“Do today’s Olympics and other world championships perform the same social functions as the ancient Greek Olympic and other Panhellenic games?”

“Do today’s Olympics and other world championships perform the same social functions as the ancient Greek Olympic and other Panhellenic games?”

Modern Olympics are but an innovation of the Ancient Greek Olympics and other Panhellenic games (Donnelly, 2016). However, according to some scholars, recent games are purely different from Ancient games. Sports have been made more democratic to the extent of being placed on an international stage. In ancient times, the idea of amateur competition and international state games was not in existence. Also, there were fewer sports disciplines, such as horse racing and athletic contests. Finally, it is critical to note that these games were a dedication to the gods. Therefore, a series of ritual events, which include prayers, processions, and sacrifices, accompany the activities. The paper explores some of the Ancient societal functions that have been upheld or abandoned by the modern Olympics.

The article begins by highlighting one of the attractive characteristics that distinguish the modern Olympics from the Ancient Greek Olympics. The Ancient Greek Olympic and the Panhellenic games were firmly rooted in religious beliefs. Ancient games were religious festivals in nature. The events took place in sanctuaries in honor of the Zeus. As a result, the crowning of the victors with a wreath of olive as the prize takes place. (Donnelly, 2016). Before the events commenced, the organizers conduct religious practices such as prayers, processions, and offering of sacrifices. The Greeks consider these events as religious events or athletic competitions for the talented, and wealthy athletes. However, the modern Olympics are being held in a completely different approach. The core objective of recent games is to unite all the world athletes despite their difference in their race, gender, age, and ethnicity. The Olympics is one of the essential events that bring international citizens together. Just as the ancient games, modern Olympics are commenced and also closed with a religious ceremony. As a result, every talented citizen across the globe has an equal chance to participate in sports events. The winners of these events are crowned with precious medals such as gold, silver, and bronze. Also, the modern Olympics comprises of a variety of activities, thus making it very interesting..

Despite the modern Olympics abandoning most of the societal functions, itstill upholds some of the critical characteristics of the Ancient Olympics. For instance, there are cyclical festivals that take place during the opening events of the Olympics. The Olympics takes place after every four years. During the opening ceremony, there several religious and cultural events that take place. Some of the religious activities that take place during the events are prayers, songs, entertainments, and international speeches. The purpose of these activities is to entertain both the athletes and spectators from all races within the globe. Also, there is the broadcasting of the events on all the national televisions and radios of all the participating countries. This act promotes peace and global unity. These activities relate to the Ancient Greek Olympics festival events. They were cyclical festivals that were culturally and religiously closely linked(Donnelly, 2016). The Greeks consider peace to be a very crucial virtue during the event’s activities. This is because it facilitated in convening people throughout Greece to participate in the Panhellenic games.

In conclusion, there have been several changes that occurred in the modern Olympics. These Olympic events remain to be one of the popular tools for promoting peace, unity, and international cohesion.

References

Donnelly, F. (2016). Reframing the Olympic Games: Uncovering new spatial stories of (de) securitization. In Spatializing Peace and Conflict (pp. 198-217). Palgrave Macmillan, London.