founding of the the Olympic games Flashcards
Who are the two people who are thought to have founded the Olympics?
Heracles and Pelops
During which one of Heracles labours was the Olympic games founded?
the 5th labour (the Augean stables)
What happened after Heracles completed the labour, which founded the Olympic games?
Augeas did not pay Heracles what he had promised to pay him
How did Heracles react to Augeas after the promise was broken?
he waited after completing all his labours and waged war on Augeas
Where did Heracles wage war on Augeas?
in Elis
Which city did Augeas and Heracles fought each other?
Olypmia
Who won the war between Heracles and Augeas?
Heracles won the battle
Why did Heracles create the Olympic games?
to celebrate and honour his father (Zeus) for winning the battle
How long was the stadium track length?
192.7 meters
What is the length of the stadium track aligned to?
one stride of Heracles
where are the 12 labours of Heracles depicted?
on the metopes at the temple of Zeus
Who was Oinomaos’ daughter
Hippodamia
What town was Oinomaos king of?
Pisa
What was the oracle that Oinomaos recieved?
that if his daughter got married he would die
What did Oinomaos do to try prevent the Oracle from becoming true?
he challenged anyone who wanted to marry his daughter to a chariots race
Why
did Oinomaos challenge suitors to a chariots race?
he was very skilled at using chariots
What happened to the suitor if they lost the chariots race?
they would be killed
What happened to the suitor if they won the chariots race?
they would be allowed to marry Hippodamia
What had happened by the time Pelops had attempted to do the race?
Many men had been killed
What did Pelops do before he raced the king?
he bribed one of the charioteers into changing the bronze linchpins to wax ones.
what is a linchpin?
a nail that would hold a wheel together
What happened during the race between Pelops and Oinomaos?
The heat melted the wax linchpin, this threw the king out of his Chariot, Killing him.
What happened after the race between Oinomaos and Pelops?
Pelops and Hippodamia get married
Why are the Olympics set up by Pelops?
as funerary games in honour of Oinomaos
Where is the Myth of Pelops and Oinomaos depicted?
On the east pediment on the Temple of Zeus
Why did Greeks not conflict or
argue about which myths surrounding the founding of the Olympic games?
-because both are depicted on the temple of Zeus
-because Greek religion was flexible and lacked dogma
List reasons why the Augean Stables are an appropriate myth for the foundation of the ancient Olympic games. (list 3)
Any of:
-Heracles is the son of Zeus and the Olympics were games to please Zeus.
-Heracles got justice by killing Augeas and honouring his father in battles
-Near by area to Olympia
-Games about strength, Perseverance and challenges which are all this Heracles had to experience
List reasons why the Augean Stables are an inappropriate myth for the foundation of the ancient Olympic games. (list 2)
-hard to believe Heracles diverted two rivers to clean the stables
-a war had to take place for the games to be founded
List reasons why the Pelops and Oinomaos myth is an appropriate for the foundation story of the ancient Olympic games. (list 3)
Any of :
-Oinomaos was in a race with Pelops, which was a game in the Ancient Olympic games (Chariot racing)
-Pelops is Zeus’ grandson and both are worshipped at the site
-The Olympics acts as a fitting funerary memorial for a great king (Oinomaos)
-Cheaters do not prosper, this is proven by Pelops’ family being cursed after he cheated in the race
List 1 reason why the Pelops myth is an inappropriate for the foundation story of the ancient Olympic games.
There was cheating involved which does not promote good values for a sporting contest
