachel Sandberg explains that crimes committed at the Games were considered sacrilege. Such crimes included the acceptance of payment, corruption, and invasion. Dartmouth's Olympics site, "Olympic Anecdotes" says "the truce [ekcheiria] was, in effect, an interim of civic and military neutrality in honor of Zeus, the supreme judge and arbiter and source of wisdom...." Only free men who spoke Greek could compete, the location didn't move around, women athletes were forbidden, there was no torch, the games, equipment, and clothing were different, Zeus was honored, but, as Perseus' Ancient Sports page says, both today and yesterday, winning athletes "put their home towns on the map."
Events:

Pentathlon

Discus,

Javelin,

Long Jump or Triple Jump,

Stadion,

Wrestling.

Equestrian Events

Chariot racing,

Riding.

Combat

Wrestling

Boxing

Pankration

Running

Stade,

Hoplitodromos,

Diaulos.

The ancient Olympics were held at Olympia, which is a sacred site near Elis in the western Peloponnese, Greece, with a temple complex dedicated chiefly to Zeus. Olympia is named with reference to Mount Olympus, the supposed home of the Greek gods, but it is not near Mount Olympus.

The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece.
At the temple of Zeus at Olympia in the city-state of Elis in Greece.
At the Temple of Zeus at Olympia in Elis.

The Olympic Games were held in Olympia (Eli) because it was believed that Zeus picked Olympia by throwing a thunderbolt at the spot of Olympia, scorching the Earth.

In Pausanias' Olympiads he says that the scorch of the Earth by Zeus is covered by a bronze vase in the Temple of Olympian Zeus
It was a festival for Zeus, held at his temple in Olympia in Elis southern Greece.

The first ancient Olympics were held in Olympia, Greece, in the city-state of Elis in the southwest of the Peloponnesos, in 776 BC. That's where the great event got its name. Greece also held the first modern Olympic games in Athens in 1896.

The ancient Olympics continued until 393 AD. When they were held, all wars would pause to attend the Olympics.

First Olympics in 776 BC - Olympia, GreeceThe ancient Greek Olympic Games began in the year 776 BC, between August 6 and September 19.[1 According to some literary traditions, this was the only athletic event of the games for the first 13 Olympic festivals or until 724 BC. From 776 BC , the Games were held in Olympia, Greece every four years for almost 12 centuries.
The ancient Olympics were held at Olympia, which is a sacred site near Elis in the western Peloponnese, Greece, with a temple complex dedicated chiefly to Zeus. Olympia is named with reference to Mount Olympus, the supposed home of the Greek gods, but it is not near Mount Olympus.

The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece.
At the temple of Zeus at Olympia in the city-state of Elis in Greece.

Myron

Myron (fl.c.480-440 B.C.), Greek sculptor, an older contemporary of the sculptors Phidias, and Polyclitus, considered by the ancients as one of the most versatile and innovative of all Attic sculptors.

Born in Eleutherae, he lived most of his life in Athens and is repeatedly called an Athenian by the 2nd-century-A.D. traveler Pausanias. The 1st-century writer Pliny cites Myron as the first to achieve lifelike representation in Art.

Working almost exclusively in bronze, he is best known for his many studies of athletes in action. Of his many works, only two representations survive: the group of Athena and Marsyas, originally standing on the Acropolis of Athens, and the "Discobolos" (Discus Thrower), both are marble copies made in Roman times.

Phidias (fîd´ê-es)

fl. fifth century B.C.

Athenian sculptor who supervised work on the Parthenon. His statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

An athlete who became a legend at the ancient Greek Olympics was Milo of Kroton. A wrestler, Milo wore the winner's laurel wreath six times.

Milo continued to practice the sport till he was well over 40 years old. He enjoyed displaying his strength. He would clasp a pomegranate in his hand and challenge spectators to take it from him. Though he held the fruit tightly, it used to remain miraculously undamaged. Sometimes, he would stand on a greased iron disc and invite people to push him off it.

Milo met a tragic end. One day, while walking in the woods, he saw a tree trunk that had just been cut, with wedges driven into the crack to keep it open. He decided to use his hands to separate it further. But when he tried, the wedges flew out and his hands were trapped in the trunk. He was unable to break free and when night fell, a wild animal killed and devoured him.

He also thought he was Heracles he wore a lion-skin cloak and carried a club such as Heracles

There are many differences between the ancient and modern Olympics.

Main reasons would be the appearance of the competitors i.e. men competed naked for pride and toughness. Another reason would be the sports as the ancient Olympics consisted of at most ten sports. The modern Olympics have substantially more events and soon increased throughout the ages!

in ancient Olympics athletes who won will have a lifetime supply of foods, in modern Olympics victorious athletes will have medals .. and the modern Olympics now have winter Olympics , there are more sports than in ancient Greek the ancient is a preparation for war but the modern are sporting events

Some of the differences were:

The ancient Olympics were held only throughout Greece, for Greeks; the modern Games are held around the world, for people of every nation.

The ancient games allowed only men to compete. Competition was performed almost nude. Wars were put on hold for (and sometimes, even decided by) the ancient Olympic games. Winners were often awarded expensive prizes, including land and olives (a precious commodity in ancient times).

The modern Games, until recently, had strict requirements about being an amateur. Both men and women compete, though separately. They were canceled during the World Wars. In 1980 (Moscow) and 1984 (Los Angeles), a substantial number of countries boycotted the Games, which in ancient times would have led to out-and-out war.

In addition, the modern Games have a winter sports program; the Winter Games used to be held the same year as the summer edition, but as of the Lillehammer (Norway) Games of 1994, they've been shifted by two years to be held on the even-numbered year that falls between the Summer Olympic years.

In ancient times:

Wars between all competing nations would end, competitors were only men, there were only summer games every 4 years, only at Olympia (never changing the venue), very religious event, most events were nude, women were rarely allowed to attend, festivities included drama productions. The following were competed in: Sprinting, long distance running, wrestling, discus, shot put, archery, long jump, weight lifting, javelin, sometimes dancing, gymnastics of balancing sorts.

Modern times;Besides the ones listed above, there are now winter sports so Olympic occur every 2 years, women can compete and watch, there are more sports, multiple venues in a single changing host nation, opening and closing ceremonies, used as political event (boycotting would never be allowed in ancient Greece). Some of the new competitions include: bicycling, marathons, swimming events, diving, synchronized swimming, gymnastics like the rings, the bar, pole vaulting, rowing, sailing, white water racing, shooting, soccer, softball, baseball (as of 2008 being the last year), tennis, ping pong, volleyball (beach and court), and many more.

While there are a great many differences between the modern and the ancient Olympics, in terms of which sports are included, what the rules are for those sports, the number of athletes and observers, and other such details, the single greatest difference is that the ancient Olympics were competitions between different Greek athletes, involving no participation by athletes from any other nation, whereas the modern Olympics are a global event in which athletes from all over the world represent their nations.

The ancient Olympics were first held in thousands of years ago. In 1896, the modern Olympics began. The contestants in the ancient Olympic game were mainly men and competed in nude for toughness and braveness. A prominent difference between the games were that the ancient Olympics were held in honor of the Greek god, Zeus, yet in the modern Olympics, competitors compete in favor of reward and self-best.

In modern Olympics, contestants are of both genders. This gives women the right to participate, when in ancient Olympics, there were little women participants. In the ancient Olympics, the only women who took part were unmarried virgins. These participants did not attract as much attention as the men who dominated the Olympics in the ancient times.

This gives the main difference between the modern and ancient Olympics.
then they wore braids in their hair and now they dont. they were naked