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Goin' for the Gold
Question by Ethan Gelber

The Question:

The Olympic Games are in Sydney, Australia, this year (2000). Thousands of athletes from more than 100 countries are in attendance to compete in more than a score of events. However, the first Olympic games were not quite as grandiose. The earliest events were held in Olympia, Greece, on grounds near the Temple of Zeus. Only men were allowed to participate and victors were paraded around the area after receiving olive tree wreaths made from a sacred olive tree growing behind the temple. By 1896, when the first internationally recognized games were held, things had changed a bit, including the reward of gold, silver, and bronze medals.

So, here are two easy questions:

The Answer:

The original Olympic Games were held over a five-day period and included only one event called the stadium, stadion, or stade, a 192-meter (210-yard) dash. For the most part, the original games were great social gatherings, used for peaceful competition . . . and a host of other things. Scholars of the times — writers, poets, and historians — read from their material before large gatherings. Traders met and worked out deals. And, most importantly, city-state leaders could sit together in a safe environment devoted to festivity. For one brief period every four years, differences could easily be resolved without a clash of armies.

By 708, the games had expanded to include longer races (the diaulos [two stadium lengths] and the dolichos [24 stadium lengths]), wrestling, chariot racing, horse racing, the pentathlon (running, wrestling, leaping, throwing the discus, and hurling the javelin), and the pancratium (essentially boxing/wrestling without padded gloves).

The Winners:

This week's winners are: Mary McLain, Michael Lesniak, Karen Newton, Leena Hautaniemi, and Nicolas Baltazar. Others who answered these questions correctly are: Steve Yates, Tim Vander Haar, Steve Schuler, Richard Hill, Ed Berkowitz, K. Elliott, Dave Sleipness, Natasha Coughlin, Brandon Simons, Kathleen Clark, Michael Schutzbank, and Deb Norton.

THANKS for your contributions!